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From the Observation Deck

by Dee Dickinson

 

At a time when schools are experiencing a new wave of severe budget cuts, when staff development resources are becoming increasingly difficult to find, and when there has never been a greater need to help all students to learn more successfully, research is leading the way. Based on years of analyzing and documenting best practices, new research that synthesizes the findings helps educators make the best use of existing resources.

Following are three examples that may be of great value to teachers, school administrators, and school boards. The first concerns the best ways to teach reading, and may lay to rest the ongoing controversy over whether phonics or whole language instruction is a preferable instructional strategy. In an article published in the March 2001 issue of Scientific American entitled, "How Should Reading Be Taught?", authors Keith Rayner, Barbara R. Foorman, Charles A. Perfetti, David Pesetsky, and Mark S. Seidenberg synthesize their research presented in the November 2001 issue of Psychological Science in the Public Interest. Their conclusion is that the teaching of phonics is essential in any program and the use of whole language activities leads to better comprehension and understanding of meaning. They note that, "Recent work has indicated-and many educators have discovered-that the combination of literature-based instruction and phonics is more powerful than either method used alone. . . . .Teachers obviously need to strike a balance."

The second example is a recent report called "School Reform Proposals: The Research Evidence," edited by Alex Molnar from the Education Policy Research Unit of Arizona State University. The report reviews thirteen areas most frequently suggested for improving public education. The editor notes that "In each case, the reviewers examined the research on the topic at hand with a particular eye toward its findings with regard to student achievement, especially that of children living in poverty." The thirteen areas reviewed are Early Childhood, Class Size Reduction Grades K-3, Small Schools, Tie for Schools: Its Duration and Allocation, Grouping Students for Instruction, Parental and Family Involvement in Education, Public Schools and Their Communities, Teacher Characteristics, Converging Findings in Classroom Instruction, Teachers' Unions and Student Achievement, Value Added Assessment of Teachers, Professional Development, and Charter Schools, Vouchers, EMO's. This report will soon be in book form.

The third example is one receiving great attention at the present time: smaller schools. Numerous studies and reports conclude that smaller schools are among the most important factors in helping all students to be more successful at learning, in addition to being more highly motivated to continue the process. We have included reports on this research on our website previously, and we refer you again to the Bank Street College Study, Small Schools: Great Strides in the Transforming Education area of our website. See also continuing research from the SmallSchools Network and the interview in this issue of the Journal with Kenneth Jones from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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