Reactions to Hattie's Research and IES research

In reflecting on the research websites, I have to admit, it has been awhile in THIS teacher's career that I have really had to dive into this deeper level of research. I will have to say that it is such a great reminder to look at the validity of the resource and the makings of the study.

I was quite surprised to say the least in this study's outcomes. There were items that I thought were critical for the success in school, and yet according to the research, it wasn't as I viewed the scale.  I was fascinated that student feedback was extremely high and even in the second study that was done later, student feedback remained pretty high and testing, which is SUCH a big thing right now, was towards the bottom of the list.

In the second study, self-report grades were very high, but something that kind of bothered me was the knowledge that the teacher had for the subject matter and the training that the teacher received was quite low. That doesn't quite sit with me well, seeing that I already hear that "anyone can be a teacher" and I tend  to believe that my training and education has molded me into a better educator for my students - but according to this study - it's not.

In the IES research, I was intrigued by the math achievement section. I am revamping my whole math journal this fall, making it more of an interactive journal and resource for my students. It is a ton of work, but I want it to be full functioning by the time the kids step into my room for the first day of school. So, I looked that up and was brought to a site that listed many different interventions that early education students could take part in and help increase math achievement. According to the study listed, the SRA - or Building Blocks intervention had a positive outcome on the achievement on students - however, other intervention programs did not do as well.

I think as educators, we can get very easily drawn into the "latest and greatest" and it is important to do additional research in order to show the validity in what is being presented to the staff and/or students. As far as the staff, it think it is important to bring in a sense of research to show the staff that what is being presented is backed up by current research and best practices for students. It is a good reminder for us, as educators/administrators to remember.