Yet a teacher may quite legitimately slow down and spend a lot of time on a concept that is particularly critical or may let students tale time to discover a mathematical principle on their own. It is usually much more efficient (that is, it talzes less time) to teach students slzills or information directly than it is to let them inalze discoveries for themselves; but if the teacher wants students to gain a deeper understanding of a topic or to laow how to find information or figure things out for themselves, then the research findings about pace can be temporarily shelved. The point is that while research in educational psychology can sometimes be translated hrectly to the classroom, it is best to apply the principles with a hefty dose of common sense and a clear view of what is being taught to whom and for what purpose.
Research on Effective Programs
Research in educational psychology not only provides evidence for principles of effective practice, but it also provides evidence about the effectiveness of particular programs or practices (Rhine, 1998). For example, in the vignette at the beginning of this chapter, Leah Washington was using a specific approach to creative writing instruction that has been extensively evaluated as a whole (Hillocks, 1984). In other words, there is evidence that, on average, children whose teachers are using such methods learn to write better than those whose teachers use more traditional approaches.
There is evidence on the effectiveness of dozens of widely used programs, from methods in particular subjects to strategies for reforming entire schools (see, for example, Ellis, 2001; Gunter, Estes, & Schwab, 2003; Slavin & Fashola, 1998). An intentional teacher should be aware of research on programs for his or her subject and grade level, and should seek out professional development opportunities to learn methods laown to make a difference for children.
Impact of Research on Educational Practice
Many researchers and educators have bemoaned the limited impact of research in educational psychology on teachers' practices (see, for example, Hargreaves, 1996; ICennedy, 1997). Indeed, research in educatioil has nowhere near as great an impact on practice as research in medicine or agriculture or engineering (Gage, 1994). Yet research in education does have a profound indirect impact on educational practice (Hattie & Marsh, 1996), even if teachers are not aware of it. It affects educational policies, professional development programs, and teaching materials. For example, the Tentlessee class size study (Achilles, Finn, & Bain, 1997/98; Finn & Achilles, 1999; Finn, Pannazzo, & Aclulles, 2003), which found important effects of class size in the early grades on student achievement, had a direct impact on state and federal proposals for class size reduction (Finn, 2002; Wasley, 2002).
Recent research on beginning reading (National Academy of Sciences, 1998) has begun to dramatically transform curriculum, instruction, and professional development for this subject. Research on the effects of career academies in high schools (ICemple, 1997) has led to a substantial increase in such programs. It is important for educators to become intelligent consumers of research, not to take every finding or every expert's pronouncement as truth from Mount Olympus. The following section briefly describes the methods of research that most often produce findings of use to educators.
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