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On Using Data

We hear lots of folks talking about how data-driven they are today, but it seems these folks are often woefully unaware of the fundamental principles of data collection, analysis and presentation. Specific principles I see missing in “data-driven” folks are: If we are to claim to be data-driven in our decisions, then we are responsible Read More

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On Data Collection for edtech Decisions

Regardless of the type of data collected, researchers and efficacious IT managers must attend to sampling (how will subjects be selected) and they must ensure the instruments they are using are both valid (measuring what they claim to be measuring) and sufficiently precise for the purposes. In addition, IT managers have a responsibility to gather Read More

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Why Testing is Meaningless in Schools

It is widely known inside education (but much less so outside of education), that we really don’t know what to teach or how to measure learning. Educational researchers will dispute this, as they spend their entire careers defining learning and measuring it. In science that is allowed, and we accept the conclusions of studies, but Read More

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On Shifting Paradigms

The concept of the paradigm shift was introduced in the 1960’s and revised in 1970 by Thomas S. Kuhn in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Kuhn, 1970). Kuhn was the first to publish this account of how knowledge in science advances: Scientists conduct experiments and carry out their observations to study unanswered Read More

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Elevator Pitch on Error

In science, we make our living as it were by measuring. As a human activity, measurement involvessome errors. When a making measurements, there are (usually) three potential sources of error: The person who is making the measurement could make a mistake. The same person who measures the same thing more than once is likely to Read More

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On Resources

As researchers and seekers of information, we depend on words, images, and other media created by others. Not all resources we encounter in the 21st century can be considered of equal worth. While differentiating “fact” and “opinion” cannot be done with reliability, researchers select information from some sources rather than others. This page identifies resources Read More

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Elevator Pitch on Censorship

Educated individuals value the free expression of ideas, yet we recognize some ideas are distasteful, others harmful, and some are likely promoted by quacks. It is through our capacity to critically analyze ideas to decide which deserve our attention, which should be seriously considered, and which dismissed.   Our human nature and our professional ethics lead us to Read More

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What Should We Be Teaching About Research

Research is difficult, but highly engaging, work. By having students ask questions, and answer those through their research, the purpose of the work becomes more clear and the work is more interesting. Allowing students to define problems and refine questions make this difficult work more engaging. Research requires one to follow recognized protocols that make Read More

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On Research

The term “research-based” is one of those that has been so broadly used that it is no longer meaningful. It seems one can do about anything they want and they apply the “research-based” label to it. Just what must one do if they want really be doing research? Here is my definition of research: Research Read More