action network
Through 100Kin10 Research Design Competitions, Many Benefited from Gold-Star Research
Through 100Kin10 Research Design Competitions, Many Benefited from Gold-Star Research
In 2013 and 2014 the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Laboratory (UEL) hosted Research Design Competitions that had two primary goals in mind: (1) to generate reliable evidence about which practices in training and supporting STEM teachers work, and (2) to foster an “experimental frame of mind” with and between 100Kin10 partners. The winners of the competition worked with leading social-science researchers at UEL to gauge the effectiveness of a specific intervention through randomized control trials. Additionally, each winner was awarded $100,000 to support general operations.
The S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, co-sponsored the research competition. Julie Kidd, then a Program Officer at Bechtel, noted:
"“We’re pleased to support an effort that will not only benefit teachers in this one district, but has the potential to shape how elementary teachers develop throughout their careers, with a particular focus on common core math standards.”
"
In 2013 California State University was one of the winners. A team from CSU-Long Beach partnered with an urban school district near the campus to test how Lesson Study, a teaching improvement tool where teams of teachers collaborate, plan, teach, observe, and critique a lesson, could be used to support the implementation of common core math standards in grades 2-5.
The year-long study found notable benefits for teachers engaged in Lesson Study, including their scoring significantly higher on the California Standards math test. Following the conclusion of the trial, CSU and 100Kin10 worked together to share them with the rest of the 100Kin10 network, allowing many more to benefit from these learnings.
