SRI Education is committed to improving the lives of students and educators through the development and implementation of evidence-based innovations and by conducting rigorous and equitable evaluations. Our research, evaluations, and technical assistance focus on improving teaching and learning for all students, particularly for those who have been historically underserved. Our work supports learners from early childhood through postsecondary education and into the workforce, and leverages our expertise regarding special populations such as children with disabilities, multilingual learners, students attending rural schools, and students experiencing poverty. Our research focuses on improving teaching quality and learning outcomes in a range of areas, including early childhood development and learning, literacy education, STEM and computer science education, digital learning, social-emotional learning, career and technical education, and college preparation and success.

SRI Education has been impacting the quality and validation of solutions and practices aimed to reduce or eliminate persistent educational challenges through 28 Education Innovation and Research (EIR) and Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) grants funded by the U.S. Department of Education. In December 2020, we learned about five new EIR grants for which SRI Education will serve as the external evaluator. Through our work with EIR and i3 grantees, SRI researchers have authored more than a dozen publications meeting the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards with and without reservations, with several additional rigorous studies under review and helped our clients strengthen their interventions through the use of systematic, objective, mixed-methods evaluation.

Our newest EIR projects awarded in December 2020:

• Coaching in Powerful Use of Technology in Mathematics Instruction (2020, Digital Promise)
• Skills for Secondary School Success (2020, Johns Hopkins University)
• Evaluation of Reading Apprenticeship (2020, WestEd)
• Evaluation of eDGE (eSTEM Designing Games for Education) (2020, University of Missouri)
• Evaluation of the New Teacher Center Social Emotional Learning-Focused Instructional Coaching Model (2020, New Teacher Center)

Check out recently released findings from i3 and EIR projects:

• EIR Expansion Grant: The Pathway to Academic Success: A Cognitive Strategies Approach to Text-Based Academic Writing to Improve Educational Outcomes for Secondary English Learners
• Impact of the New Teacher Center’s induction model on new teachers and their students
• National Writing Project’s College, Career, and Community Writers Program (C3WP) positive impacts on program implementation and grade 7–9 student writing achievement

Interested in partnering with SRI on an EIR grant? Contact us.

SRI Education Featured Projects:  Teacher Preparation

Teachers & Student
Achievement

Teachers are the biggest school-based predictor of student achievement. However, teachers have historically been under-prepared, which disproportionately hurts achievement among students from families with low-incomes, Black, Latinx, and indigenous students. Higher education institutions, funders, and policymakers have sought to transform the way teachers are trained. SRI partners with stakeholders to study the effectiveness of these efforts. Read our new case study to learn more “SRI Studies of Teacher Preparation Reform Efforts Support Innovation.”

New Generation of Educators Initiative

The 5-year New Generation of Educators Initiative (NGEI) was a large-scale effort funded by the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, which aimed to reform teacher preparation in the California State University (CSU) system. SRI and WestEd partnered to evaluate NGEI at the 10 participating CSU campuses. The evaluation culminated in a five-part final report series. Learn more about the initiative and read the reports.

Don’t Miss Us at SRCD: April 7-9

Wednesday, April 7:

• 1:10 to 2:40 p.m. EDT: Using Mobile Messaging to Improve Parents’ Support of Preschool Children’s Science Learning (Authors: Todd Grindal and Sarah Gerard)
• 4:20 to 5:50 p.m. EDT: The Efficacy of PBS KIDS Media Resources for Promoting Ability to Use Informational Text (Authors: Claire Christensen, Sarah Gerard, and Phil Vahey)
• 4:20 to 5:50 p.m. EDT: Boosting Middle School Math Learning With Online Homework (Author: Haiwen Wang)

Thursday, April 8:

• 11:35 a.m. to 1:05 p.m. EDT: Learning Science and Engineering from Videos and Games: A Randomized Trial of PBS KIDS The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That (Authors: Todd Grindal and Sarah Gerard)
• 1:10 to 2:40 p.m. EDT: Supporting Early Childhood Educators to use Effective Practices to Promote Social-Emotional Skills: Innovative Coaching Models (Chair/Author: Erika Gaylor; Author: Elisa Garcia)

Friday, April 9:

• 2:45 to 4:15 p.m. EDT: Digital Media Use for Learning During COVID-19 (Chair: Claire Christensen)

New Blog Posts!

• Special educator reflections on distance learning during COVID-19 (Melanie Chong, Samantha Peyton)
• New Blog Series from College & Career Pathyways! More Than Getting to the Door: Non-Academic Supports to Ensure Students Graduate from College
• NSF INCLUDES Funds Re-Entry of Women and Women Veterans into the STEM Workforce (Jenna Rush)
• Using Technology to Overcome the Challenge of Place and Space in Rural Education (Rebecca Schmidt)
• Setting a Foundation for Continuous Improvement (CJ Park & Ashley Campbell)

We have open education research and technical assistance positions in early childhood, college and career pathways, digital learning, STEM & CS, teaching quality and school reform, data sciences, as well as other employment opportunities!

Follow us on Twitter: @SRI_Education!

SRI Education, a division of SRI International, is helping federal and state agencies, school districts, major foundations, nonprofit organizations, and international and commercial clients tackle some of the most complex issues in education to help students succeed. Our mission is to reduce barriers, optimize outcomes, and ensure educational equity for all children, youth, and families. We do this by conducting high-quality research, supporting use of data and evidence, helping to strengthen state and local systems, and developing tools that improve teaching and accelerate and deepen learning.

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SRI Education is a division of SRI International. SRI International is a registered trademark and SRI Education is a trademark of SRI International. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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