Research

Education research and research-based practice are at the heart of the Center for Technology and School Change mission. CTSC predominantly engages in the study of innovating instruction for students. How do we support schools and teachers in adopting new practices in the classroom, and in diversifying the types of learning experiences afforded to our children? Our assumptions about research include the need to work collaboratively with schools and other education partners in pursuing big questions related to the school transformation process, often including the role technology can play both in reimagining teaching and in deepening student understanding.

The Center is committed to a research agenda that:

• Contributes to theoretical perspectives on professional learning for instructional innovation;
• Informs the transformative use of technology in existing and emerging practices;
• Explores student learning environments that take advantage of digital tools;
• Identifies and shapes best practices for emergent technologies and curricular innovations, and their use in K-16 educational practice in core areas such as instruction, assessment, organization, and leadership; and
• Influences policy and programs in the area of educational technology.

 “An effective conversation must include discourse among leading educational researchers. However, to be successful, it will be equally important to involve other stakeholders to ensure strong linkages between applied research and explicit connections and value to schools. It is also important to include input from corporate partners, the K-12 school community, developers, and policymakers in the questions we ask, in the research we conduct, and in the interpretations and policy that ensue” (Schrum, 2010, p. 5)."