Do you wonder how learning works? Are you looking to design learning environments to support a range of learners?
The Digital Promise Research Map can help. The Research Map is a hub for learning sciences research which connects education leaders, policymakers, and technology developers with research findings that can inform their work. This site features actionable summaries and videos on key topics like STEM learning and family engagement, as well as an interactive visualization of education research.
Every two years we update the visualization to reflect the latest research findings. This tool is based on an analysis of the bibliographic record (including the title, keywords, author, cited references, and abstract) of articles from the Web of Science database; the network map structure is based on how the articles cite one another. This brand new update is based on over 100,000 peer-reviewed articles from 191 journals, published between 2009 and 2018.
The snappy new design of the visualization makes it easy to read and save articles to share with friends and colleagues.
New Topics (and Subtopics) on the Digital Promise Research Map
With 11 broad topic areas, and 124 more specific subtopics, the updated visualization offers relevant research for anybody working in education. Read below to find out what’s new.
This new topic on the visualization explores considerations for the design of learning environments and interventions in support of student behavioral and academic outcomes, with a focus on young learners. This topic also includes research on the role parents, caregivers, and teachers play in student success.
Whether working at the classroom, school, or district level, education professionals strive to ensure that only the most effective programs and interventions are implemented. The outcomes of many educational programs, whether aimed at promoting school readiness or preventing cyberbullying, can be difficult to measure and track, particularly when looking at non-academic outcomes like behavior and social-emotional learning. Understanding research findings related to measuring these outcomes helps educators implement the programs and interventions that will best support their students.
Formative assessment is a process of using recent data from a group of learners to adapt instruction to improve learning for that group. Research in this subtopic, new to the visualization, explores how to gather valid and reliable data on learning, how to enable teachers to make sense of the data, how to involve students in evaluating their own progress, and how to use this information to adapt instruction.
We’ve heard from educators that many of them are working to implement assessments to gauge student learning in real time, and to help students set and monitor their own learning goals using data. Some teachers aspire to embed assessment into everyday learning, through student-driven projects and performance tasks, and use instruments like rubrics to measure learning and development of skills beyond academic content knowledge; others are seeking ways to use portfolios to collect ongoing evidence of student learning. Formative assessment is a promising approach for helping educators make evidence-based decisions to improve student learning.
This subtopic, also new to the visualization, explores the ways students’ backgrounds and social and cultural identities influence educational experiences and outcomes. Studies also explore how culture and background can influence literacy instruction.
Practitioners in our networks strive to be culturally responsive; they are working to recognize and incorporate the assets and strengths all students (including low-income students and students of color) bring into the classroom, and are developing strategies for engaging all families in the education process. They are also looking to help teachers build stronger relationships with their students, and to implement discipline policies in a way that does not target students of color. Culturally responsive practices also involve recognizing and incorporating the assets and strengths all students bring into the classroom, and developing strategies for engaging families in the education process. This subtopic can help educators implement such practices when working with increasingly diverse student populations.
Explore the Updated Research Map
We are committed to communicating new research that is most relevant to educators, and are excited to share more stories in the future about how research can help educators tackle their most pressing challenges.
Ignite your summer PD by exploring the latest education research and creating plans to apply research-based strategies in your school. Visit the Research Map today!
