Another day, another end-of-year “Best” list.

Now, it’s time for research studies.

You can see all previous editions of this list, as well as all my ed research related “best” lists, here.

Here are my choices for the past six months:

QUOTE OF THE DAY: STUDY FINDS THAT SCHOOL MASK MANDATES WORKED

THIS APPEARS TO BE A GOOD TREND: THIRD STUDY IN A ROW IDENTIFIES NON-TESTED WAYS TEACHERS HELP STUDENTS SUCCEED

NO SURPRISE THAT NEW STUDY FINDS SUMMARIZING IS EFFECTIVE LEARNING STRATEGY

QUOTE OF THE DAY: IT’S NOT GOOD IF SCHOOLS FEEL LIKE PRISONS

IMPORTANT RESEARCH REVIEW ON EFFECTIVE & INEFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING RACIAL DISPARITIES IN SCHOOL DISCIPLINE

STUDY FINDS NO SURPRISE – SCHOOLS THAT GET VOUCHERS PUSH OUT STUDENTS FACING CHALLENGES

THE DANGERS OF MAKING SWEEPING CONCLUSIONS FROM RESEARCH WITHOUT ENOUGH CONTEXT

BIG STUDY ON SOCIAL CAPITAL IN SCHOOLS & ELSEWHERE WITH ACCOMPANYING INTERACTIVE THAT’S INTRIGUING

NEW EVALUATION OF ACADEMIC WORD PROGRAM CONTAINS MUST-READ RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EVERYONE DEVELOPING A NEW “INITIATIVE” FOR TEACHERS TO IMPLEMENT

THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE “ESTABLISH-MAINTAIN-RESTORE” CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT APPROACH

 

Here are some other useful studies I’ve included in my weekly research reviews, even though I didn’t write separate posts about them:

Benefits of interactive graphic organizers in online learning: Evidence for generative learning theory. is a new study that reinforces previous ones that have found graphic organizers to enhance learning. I’m adding it to Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Mindmapping, Flow Chart Tools, & Graphic Organizers.

I previously posted about an important new study at STUDY FINDS THAT “HANDS-ON” MATH & PROACTIVE “ROUTINES & PROCEDURES” INCREASE TEST SCORES AND STUDENT ENGAGEMENT. The Hechinger Report has also written a review of it at PROOF POINTS: The paradox of “good” teaching

Patrolling Public Schools: The Impact of Funding for School Police on Student Discipline and Long-term Education Outcomes is a new study, and here’s a podcast with its author. I’m adding it to TEACHING RESOURCES ABOUT IF POLICE SHOULD BE IN SCHOOLS.

PROOF POINTS: Many schools are buying on-demand tutoring but a study finds that few students are using it is from The Hechinger Report.

And here’s another interesting new paper on tracking, which finds that it doesn’t help student achievement and, instead, contributes to school inequality:

This meta-analysis examines the effects of sorting secondary students into different tracks (“between-school” tracking) or classrooms (“within-school” tracking) on the efficiency and inequality levels of an educational system. Efficiency is related to the overall learning achievement of students, whereas inequality can refer to “inequality of achievement” (i.e., the dispersion of outcomes) or “inequality of opportunity” (i.e., the strength of the influence of family background on student achievement). The selected publications are 53 analyses performed in the period from 2000 to 2021, yielding 213 estimates on efficiency and 230 estimates on inequality. The results show that the mean effect size (Hedge’s G) of tracking on efficiency is not statistically significant (G = −.063), whereas it is significantly positive (G = .117) on inequality.

I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Ability Grouping & Tracking — Help Me Find More.

 

Here’s an interesting new paper on the value of “looping” with students. What makes it stand out from other research on the topic, though, is that it also talks about the fact it happens a lot in secondary schools – often by chance. What it may miss, though, is that it happens intentionally in high schools like ours that are divided into Small Learning Communities (see The Best Resources For Learning About Small Learning Communities):

Here’s an Ed Week article talking about the same study.