The principal mission of the Individualizing Student Instruction (ISI) lab at the University of California – Irvine is to apply rigorous research, including randomized controlled trials, design-based implementation, and developmental theories, towards designing, developing, and evaluating literacy interventions that are individualized (or personalized) based on students’ learning needs using both classroom instruction and technology. We also investigate the complex dynamics of the classroom learning environment using video-taped classroom observations and coding stations that use Noldus Observer Pro technology. This research focuses on supporting teachers and educational leaders by helping each student learn to read and write well, especially the most vulnerable children within the educational system, which includes those in living in poverty, with learning disabilities, students who are learning English, and those who struggle with speech and hearing difficulties.
How We Execute on Our Mission: We educate teachers to use rigorous research in concert with valid and reliable assessments to inform their instructional strategies. We value the teacher’s professional judgement and leverage technologies designed to support teachers and educational leaders in delivering individualized, measurable reading instruction to improve student learning outcomes.
We are currently enacting our mission by:
- designing, developing and evaluating Assessment to Instruction (A2i) algorithm-based software and supporting professional development instruction for teachers and educational leaders
- designing, developing and evaluating interactive e-Book interventions for improving word knowledge, strategy use, and reading comprehension
- innovating on our existing classroom observation protocol and and coding systems (the COLT and OLOS projects) to evaluate quality classroom environments and teaching practices
- refining and evaluating our adaptive literacy assessments, designed to provide student growth data to teachers, educational leaders, and parents
- observing and measuring classroom environment factors for learning disabled students
Funding
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This research is conducted via collaborative partnerships with experts in data mining, computer science, assessment development/validation, classroom observation systems, and educational technology. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences and the National Institutes of Health (NIDCD). Please visit our Project page to learn more about our intervention innovations and research studies.