Research

Making an Impact

Faculty in the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development have attracted external funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Texas Instruments Foundation, Collins Foundation, and other sponsors for innovative research and training projects that will have a real-world impact on education locally and nationally.

The Simmons School's Institute for Evidence-Based Education (IEBE) has received more than $9 million in grants and contracts since it was established in 2003. Current projects of the IEBE include:

  • Project Scale-Up, a five-year study funded by a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Patricia Mathes, Texas Instruments Endowed Professor of Reading and IRR director, is principal investigator for the project, which is a collaboration with UT-Austin's Center for Reading and Language Arts, focusing on research-validated first-grade reading interventions in multiple schools.
     
  • Project Maximize, directed by Dr. Mathes and co-directed by Drs. Jill Allor, associate professor in education, and Ian Harris, associate professor of statistical science, was funded by a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. It is a five-year project to develop a reading curriculum for children with mild to moderate retardation.
     
  • Project ELLA (English Language Acquisition Evaluation Research), directed by Dr. Mathes in collaboration with Texas A&M Research Foundation, is a five-year study funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Science to evaluate alternative instructional models for primary grade students whose first language is Spanish.
     
  • Project CMERS (Continuous Progress Monitoring of Early Reading Skills), directed by Dr. Mathes, is a two-year project to develop and evaluate the technical adequacy of an early reading assessment system.  Dr. Jing Cao, associate professor of statistical science, served as the Co-PI during the first year of the study.
  • Project CMARS:  Item Development for Continuous Monitoring of Advanced Reading Skills for Grades 4-8, directed by Dr. Mathes and co-directed by Dr. Reid Lyon, is funded by the Collins Foundation.

Also, Research in Mathematics Education is a research and outreach unit of the Simmons School of Education and Human Development with the goal of providing evidence-based support to improve students’ mathematics achievement in North Texas and across the country. The goals of the unit are to (1) conduct high-quality research to generate trustworthy evidence to support mathematics achievement, and (2) disseminate research findings through targeted professional development opportunities, an annual research to practice conference, and direct distribution of research reports and practical guides. Only through the generous support of The Meadows Foundation are these goals and objectives possible. The Meadows Foundation has a long history supporting the instructional effectiveness of teachers in core educational areas and provided the initial funding for University of Texas, Austin's Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk.

Other examples of the Simmons School's current sponsored projects include:

  • Two grants of $1.5 million each to Dr. William Pulte, associate professor of education, from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) have provided training support for teachers seeking certification in bilingual education.
     
  • A NAE Spencer Fellowship award to Dr. Paige Ware to conduct a two-year study that examines how an international online multimedia literacy exchange between adolescent English language learners both engages the students with literacy and impacts their writing in English.
     
  • A grant from OELA to Dr. Hector Rivera, assistant professor of education, to address needs of at-risk newcomer adolescents with limited English proficiency through programs in professional development and certification in English as a Second Language for math and science teachers in middle and high schools.
     
  • A grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and funded by the Department of Education to Dr. Kathy Hargrove, associate dean, to address science education and research in secondary schools.
     
  • A grant from OELA to Dr. Paige Ware, assistant professor of education, for Project Connect, a collaborative effort with the Irving and Grand Prairie Independent School Districts to create a professional development model for training teachers to improve the quality of education for students with limited English proficiency.
     
  • Project Read Aloud, directed by Dean David Chard, in collaboration with Pacific Institutes for Research in Eugene, Oregon, is funded by a four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to study the efficacy of a program designed to enhance reading comprehension for first graders.
     
  • Early Learning in Mathematics, also directed by Dean Chard, in collaboration with the University of Oregon, is funded by a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop a kindergarten curriculum designed to prevent early mathematics difficulties.
  • Three Upward Bound and TRIO projects, directed by Ms. Ne'Shaun Robinson-Jones, are funded by the Department of Education.