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Category: Research & Evaluation Methods

Study assesses modified evaluation method for students placed at risk

HyeonJin Yoon, research assistant professor, Nebraska Academy for Methodology, Analytics and Psychometrics, is assessing the validity of a new evaluation method for targeted educational interventions for students placed at risk. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.

HyeonJin Yoon, research assistant professor, Nebraska Academy for Methodology, Analytics and Psychometrics, is assessing the validity of a new evaluation method for targeted educational interventions for students placed at risk.

Regression discontinuity design (RDD) is an evaluation that assesses the impact of a need-based, targeted intervention. It relies on a cutoff point on an assignment measure that typically evaluates participants’ need, or threshold, above or below which an intervention is assigned. By comparing post-test scores around the cutoff, researchers can identify the intervention’s impact on a given outcome. Full Article

Video available for MAP Academy presentation featuring Robert Shepard

Robert Shepard, assistant professor of geography at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, led the first presentation of the MAP Academy’s Fall 2021 Methodology Applications Series Nov. 12.

Video is now available of his virtual presentation, “Space Scale and Site: The Limits and Lies in Our Understanding of Residential Segregation.” Full Article

Nebraska part of nationwide study on infant, toddler cerebral palsy interventions

Nebraska researchers are part of a multi-institution project to compare the effectiveness of two physical therapy interventions for young children with or at risk for cerebral palsy. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.

Cerebral palsy is the most common cause of infant-onset physical disability, affecting 17 million worldwide.

Physical therapy is often used to help infants and toddlers in this population strengthen their ability to sit and move, but recent findings emphasize the importance of also offering opportunities to advance children’s cognitive development in addition to motor skills. Full Article

NAECR Knowledge event explores the necessity of secure data storage in early childhood research

With the widespread use and increase in popularity of the Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage service, the application is becoming a must among researchers in all disciplines.

Secure data storage — particularly the OneDrive app — was the focus of the Sept. 30 Fall NAECR Knowledge event. Early childhood researchers attended the virtual discussion to discuss the most efficient, effective ways to use OneDrive. Full Article

Researchers gathering eye-opening data to help ensure adequate sleep among agricultural workers

Researchers are collecting sleep data from Midwestern agricultural workers to investigate the quantity and quality of sleep among farmers and ranchers during peak and non-peak seasons. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.

As anyone who has ever experienced insomnia knows, the lack of a good night’s sleep can make for a difficult morning.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, side effects of sleep deprivation include lack of concentration, attention deficits, longer reaction times, distractibility, lack of coordination, poor decision-making, increased errors and forgetfulness. Full Article

Project examines how external, internal controls in schools affect students’ opportunities to learn

An ongoing study is examining how internal school controls, such as guidelines implemented by a school’s principal, administrators and teachers, can mediate the impact of external controls from the federal, state and city level. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.

When it comes to measuring student outcomes, grading individual schools can be complicated.

Although federal, state and local mandates are continually added to school-based policies and practices used to measure student performance — and hold schools accountable — research indicates that such measures have mixed effects on student achievement, graduation rates and equity in learning. Full Article

Statewide survey finds Nebraska educators can adjust to ‘virtually’ anything, but at what cost?

During spring 2020, all of Nebraska’s 983 public schools sat vacant — and all the state’s 330,000 children from pre-kindergarten to grade 12 were learning in out-of-classroom environments. Learn more about this project in the CYFS Research Network.

As the COVID-19 epidemic escalated to a pandemic in early 2020, millions of Americans began working from home — and millions of students left their classrooms to continue their studies remotely.

In March 2020, all 983 Nebraska public schools sat vacant, and all the state’s 330,000 children from pre-kindergarten to grade 12 were learning in out-of-classroom environments. Full Article