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Current and Prospective Research
Projects in MQM
Ken Frank
I have three active areas of interest. The first concerns
the social processes that affect the diffusion of innovations
in schools. For example, Yong Zhao, Kathryn Borman and I
found that teachers’ informal access to expertise
was as important predictor of their use of technology in
the classroom as long standing predictors base don perceptions
and resources.
Frank,
K. A., Zhao, Y., and Borman (2004). "Social Capital and the
Diffusion of Innovations within Organizations: Application
to the Implementation of Computer Technology in Schools." Sociology
of Education, 77: 148-171.
The second concerns the social organization of adolescent
culture. With Sam Field and others, I have developed an
algorithm to identify clusters of students in a high school
who take courses together. As part of a larger project headed
by Chandra Muller (AHAA), we are currently exploring how
adolescents respond to others in their cluster.
See: Field,
S. *Frank, K.A., Schiller, K, Riegle-Crumb, C, and Muller,
C. (in press) Identifying Social Contexts in Affiliation
Networks: Preserving the Duality of People and Events. Social Networks
The third project concerns the robustness of causal inferences.
How strong must be the impact of a confounding variable
to alter an inference? My paper quantifies the answer:
Impact
of a Confounding variable on a Regression Coefficient
(Frank, K. 2000. Sociological Methods and Research , 29(2),
147-194)
Now I am developing indices of robustness based on the
counterfactual and how representative a sample is (with
Kyung-Seok Min).
Mark Reckase
My research projects at this time are of two major types.
First, there is work on the development of new psychometric
methodologies. These include work in multidimensional item
response theory, with special emphasis on equating and the
estimation of scores on subsets of items, computerized adaptive
testing, evaluation of standard setting procedures, and
the design of the desired psychometric characteristics of
tests. There is also work on designing item pools for computerized
adaptive testing.
The second major type of project is the application of
testing methodology to practical educational problems. One
project focuses on determining the relationship between
teacher candidate background variables and their performance
in the classroom. This is part of a large College of Education
wide project called Teachers for a New Era. Another application
project is helping to design tests for measuring the knowledge
and skills of algebra teachers. This is part of another
large group project called Knowledge of Algebra for Teaching.
In addition to these research projects, I serve as the
editor of the psychometric journal, Applied Psychological
Measurement. Steve Viger, one of the MQM graduate students,
is the editorial assistant for the journal.
Yeow Meng Thum
My methodological investigations center on elaborating
mixed-effects modeling in the longitudinal context. One strand of this work
employed multivariate multi-cohort mixed-effects models to tracking student
achievement data in order to characterized the progress of teachers and
schools. Facilitated by this research, is a second applied strand of research
that explores the design and analysis of productivity indicators for
monitoring educational development. A third strand of work on individual
growth and change concerns the issue of unknown change-points,
join-points, or shifts in regression regimes that may signal a fundamental
change in direction/character of growth or progress in a multilevel setting.
Relevant papers include
Thum, Y. M. (2005). Covariance Structure Analysis . In Brian Everitt & David Howell (ed's.) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Statistics . Wiley.
Thum, Y. M. (2004). Some Additional Perspectives on Representing Behavioral Change and Individual Variation in Psychology. Measurement, 2 (4), 235-240 .
Thum, Y. M. (2003). No Child Left Behind: Methodological Challenges & Recommendations for Measuring Adequate Yearly Progress . CSE Technical Report 590. Los Angeles: Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing, UCLA.
Thum, Y. M. (2003). Measuring Progress towards a Goal: Estimating Teacher Productivity using a Multivariate Multilevel Model for Value-Added Analysis. Sociological Methods & Research, 32 (2), 153-207 .
Thum, Y. M. & Bhattacharya, S. K. (2001). Detecting a Change in School Performance: A Bayesian Analysis for a Multilevel Join Point Problem. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 26 (4), 443-468 .
Thum, Y. M. (1997). Hierarchical linear models for multivariate behavioral data. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 22 (1), 77-108 .
which are obtainable from my professional web-page: http://www.msu.edu/~thum/
William Schmidt
I am a principal investigator of PROM/SE, which is a comprehensive research and development effort to improve mathematics and science teaching and learning in grades K-16. Began in 2003, the five-year project is funded through a $35 million partnership agreement from the National Science Foundation.
The project involves six partners including Michigan State University and five consortia of school districts in Michigan and Ohio:
- St. Clair Regional Educational Services Agency, St. Clair County, Michigan
- Ingham Intermediate School District, Ingham County, Michigan
- Calhoun Intermediate School District, Calhoun County, Michigan
- SMART consortia, greater Cleveland, Ohio area
- High AIMS consortia, greater Cincinnati, Ohio area
The partnership's name is its goal: Promoting Rigorous Outcomes in Mathematics and Science Education. PROM/SE builds upon the foundations set by its individual partners, linking them together with some of the country's top mathematicians, scientists, and educational researchers at Michigan State University and other universities. Our aim is to create a powerful new approach to improving mathematics and science achievement for all students. PROM/SE is designed to help teachers and students meet new state and federal accountability standards while working with and within each schools particular situation.
Please see: http://promse.msu.edu
Tenko Raykov I am interested in evaluation of reliability and validity of multiple component measuring instruments, in particular in repeated measure studies, and in latent variable modeling with missing data. He is currently involved in longitudinal studies of structure and stability of AP exam scores and of depression among elderly with recent vision loss.
Kimberly Maier
I am an assistant professor in the Measurement and Quantitative Methods program and an affiliate of the Educational Policy program. My current research focuses on the application of multilevel item response theory to educational achievement measures and attitudinal surveys. I am also interested in the use of Bayesian data analysis methods for educational research, the study of gender differences in adolescent motivation in science and mathematics education, and the application of multilevel models to policy research. My current research projects as well as a list of my recent publications can be found at: http://www.msu.edu/~kmaier.
Bob Floden
Recent Publications :
Floden, R. E., & Meniketti, M. Research on the Effects of Coursework in the Arts and Sciences and in the Foundations of Education. In M. Cochran-Smith & K. M. Zeichner (Eds.), Studying Teacher Education: The Report of the AERA Panel on Research and Teacher Education . Hillsdale , NJ : Erlbaum, 2005, 261-308.
Floden, R.E. What Knowledge Users Want. In C. Conrad & R. Serlin (Eds.), The Sage Handbook for Research in Education: Engaging Ideas and Enriching Inquiry . Thousand Oaks , CA : Sage Publications, in press.
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