SEERNet is pleased to support the recent Request For Applications from IES, with proposals due February 23, 2023. SEERNet facilitates collaborations between digital learning platforms (DLPs), researchers, and education stakeholders. We have been working closely with the five DLPs in SEERNet for more than a year to understand the types of research their platforms can help advance. We have also worked with IES to understand how the SEER principles will guide strong proposals. Below, we have organized resources to help you develop a strong proposal for one of the five platforms.
The five DLPs in SEERNet offer unique opportunities for research, each with their own user populations and with different possibilities for randomization and analysis.
For insights into this:
The goal of SEERNet is to challenge the status quo in educational research by encouraging researchers to study and improve the platforms already at large-scale use, accelerated by platform supports for rapid testing and broad implementation of improvements. It also encourages researchers to ground their research questions in problems of practice. You’ll notice that these network goals are reflected in the RFA.
Consider what this means for your study concept, using the following resources as a starting point.
The field of education research grapples with the challenges of ensuring that what’s addressed in research is also timely, relevant, and of high value to practitioners and policy makers. Consider how your study concept is grounded in the needs of teachers, schools, and school systems. You might directly consult with stakeholders on problems of practice. One opportunity to do so is the Office Hours initiative which brings researchers, practitioners, and platform developers together to envision the future of research.
IES’ SEER Standards define high quality education research. Researchers who follow these standards help ensure that research is rigorous, transparent, actionable, inclusive, and focused on consequential impacts. Think about how your study will meet these standards. To support your thinking:
The best way to stay informed about what’s happening with SEERNet is to register for our updates. Through our updates, you’ll get the latest information on convenings, digital learning platform updates, and other ways you can get involved in the work of catalyzing research at scale. Sign up here. Also, follow us on Twitter.
This project is supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305N210034 to Digital Promise. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.