Moving Knowledge Forward by Strengthening the Evidence in Empirical Research
Authors: Daniel Heck, Iris Weiss, Barbara Miller, Sean Smith

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5. Conclusions

Empirical literature in key areas of interest to the MSPs currently provides evidence that can be characterized as existence proofs of effects that can result from whole programs of interventions. MSPs and the broader field can advance knowledge in these key areas by addressing specific gaps in the current empirical knowledge base, including:

  1. Efficacy of programs through comparison group designs;

  2. Generalizability of results through study of interventions with participants representing broader populations of teachers,

  3. Replicability of interventions delivered by providers other than the developers in contexts broader than the context of their original development,

  4. Investigation using systematic variations in treatment or naturalistic variations in participation to examine effects of specific strategies,

  5. Measurement of outcomes using some common instruments across studies, so that studies can be combined to examine effects of specific strategies or combinations of strategies, and can be compared to examine relative effectiveness of interventions for different aspects of important outcomes.