Purdue University
College of Education
faculty members are actively involved in on-going research and development initiatives in areas related to education.  This page lists some of the endeavors that are currently underway.

For more information about Research in Education, please contact the College of Education via email at info@education.purdue.edu or contact any of the Education Faculty listed here.

Video:

• Case Studies for Kids (WMV 512 kbps)
• P3T3 e-Portfolio (WMV 512 kbps)

P3T3 -- Purdue Program for Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to use Technology
With the assistance of a $1.1 million Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) grant from the U.S. Department of Education, one of 122 awarded nationwide, this project will:  (1) Prepare teacher education faculty in Purdue's Colleges of Education, Science, and Liberal Arts to teach pre-service teachers in technology-rich environments, modeling approaches that future teachers should use themselves;  (2) Prepare pre-service teachers to demonstrate fundamental technology competencies, using technology as a tool for teaching / learning, personal productivity, communication, and reflection on their teaching.
(James Lehman, David O'Brien)

Assessment Research Center Projects:

Documenting Indicators of Academic Standards
DIAS 2000 is a standards-based assessment tool that will be freely available to Indiana teachers through a secure account on the World Wide Web. DIAS 2000 provides teachers with a systematic way of judging their students' progress on Indiana's Academic standards for English/language arts, math, science, or social studies. It can be used effectively in any K-12 class setting that incorporates Indiana's Academic Standards in the curriculum. DIAS 2000 can also be used as an alternate assessment for some students who have mild disabilities, if their case conference committee determines that the ISTEP+ is not appropriate. (Deborah Bennett)

The Indiana Assessment System of Educational Proficiencies
IASEP is a multidimensional, computer- based assessment system that has been developed to measure the educational progress of students with more significant disabilities.  (Deborah Bennett)

IASEP Data Security Project
The data security component of this project is working to address the concerns of confidentiality, privacy, integrity, and availability of the data-management systems being utilized in this educational setting. This web site is focused on the security features of the project.  (Deborah Bennett)

Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder, AD/HD
(Sydney Zentall)

The BioScope Initiative
The BioScope Initiative is a National Science Foundation grant project that strives to produce standards-based, dynamic, innovative CD-ROMs for use in middle school and high school classrooms.  It is a partnership between the College of Education, College of Science, Veterinary Medicine, College of Agriculture, and middle and high school classroom biology teachers. Experienced teachers, scientists, and educators come up with the content.  Computer programmers, graphics artists, and educators actualize this content.  The BioScope CD-ROMs are web-based, which allows them to be updated with current developments and information.  Emphasis is placed on providing students with real-life applications and examples of scientific knowledge.
(Gerald Krockover and David Eichinger)

Classroom Video Conferencing and Network Research
-- Education Office of Information Technology

ENVISION
ENVISION is an environmental science institute designed to prepare middle school leadership teams that are knowledgeable of: science concepts and issues; inquiry skills for investigating environmental issues; curricular, pedagogical, and assessment practices for teaching science within studies of local environmental issues; and ways to develop educational partnerships with local government, industry, and business.
(Dan Shepardson and Jon Harbor)

The Purdue Literacy Collaborative
The Literacy Collaborative (LC) is a school-wide literacy program designed to increase the literacy achievement of all students in the primary grades K-2 or intermediate grades 3-6. First, Literacy Collaborative provides a dynamic framework for literacy learning that connects reading and writing. It also develops local capacity by training a building-level literacy coordinator.

Professional Development Schools
A Professional Development School is an elementary, middle, or high school that works in partnership with a university and other PDS sites to develop and demonstrate: exemplary learning programs for diverse students, practical, thought-provoking preparation for novice teachers, new understandings and professional responsibilities for experienced educators, and research projects that add to all educators’ knowledge about how to make schools more productive.
(See Web Site For Contacts)

Reading Recovery at Purdue University
Reading Recovery is an early intervention literacy program that helps first-grade children develop the effective strategies and problem-solving processes used by successful learners. 
(Maribeth Schmitt)

The Spencer Foundation
The research project, An Exploratory Study of Children’s Mathematical Reasoning and Understanding in Different Classroom Environments, funded by the Spencer Foundation is an initial examination of the relationship of different classroom environments, identified as 1) conventional, 2) reform-oriented ‘strategy reporting’, and 3) reform-oriented ‘inquiry and argument’, and children’s mathematical reasoning.  This project is being conducted in collaboration with researcher Betsy McNeal at the Ohio State University.
(Terry Wood)

Pets and Classroom Learning
In collaboration with the Center for the Human-Animal Bond in the College of Veterinary Medicine, research is underway to analyze the presence and uses of pet animals in classrooms. Inquiry into the moral dimensions of teaching and learning, as well as aspects of the biophilia hypothesis, are central to this research.
(A. G. Rud)

Teachers Encouraging a Love for Literature
TELL is an organization which brings teachers, librarians, and scholars together to discuss children's literature and its place in the world of the child.  TELL believes that children should be exposed to literature that reflects their communal experiences, expands their appreciation for diverse literacy patterns, and encourages them to evaluate what they read and hear in meaningful ways.
(Jill May)

Vision Quest
VisionQuest is a teacher development multimedia tool designed to help educators envision and achieve integrated technology use. The VisionQuest CD-ROM features the classroom practices and technology integration visions of six teachers from across Indiana. It is designed to support users' reflections on both the underlying beliefs and classroom strategies that enable examplary technology use.
(Peg Ertmer)