VCU news

By Leila Ugincius

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded grants to Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education professors totaling $3,089,017.

The Institute of Education Sciences awarded Kevin Sutherland, Ph.D., $1.49 million over three years, and Lisa Abrams, Ph.D., and Therese A. Dozier, Ed.D., $399,017 over two years. Additionally, the Office of Special Education Programs awarded Colleen Thoma, Ph.D., $1.2 million over five years.

"These awards, which were obtained following a competitive process, represent the broad reach of the VCU School of Education and our faculty,” said Deborah Speece, Ph.D., associate dean of research and faculty development in the School of Education. “They provide the investigators a means to address the critical linkages between practice and research, which is a focus for us. These grants will allow our faculty to prepare a new cohort of doctoral students who can connect research with disability policy, study how teachers use data to improve their instruction, and learn how to best extend an evidence-based practice from preschool classrooms to elementary school classrooms."

Sutherland, professor of special education and disability policy, and co-investigators Bryce McLeod, Ph.D., of the VCU Department of Psychology in the College of Humanities and Sciences, and Maureen Conroy, Ph.D., of the University of Florida, will use the funds to expand BEST in CLASS — a program for young children in early childhood classrooms who exhibit chronic problem behavior — into early elementary school classrooms (K-2).

“BEST in CLASS has demonstrated very promising results in a multisite cluster randomized controlled trial, particularly related to the reduction in problem behavior and improved task engagement, among young children with chronic problem behavior,” Sutherland said. “BEST in CLASS-Elementary will extend this program into early elementary school, and this project will allow us to adapt BEST in CLASS to better meet the developmental, behavioral and academic needs of young students in K-2 who are exhibiting problem behaviors early in school.”

The funds will allow the investigators to adapt the intervention in year one, pilot test the intervention in year two and conduct a randomized controlled trial in year three in order to test the efficacy of the model.

“Our ultimate goal is to improve teacher-student interactions and relationships in these classrooms, both of which are linked to improved student outcomes,” Sutherland said. “We’re thrilled that we have an opportunity to take what we’ve learned about implementing this promising program in early childhood settings and adapt it for use in elementary school settings.”

The IES grant awarded to Dozier, associate professor and director of the Center for Teacher Leadership, and Abrams, associate professor and chair of the Department of Foundations of Education, reflects a broader effort in the educational research community to invest in research that is closely connected to the daily work of elementary and secondary school educators and can positively impact teaching and learning. Nancy Hoover, Ph.D., director of research for Chesterfield County Schools, is co-principal investigator.

Their project, “META Researchers and Practitioners in Partnership to Enhance Data Use Practice that Improves Student Learning” involves the Metropolitan Educational Training Alliance partnership, which consists of VCU and the public schools in Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico. The proposed project will conduct research in the META partnership divisions to strategically address the capacity of teachers to use assessment data.

“This grant will help support one of the first efforts of the META partnership to conduct research on a shared problem of practice,” Dozier said. “Like the majority of the school systems nationwide, the META school divisions are focused on using data to support reform and school improvement efforts and to shape administrative and instructional decisions to encourage improved student outcomes.

“Winning this award is the first step to establishing a joint research program among the META school divisions with the aim of conducting research that is directly tied to instructional practice.  Receiving the award is an exciting opportunity to conduct research and develop tools and other support that will make a difference for teachers by expanding the skills that they bring to their classrooms to help improve student learning.”

The OSEP grant awarded to Thoma, professor and chair of the Department of Special Education and Disability Policy, will provide funding for 10 doctoral students interested in focusing on Research to Disability Policy Advocacy.  As coordinator of the doctoral program, Sutherland is co-director of this project.  The RTPA doctoral training program will address the paucity of knowledgeable faculty in the area of disability policy from three perspectives: scholars with experience in disability policy work at the national and/or state levels who need to develop skills in teaching, research, and state or local community-engaged service; scholars with experience as practitioners at the state or local school level who need to develop knowledge and skills in the development of relevant national legislation and regulatory promulgation; and all scholars who need to understand the implication of national and state policies on the education of children and youth in high-need urban settings.

“The majority of the funding is earmarked for student support such as tuition, fees, stipend, travel and technology/resources,” Thoma said. “The project begins in the fall 2015 semester, with the majority of our efforts on student recruitment. Funding is highly competitive, and is based on the strength of the proposal, the quality of the doctoral program and our past success in graduating scholars who have gone on to work in higher education.”