The Department of Education recently shared a Dear Colleagues Letter, responding to technology and its use within the classroom.
One part that stood out to us is the five straightforward questions every Edtech product should be able to satisfy:
What learning problem does it solve?
When should it be used?
For whom should it be used?
For how long should it be used?
What evidence demonstrates that it improves student learning?
We have specialized in codesign research, an approach that connects Edtech developers and funders with school districts and classrooms to answer these questions.
This is at the heart of who we are and what we do
Over the last decade, we've evolved our research approach to keep pace with emerging technologies, in anticipation of this moment. We've designed novel research methods, such as Research Ready Audits, a tool to assess whether products have been responsibly designed with safety, security, and research in mind. However, as the letter states, "Responsible design is the floor. The effectiveness of any educational technology depends on the quality of the tool, the purpose for which it is used, and the conditions in which it is implemented."
To generate timely research that assesses tool quality and implementation conditions (how, where, and why it’s used), we’ve also developed a Gated Approach — a phased approach where we can nimbly gather feedback from teachers before it’s in the classroom, then introduce it to the classroom once it’s proven safe to begin testing its user-friendliness, educational use, and ultimate impact.
These approaches are essential because they balance the safe introduction of tools into classrooms with the agility needed to generate evidence to inform the district and state decisions the letter calls for.
We agree that Education technology providers have an important role to play in strengthening confidence in their products and in using data to support this. We do want to note that while RCTs are one effective method, they are not the only one. It is important that we embrace agile approaches, generating research at the same pace as technology is developing. Rather than waiting for a product to be finalized, research can play an important role in meeting developers where they are in their product development cycles, providing just-in-time data and feedback for product improvement, and offering relevant implementation guidance to share with schools. Leanlab advocates for the use of “research journeys” that pair methodology with their product development stage.
The letter also states that building public confidence and trust in education technology requires collaboration among states, school districts, educators, families, researchers, and education technology providers. We couldn’t agree more and recommend the use of testbeds, like our AGILE Network, that organize dozens of districts across multiple states to participate in studies, reducing the time to recruit classrooms and teachers in studies, while also streamlining processes that protect sensitive student data. The spirit of these networks is to engage school partners as active voices in the R&D process, vs. static research subjects, and to incentivize collaboration among state and district leadership, education, families, researchers, and technology developers alike.
So how do we, as a community, continue to move forward?
At Leanlab, we are excited to continue working with funders and developers who are looking for ways to improve their products and create real impact in the classroom. We invite developers and schools to join our networks and help build the research that meets the local demand for evidence outlined in this letter.
We ask for funders and federal grants to increase allocations toward the full spectrum of research services and research-school partnerships that help develop the relevant and rigorous research the letter calls for.
In this ever-changing, evolving technological landscape, codesign research and support must be conducted in a way that keeps humanity at the center. Leanlab is excited about the road ahead and looks forward to continuing to enhance the Edtech landscape through codesign research and support.