Hello, all,
Here are a couple of excerpts from reviews.
From Library Journal 1 Feb. 2005
Friedman claims to have written this book to help teachers, administrators, and
parents make decisions based on facts instead of common sense. The result is
neither outstanding nor awful; public and academic libraries might consider, but
this is certainly not essential.-Mark Bay, Cumberland Coll. Lib.,
teacher-librarian as technology leader; Loertscher, David
Teacher Librarian 10-01-2006
EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION: A HANDBOOK OF EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGIES
Myles 1. Friedman, Diane H. Harwell, and Katherine C. Schnepel
For a major review of research on instructional strategies, Friedman, Harwell, and
Schnepel have assembled a hefty volume of teaching practices that have at least 50
favorable research studies supporting their effectiveness but not necessarily their
efficiency. This collection brings to mind the books by Robert J. Marzano known as
the What Works series (www.ascd.org) that have been so popular. Although this
volume is not as teacher-friendly as Marzano's series, it is worthy of analysis.
This book lists 21 foundational strategies, several promising ones, and a few
practices to avoid. The problem is that the strategies are not clearly stated;
rather, each is embedded in a chapter that requires some study to understand. If
stated more succinctly-and in an overview at the beginning-a classroom teacher
could get the big ideas quickly and then delve into the meat of the idea as needed.
Here is sampling of the translated principles:
1. Use graphic organizers.
2. Use repetition as you teach content ideas, and have students practice the skills
taught.
3. Teach learners to understand the task fully and to find ways to complete the
assignments.
4. Help learners transfer learning from what they now know to new tasks that they
encounter.
5. Provide ample time to learn.
6. Reteach as needed when students fail to achieve.
7. Keep pupil-teacher ratios to no higher than 21-to-1.
This work is most useful as a book for those who do professional development,
rather than as a book that a teacher frequently consults-that is, they can
incorporate ideas from this book as they design workshops and personal
consultations. Teacher-librarians can integrate the suggestions into instructional
improvement initiatives. (Institute for Evidence-Based Decision-Making in
Education, 2006. 840 pp. $145.00. 0-9666588-4-1.)
Bottom line: Purchase for larger professional collections and district collections.
Lynn Foltz, Upper School Librarian
Sanford School
Hockessin, DE
foltzl@sanfordschool.org
________________________________
From: School Library Media & Network Communications on behalf of Shonda Brisco
Sent: Thu 11/2/2006 3:58 PM
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: [LM_NET] TAR: Validity of library research
Will someone purchase the book and let us know what it contains, so that we
know what "isn't" working? Perhaps we need to eliminate a LOT of studies
and reports that we now base our professional reputation (and federal
funding) on.
If anyone reads the book, I'd be interested in knowing what it contains.
(If you can't afford it, you might check some of the university library
online catalogs to see who in your area owns a copy. It might make a great
read...and it would give you an idea of who has or hasn't purchased it!)
~Shonda
On 11/2/06, Bettie Fisher <fisherbet@charter.net> wrote:
>
> I considered that he is only one person, and while I checked his
> credentials enough to see what is educational and work background are,
> all that tells me is he appears to be a legitimate researcher. Yes,
> EDIE is his organization, but again, I don't think that is enough to
> make a judgment one way or another. If the strategies in his book are
> valid by his definition of rigor and number of studies, and if our
> research doesn't meet his requirements, then are ours insufficiently
> rigorous? If not, can we improve them? Or, if his work isn't valued
> by the educational community, why? I just think there are lots of
> questions here that cast doubt on the research I've depended on. I'd
> be happy to be proven unjustified in my concerns.
>
> Bettie Fisher
> Media Specialist
> fisherb@aaps.k12.mi.us
> Eberwhite Elementary School
> Ann Arbor, MI 48103
>
>
> On Nov 2, 2006, at 1:04 PM, Shonda Brisco wrote:
>
> > First of all, he is only ONE person doing research. Second, the EDIE
> > (Institute for Evidence-Based Decision-Making in Education) was
> > created by
> > Myles Friedman (did a background check on the website using the same
> > techniques that I teach freshmen in determining a website's point of
> > view,
> > etc.), so perhaps the research is biased---and since you've been sent
> > the
> > email from EDIE about the book, this makes it more likely to be a
> > small-publication house promoting its few titles. (You can only
> > purchase it
> > through EDIE---from what I've discovered by searching the ISBN
> > online---so
> > perhaps it's a minor publication done by one individual who did his own
> > research with a myopic view of the entire educational process.)
> >
> > By the way, you can call Dr. Friedman at his home in South Carolina at
> > 803-782-8966 ...I'll send a Google Earth image of his home too, if
> > you'd
> > like! :)
> >
> >
> > ~Shonda
> >
> >
> > On 11/2/06, Bettie Fisher <fisherbet@charter.net> wrote:
> >>
> >> Dear Colleagues,
> >> I received an ad through my school e-mail for a book entitled
> >> Effective Instruction: a Handbook of Evidence-Based Strategies by
> >> Myles
> >> Friedman, Diane H. Harwell and Katherine C. Schnepel. The title
> >> intrigued me so I went to the website to look into it further. This
> >> link ( http://www.edieinstitute.net/toc_ei.html ) takes you to the
> >> Table of Contents. When I saw that libraries were not included in the
> >> strategies, I e-mailed the EDIE, the Institute for Evidence-Based
> >> Decision-Making in Education to suggest they should consider looking
> >> at
> >> the library research for inclusion in future publications. I included
> >> a
> >> link to Library Research Services so he could see the accumulated
> >> studies connecting libraries to academic achievement. Seemed to me to
> >> be a good way for our research to get out beyond us. I received a
> >> response from Dr. Friedman stating that while they appreciate and
> >> support libraries, their research does not support our assertion that
> >> good libraries and qualified librarians make a positive difference in
> >> student achievement. They require "50 rigorously conducted research
> >> studies" that any strategy works. He also asserts that while there
> >> are
> >> lots of studies, they aren't rigorous and that only a few show a small
> >> connection between libraries and academic achievement.
> >> In looking at his website, it would appear that Dr. Friedman
> >> is a
> >> legitimate researcher. If so, and if his assertions are correct, what
> >> does that say about the research we use and depend on concerning the
> >> value of libraries and librarians to academic achievement? How can we
> >> ever hope to reach a broader community than ourselves if our research
> >> isn't respected? I frequently share our research with other teachers
> >> and administrators trying to educate them on the importance of our
> >> contribution. If it's not true, I need to stop.
> >> I have been thinking a lot lately that administrators often
> >> seem to
> >> make decisions based on finances and that what any school community
> >> should be doing is looking at the research and basing decisions first
> >> on what is best for student achievement. It seems to me that schools
> >> bear a responsibility to be the example that does that. But what if
> >> the research is faulty? I'm opening this up to our LM_NET community
> >> for discussion, and hopefully, to ultimately learn that our research
> >> is
> >> sound.
> >>
> >> Thanks everyone.
> >>
> >>
> >> Bettie Fisher
> >> Media Specialist
> >> fisherb@aaps.k12.mi.us
> >> Eberwhite Elementary School
> >> Ann Arbor, MI 48103
> >>
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> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Shonda Brisco, MLIS
> > Technology Librarian /
> > Independent Library Consultant
> > Fort Worth, Texas
> > sbrisco@gmail.com
> >
> > --------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
>
--
Shonda Brisco, MLIS
Technology Librarian /
Independent Library Consultant
Fort Worth, Texas
sbrisco@gmail.com
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