What Is Improvement Science? Do We Need It in Education?

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Title: What Is Improvement Science? Do We Need It in Education?
Abstract/Description: The theory and tools of “improvement science” have produced performance improvements in many organizational sectors. This essay describes improvement science and explores its potential and challenges within education. Potential contributions include attention to the knowledge-building and motivational systems within schools, strategies for learning from variations in practice, and focus on improvement (rather than on program adoption). Two examples of improvement science in education are examined: the Community College Pathways Networked Improvement Community and lesson study in Japan. To support improvement science use, we need to recognize the different affordances of experimental and improvement science, the varied types of knowledge that can be generalized, the value of practical measurement, and the feasibility of learning across boundaries.
Author/creator: Lewis, Catherine C.
Date: 2015
In publication: Educational Researcher
Volume: 44
Issue: 1
Pages: 54-61
Resource type: Research/Scholarly Media
Scholarship genre: en Theoretical
Keywords: mathematics education; professional development; teacher education/development; organization theory/change
IRE Approach/Concept: Lesson Study; Networked Improvement Community (NIC); Improvement Science; Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) Cycle; Practical Measures
Featured case/project: Matsuzawa Elementary School Lesson Study; Carnegie Math Pathways (CMP)
Primary national context: Japan; United States
Language: en
Open access/full-text available: en No
Peer reviewed: en Yes
ISSN: 0013-189X
DOI: 10.3102/0013189X15570388
URL: Publisher Webpage
Grant funding: Institute for Education Services (IES); National Science Foundation (NSF); Toyota Foundation
Grant number: IES Grant #R308A960003, R305A070237, and R305A110491; NSF Grant #0207259
Other related resources/entities: The Lesson Study Group
Citation: Lewis, C. (2015). What Is Improvement Science? Do We Need It in Education? Educational Researcher, 44(1), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X15570388
Cited in: The Policy Context of United States Educational Innovation and Improvement; Cross-National Research on Continuous Improvement; Critical Perspectives on Educational Innovation and Improvement Science; Equity and Improvement: Engaging Communities in Educational Research

Item sets: Oxford Bibliography: The Policy Context of United States Educational Innovation and Improvement; OB Citations - Cross National Research on Continuous Improvement; OB Citations - Critical Perspectives on Educational Innovation and Improvement Science; OB Citations - Equity and Improvement: Engaging Communities in Educational Research

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