Teach Effectively!

The What Works Clearninghouse is a potentially wonderful resource for those of us who care about communicating about those methods that produce benefits for learners. In its overview, the WWC says,

The WWC promotes informed education decision making through a set of easily accessible databases and user-friendly reports that provide education consumers with ongoing, high-quality reviews of the effectiveness of replicable educational interventions (programs, products, practices, and policies) that intend to improve student outcomes. To do this, the WWC uses standards for reviewing and synthesizing research. The WWC is currently conducting systematic reviews of existing research, and producing study, intervention, and topic reports.

Established in 2002, it has issued one report after spending most of its first years organizing and planning. That report is about middle school math curricula. I’ve got to wonder about the choice of middle school math as the first topic, but I’m glad the clearinghouse is there. What would be your first choice of topics? Other topics–beginning reading and character education, for example–are listed as up-coming foci.

The WWC will deserve attention over the next few years. Teach Effectively will be attending!