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Federal, state, and local requirements - and your own high standards as an education professional - demand that the resources you use be based on sound research. When you turn to Agile Mind, you can be confident you are getting authoritative resources that are built through a rigorous participatory process and are based on research, practice, and empirical data. All Agile Mind programs have been through intensive testing and expert review. They are based on current research conducted in conjunction with leaders at the Charles A. Dana Center and the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study group (BSCS), with nationally respected experts on assessment and coaching, and with other experts in mathematics and science instruction and professional development. Our Research PartnersThe Agile Mind system is grounded in the Charles A. Dana Center's years of research and experience nurturing high achievement in mathematics and science. Our work builds on Dana Center studies of high-performing, high-poverty schools and districts, including schools with exemplary high-enrollment AP calculus programs for traditionally underserved students. The products of the Center's work, which include the Advanced Placement Program® Mathematics Vertical Teams Toolkit and the Advanced Placement Capacity Assessment Tool (both developed for the College Board), have set the standard of excellence for supporting successful AP programs. The Dana Center serves as lead author of the instructional content in our middle school, high school, AP®, and Academic Youth Development services in mathematics Read more about Agile Mind's collaboration with the Charles A. Dana Center. The design of the Agile Mind AP® support system builds on the work of Philip Uri Treisman, professor of mathematics and of public affairs at The University of Texas at Austin and executive director of the Charles A. Dana Center. In particular, it draws on his early research at the University of California at Berkeley investigating the factors that support minority student high achievement in calculus. While the Dana Center is responsible for the focus on alignment to state and national standards and for the development of rich formative assessments, The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study group (BSCS) serves as lead author of the instructional content in our high-school biology services. BSCS, nationally recognized for its excellence in science education, is a nonprofit corporation that endeavors to improve all students' understanding of science and technology by developing exemplary curricular materials, supporting their widespread and effective use, and providing professional development. The BSCS Center for Research and Evaluation designs and conducts studies that contribute to the knowledge base of curriculum reform and provide evidence of the effectiveness of instructional materials, science teaching, and professional development programs. The Silicon Valley Mathematics Initiative and the First in Math Consortium, both centered around high performance expectations, ongoing professional development, examining student work, and improved math instruction, are major research-based initiatives that include formative and summative performance assessment systems, pedagogical content coaching, and leadership training and networks. David Foster, the executive director of these programs, is coauthor of our middle school mathematics services and an advisor to our work on formative assessment. In addition, Agile Mind research and development benefit directly from the support of: The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Our Research Base All Agile Mind services are built upon research, practice, and empirical data, including:
Ongoing Research and DevelopmentAgile Mind uses ongoing research to support continuous improvement of our internet-delivered services. We work with our research partners and with a community of scholars and educators nationwide to apply qualitative and quantitative research to the systematic improvement of the services' curriculum content, student support, and teacher professional development. Our ultimate goal is to enhance the capacity of schools to offer advanced mathematics and science courses to all students. Evidence for UsersOur internet-delivered services enable teachers and students to know very specifically how learning is progressing. The system provides educators with aggregate data so that they can evaluate at a glance-in real time-the performance of individual students and groups of students. This feature takes the burden of mechanical work off the teacher. It makes student performance-rather than the logistics of tracking whether students have done their work-the central information a teacher receives. Students, too, can take responsibility for the success of their learning, because they receive detailed data about their work in real time. Share the experiences of educators and students currently using Agile Mind services. Contact us to learn more about specific research outcomes. |
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