Research Publications
MVLRI’s research provides a foundation to examine, engage and explore educational practices in the industry.
MVLRI is dedicated to taking education techniques to the next level. We believe that with proper research, the ways we learn can continue to evolve to strengthen our futures.
Engaging Teachers in Professional Development through Online Book Studies
Extended professional development (PD) is the gold standard for educators; however, given school budgetary and time constraints, it is also the most difficult form of PD. Together with the Michigan Department of Education, Michigan Virtual sought an on-going PD solution that would engage teachers throughout a given time frame but also be low-cost and asynchronous so teachers could fully participate when it was most convenient for them. The solution was an online book study. The following report details the characteristics of the three online book studies, as well as the evolution from early pilot phases to full district roll-outs. It also details the successes and challenges from both Michigan Virtual and the district partner’s perspective.
Racial and Economic Diversity Trends in Virtual Charter Schools: An Analysis of National Enrollment Data, 2015-16
This study analyzes national and state enrollment data to examine racial and economic diversity in virtual charter schools (VCS). This report examines 2015-16 national enrollment data to understand the differences in total virtual charter school enrollments and school demographics in each state. Instead of comparing enrollments to national averages, this report compares enrollments to the states with virtual charter schools only and also compares enrollments within each state to statewide populations of traditional public and charter school students.
Learning Trajectories in Online Mathematics Courses
Present research has devoted attention to a long-standing problem: how to better serve students who take K-12 online mathematics courses by investigating learner subgroups based on their semester-long learning trajectories. Mixture growth modeling was used to examine month-by-month scores students earned by completing assignments. The best-fitting model suggested four distinct subgroups representing (1) nearly linear growth, (2) exponential growth, (3) hardly any growth, (4) and early rapid growth. Follow-up analyses demonstrated that two different types of successful trajectories were more likely associated with advanced level courses, such as AP or Calculus courses, and foundation courses, such as Algebra and Geometry, were with the unpromising trajectory. Given those results, implications for practitioners and researchers were discussed from the perspective of self-regulated online learning and evidence-based mathematics instructional practices.
Exploring Preparation and Support for K-12 Online Teachers
A recent nationwide study revealed that very few teacher education programs are preparing K-12 online teachers for success in the online learning environment (Archambault et al., 2016), which leaves virtual schools with the need to provide their own preparation and support for new online instructors. To paint a picture of K-12 online teacher preparation and support, this case study examined ways in which eight virtual K-12 teachers were prepared and supported for their roles. Findings revealed commonalities in the expectations for and challenges facing K-12 online teachers and the types of professional learning opportunities and support available to K-12 online teachers. This report offers recommendations to help virtual schools and K-12 districts strengthen professional learning and support for K-12 online teachers.
Michigan's K-12 Virtual Learning Effectiveness Report, 2016-17
Based on pupil completion and performance data reported by public schools to MDE or CEPI, this report highlights 2016-17 enrollment totals, completion rates, and the overall impact of virtual courses on K-12 pupils. Detailed findings are presented in sections on schools, courses, and students as well as through over 50 data tables at the end of the report.
Virtual School Course Design: Accommodating Students With Disabilities
An adequate, sustainable force of educators with strong preparation for working with students with disabilities has been difficult to secure in traditional settings; that shortage exists in online settings as well. While there are nascent understandings about instructor work with students with disabilities in K-12 online settings, understanding about course design for diverse learners, including those with disabilities, is lacking.
Exploring the Impact of Student-, Instructor-, and Course-level Factors on Student Learning in Online English Language and Literature Courses
The number of K-12 students taking online courses has increased tremendously over the past few years. However, while most current research in online learning focuses either on comparing its overall effectiveness with traditional learning or examining perceptions or interactions using self-reported data, scant research has looked into online design elements and students’ learning outcome in K-12 settings. This report seeks to explore how the combination of three main online education components—student, instructor, and course design—contribute to students’ online learning success in high school English language and literature courses.
Examining Online Research in Higher Education: What Can We Replicate in K-12?
One of the best ways for practitioners and scholars to understand what is already known in a field is to undertake a review of the existing literature. The existing literature related to K-12 distance, online and blended learning is still developing. This report seeks to describe a series of studies that have been conducted with adult populations that may be of particular interest to researchers and practitioners in the K-12 distance, online, and blended environments.
Public Awareness and Views of K-12 Online Learning in Michigan 2017
From September 20 to 27, 2017, Public Sector Consultants Inc. (PSC), on behalf of Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute, conducted surveys with 800 Michigan adults and 400 college students (88% from Michigan). These surveys were part of ongoing public opinion research conducted by Michigan Virtual to better understand the opinions, preferences, and beliefs of Michigan residents about online learning opportunities for high school students in the state.
K-12 Blended Teaching Readiness: Phase 1-Instrument Development
The adoption of blended learning in K-12 schools is on the rise. With this growth in demand for blended learning, there is a greater need to prepare teachers who can facilitate successful learning in these environments. In order for educator preparation programs, districts, and schools to conduct effective professional development for future blended teachers, the unique competencies of blended teaching need to be identified. This study reports on Phase 1 of a project intended to create a scientifically validated, openly-available blended teaching readiness instrument that can be freely used by districts, schools, and individual teachers to assess core knowledge and skills needed for successful blended teaching.
Helping Online Students Be Successful: Parental Engagement
Although policies aimed at increasing graduation rates in the United States can be divisive and politically charged, it is almost universally agreed upon that parental engagement will be a critical element in the solution. Unfortunately, the failure rates in online courses are higher than those found in traditional courses. While any solution will be complex, it is likely that parents will play a critical role, just as they have in face-to-face contexts.
The Changing Roles of Educators Series: The Data Specialist
This study, the fourth in a series examining the shifts in the roles and responsibilities of K-12 educators as a result of evolving instructional models, focuses on data specialists who help to analyze data and provide just-in-time information to fellow educators to help improve learning outcomes in their school or district. The aim of this study is to better understand the ways in which data specialists, or analysts, inform instructional and other educational practices, as well as to understand their mindsets when working with others to help them incorporate data into their practice. The study also touches on the potential benefits that data specialists anticipate by incorporating data analysis into learning environments.
Course Engagement Patterns in Mathematics and Non-Mathematics Courses
MVLRI® has launched a series of quantitative research reports exploring characteristics of students in state virtual school courses, specifically focused on those who took courses for credit recovery (CR). The final report of this series was to extend the work exploring learning profiles to other subject areas most frequently taken by credit recovery (CR) students: Algebra 1, English Language & Literature 9, and U.S. History & Geography 1. We discussed clustering results as a way of providing data-driven benchmarks for the optimal course behavior patterns, which may be used by instructors and course mentors for guidance in monitoring students’ progress.
District-Level Blended Learning Implementation: Readiness Points and Challenges
Serving as a capacity-builder throughout the state, Michigan Virtual engaged in a multi-year partnership with four school districts with the intent to accelerate blended and personalized learning in each unique district. This report examines the readiness and challenges of each school district as teachers, district leaders, and the Michigan Virtual team worked to systematically implement effective blended learning strategies. The goal of this study was to understand multiple stakeholders’ readiness points and challenges when they began to implement blended learning and to share the findings in a way that could help move the field forward.
Exploring Patterns of Time Investment in Courses Using Time Series Clustering Analysis
MVLRI® has launched a series of quantitative research reports exploring characteristics of students in state virtual school courses, specifically focused on those who took courses for credit recovery (CR). Among the two types of behavioral indicators, namely attempted scores and the number of minutes spent in the learning management system (LMS) on a weekly basis, the current report presented results from exploring the latter, the variable of academic time. The method of time series clustering partitioned data of weekly totals of minutes in the LMS into groups based on differences or similarities among data points, and in turn generated learning profiles. Interpretations of clustering results enhance our understanding of students’ academic learning time in virtual courses and any association between the time investment pattern and learning outcomes.
Growth Modeling with LMS Data: Data Preparation, Plotting, and Screening
MVLRI® has led various types of quantitative research over recent years. Those studies capitalized on data from the learning management system (LMS) and employed diverse analytic approaches in order to enhance our understanding of topics ranging from class size to students’ engagement patterns in courses. Those resources provide stakeholders opportunities to use the information and knowledge shared in these reports to extract, analyze, and interpret data to better track students’ learning activities, understand learners’ behavior in online courses, and identify their needs. In line with this idea, MVLRI launched a new project that focused on growth modeling. This report describes practical preliminary steps prior to fitting the LMS data into the growth model.
Examining Credit Recovery Learning Profile from Time-Series Clustering Analysis
The second report in the Credit Recovery series—Examining Credit Recovery Learning Profile from Time-Series Clustering Analysis—examines student learning behaviors in the first part of Algebra 2 courses. The ways that students engaged in coursework is targeted with two types of behavioral indicators, namely students’ attempted scores and the number of minutes spent in the learning management system (LMS) on a weekly basis.
The Changing Roles of Educators Series: The Instructional Technologist
This study, the third in a series examining the shifts in the roles and responsibilities of K-12 educators as a result of evolving instructional models, focuses on instructional technologists. The aim of this study is to better understand the ways in which instructional technologists conceptualize their work, the approaches they employ when supporting teachers through the process of technology integration, and the ways they think about the evolution of their field of work.
Virtual Schools in the U.S.: Case Studies of Policy, Performance, and Research Evidence
In this new report, entitled Virtual Schools in the U.S.: Case Studies of Policy, Performance, and Research Evidence, the authors describe the enrollment, student characteristics, and performance of virtual and blended schools in each state, discuss the research related to virtual and blended school characteristics and outcomes, and examine recent legislative activities pertaining to virtual and blended schools. This new research effort adds to our current understanding of virtual schools by highlighting areas that are consistent with findings identified in the national report as well as noting instances where national trends may inaccurately describe state-level activity.
iEducator 21st Century Digital Learning Corps: Blended Learning & Teaching
The Blended Learning & Teaching report, the fourth in the four-part series, begins at the launch of the iEds’ second year of training and focuses on their immersion in blended teaching and learning.
Categories
- Ai (4)
- Blended Teaching & Learning (14)
- Effective Practices in Online Learning (22)
- Effectiveness Reports (12)
- Mentoring (7)
- Michigan (44)
- Motivation & Social Emotional Learning (6)
- Online Teaching and Professional Development (21)
- Program Evaluation / Quality / Policy (27)
- Research in Review (11)
- Special Populations (13)
- Student Centered Learning (10)
- Student Pacing (10)