Research Centers and Projects
Questions swirl through the minds and hearts of graduate students, faculty, and research scientists at the School of Education. Questions grow from observations that puzzle or trouble, from uncertainty, from curiosity and wonderment—they generate a hunger to know, a desire to learn for the sakes of others.
At the School of Education, the habitual response
to a burning question is systematic inquiry. School of Education
researchers draw upon a host of quantitative and qualitative
methods to pursue important wonderings. They gather data through
surveys, tests, questionnaires, interviews, and observations.
They analyze large data sets using current technologies. 
They
engage in curriculum development and piloting, classroom experimentation,
and software development. They share their findings through
teaching, publications and newly designed products, conferences,
workshops and institutes.
School of Education research matters. To the Detroit middle school students who are using science-focused curricular materials and software developed by the Center for Highly Interactive Computing in Education. To the school and district teams of educators who have formed study groups using Every Child a Reader, written by researchers at the Center for Early Reading Achievement. To national-level policy-makers, who eagerly await the findings of the Study of Instructional Improvement. To the National Science Foundation, the Academy for American Achievement in Science, the Spencer Foundation, and the Kellogg Foundation, which have funded so many School of Education centers and projects.
Some Facts:
- A recent study by the Institute for Scientific Information found that researchers rely upon UM School of Education research more than that of any other college or school of education.
- The National Science Foundation funded three new
centers in educational study this year. The School of Education
is collaborating on two of them:
- The Center for Proficiency in Teaching Mathematics
- The Center for Curriculum Materials in Science
- School of Education research expenditures have risen from $2.2 million per year in 1990 to more than $15.9 million in 2003.
