A rich and dynamic program of on-site and virtual professional development and training courses will be offered at the 2015 Annual Meeting in Chicago. The 27 courses provide training in specific research methods and skills, cover significant research issues in related fields and disciplines, emphasize specialized areas, address professional development issues, focus on research for the improvement of practice, and examine recent methodological and substantive developments in education research.
Two courses will be streamed live through the AERA Virtual Research Learning Center. “Improving Skills of School Leaders in Using Data to Drive Improvement: Building on a Tested District Model” (PDC07) will help K–12 school leaders and practitioners develop the skills to use data and methods of research and evaluation to make decisions. This extended course will provide a series of modules to address current school improvement issues.
“New Weighting Methods for Causal Mediation Analysis” (PDC17), presented by Guanglei Hong of the University of Chicago and Jonah Deutsch of Mathematica, will focus on ratio-of-mediator-probability weighting (RMPW). Both courses will feature live in-person and virtual audiences with a recording available after the Annual Meeting.
The full roster of courses addresses statistical techniques such as HLM, sensitivity analysis, propensity score matching, and meta-analysis. Some courses emphasize large-scale data sets such as NAEP, TIMMS, and PISA. Many courses focus on narrative inquiry, coding of qualitative data, video analysis, and other qualitative research methods and practices. Others are designed to enhance skills and knowledge among advanced graduate students and early career scholars and address topics such as developing textbooks, academic writing, and publishing.
The program was crafted after consideration of more than 50 submissions through a competitive review process.