The studies
Reviewed · 1 min read
Every grade on this site rests on the studies in this table. Each row says what kind of study it was, who was studied, what it was compared with, what it found, and where it falls short. Filter by grade band, subject, design or principle.
How to read the design column, and why a correlation never earns a grade, is explained on How we grade the evidence.
This is the seed of a larger database. The plan is to add every randomized trial of a classroom practice in K–12, with the same columns, so that a reader never has to go to a second site to check a claim. New studies are logged monthly and reviewed quarterly; see Keeping it current.
4 of 46 studies
- Design
- Meta-analysis
- Grade bands
- K–2, 3–5, 6–8, 9–12, adult
- Subjects
- general
- Sample
- 164 studies
- Compared with
- Unassisted discovery vs explicit teaching; enhanced discovery vs other methods
- Found
- Explicit teaching beat unassisted discovery; guided or enhanced discovery beat other methods.
- Limits
- Includes adult and university studies; "enhanced discovery" is broad.
- Principles
- Design
- Randomized trial
- Grade bands
- 3–5
- Subjects
- Science
- Sample
- 112 third and fourth graders
- Compared with
- Direct instruction vs discovery learning of experiment design
- Found
- 77% mastered fair-test design after direct instruction vs 23% by discovery; transfer was equal for those who mastered it.
- Limits
- Single lab-style study; short task.
- Principles
- Design
- Review or practice guide
- Grade bands
- K–2, 3–5, 6–8, 9–12
- Subjects
- general
- Sample
- Review of classroom applications of cognitive science
- Compared with
- —
- Found
- Classroom evidence is thinner than lab evidence; multi-strategy programs tested at scale often showed small effects; little early-years evidence.
- Limits
- Review, not pooled estimates.
- Design
- Meta-analysis
- Grade bands
- 6–8, 9–12, adult
- Subjects
- Math, Science
- Sample
- 53 studies
- Compared with
- Instruction first
- Found
- Problem solving before instruction helped conceptual understanding, mostly for secondary and university students, less for primary.
- Limits
- Contested; applies to students who already have the basics.
- Principles