A deeper examination...

Welcome back to ETS Praxis’s three-part interview series with Senior Research Scientist Dr. Geoffrey Phelps on how ETS is approaching its research collaboration with Study.com.

Part 1 covered what attracted Dr. Phelps and his team to Keys to the Classroom. In this new segment, Dr. Phelps discusses what he finds so exciting about mounting an in-depth study of the program – and how this work might impact the future of education.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Broader research interests

"Keys to the Classroom...is a true social justice initiative from Study.com."

Praxis Editorial Team: Broadly speaking, what interests your team about Study.com and Keys to the Classroom?

Geoffrey Phelps: Study.com offers a lot of study opportunities across many resources. The Praxis resources are just a small set. But even there, the way Study.com is set up is that it is a program that an individual can identify and say, “I need some support,” go sign up for it, and participate in the program.

What is unique about Keys to the Classroom is, it is a true social justice initiative from Study.com. They are supporting the program. They are subsidizing it. They are making it available through local EPPs, through other local mechanisms, to prospective teachers who need the support, and so that move to make it accessible is an important feature of Keys.

Praxis Editorial Team: What is the high-level scope of the research study involving Study.com and Keys to the Classroom?

Geoffrey Phelps: We don't have great evidence on how using programs like Study.com impacts somebody's ability to pass their Praxis test or has an impact on their learning so that they understand the content better and can perform better on the Praxis tests.

Identifying core issues

"We are particularly interested in how candidates who previously were not able to pass Praxis perform when they retake after using Study.com."

Praxis Editorial Team: What core issue do you hope to uncover?

This study is a relatively small sample of a group of participants in Keys for the Classroom and how they use that program: if how they engage with it is associated with their learning and their ability to pass Praxis. That's a very important outcome for anybody to understand if you want to invest in a program that's going to have an impact on a set of important teaching competencies, which is what Praxis measures, or the critical foundational competencies for teaching a subject.

Praxis Editorial Team: Are there any significant parameters that you're using to guide your research?

Geoffrey Phelps: Because we want to understand how using the program is associated with learning and eventually passing, we're just looking at candidates who create an account in Study.com through their Keys program but then actually go forward and make a minimal reasonable use of the program. They're not just creating an account, but they're going in; they're engaging with the course materials; they're engaging with at least a number of lessons; they're engaging with the diagnostic materials so that they have an opportunity to actually learn from the program.

Praxis Editorial Team: It sounds, then, like you’re really targeting your research objectives?

That's important. For this study, we will be seeing how those who use Study.com end up doing on their Praxis test. In particular, we are particularly interested in how candidates who previously were not able to pass Praxis perform when they retake after using Study.com.

Join us next week for the third and final part of this interview, where Dr. Phelps will speculate on what the future holds for ETS and Study.com’s research partnership.

Want to know more about what we're planning with Study.com?