The following slides are meant to provide a bit of background information about the "New" Discovery Center, our recent merger, the work we complete, and the services we offer!

1. Discovery Center for Evaluation,
Research, & Professional Learning
Miami University • Fall 2015

2. NEW CENTER ESTABLISHMENT….
he new Discovery Center for Evaluation,
Research, & Professional Learning was
established in 2015 through the formal
merger of two reputable and long-standing
Ohio-based Centers (the Discovery and Ohio’s
Evaluation & Assessment Centers).

3. HISTORY OF CENTER WORK….
• Since 1991 – iDiscovery (Discovery) PD has
served over teachers.
• Since 2003, Ohio’s E & A Center has served
over state- and federally-funded
math and science project or programs.
• Cumulatively – the Centers have dedicated
years toward improving math and
science teaching and learning.

4. WHY OUR CENTERS MERGED….
he Discovery and E & A Centers share staff and facilities
(at Miami Univesity in Oxford), as well as a commitment to
three principles related to their work —
Collaboration - The Center’s commitment to collaboration
enables broad outreach and impact across education stakeholder
groups.
Advocacy - The Center’s commitment to advocacy promotes
equitable opportunity and outcomes for all learners
Strategic Innovation - The Center’s commitment to strategic
innovation ensures the relevancy and impact of their work on
practice and policy

5. CENTER VISION….
• The Discovery Center for Evaluation,
Research, and Professional Learning
serves as Ohio’s only comprehensive
center for research, evaluation, and
professional learning in science,
mathematics, technology, computer
science, and engineering education,
dedicated to collaboration, advocacy, and
continuous improvement.

6. CENTER MISSION….
• The Discovery Center for Evaluation,
Research, and Professional Learning
provides comprehensive, high-quality
research, evaluation, assessment, and
professional development services to
improve teaching and learning and promote
equity in opportunity, access, and outcomes
for all learners.

7. RECENT CENTER WORK….
• State-wide Eval. of
Ohio’s Resident Educator
(RE) Program.
• NSF ADVANCE Project Evals.
for MSU, Purdue, UC.
• NSF Math and Science
Partnership Project (MSP)
Evals. for PENN, CUNY, and U
at Buffalo.
• Improving Teacher Quality
(ITQ) Project Evals. and
State-wide Ohio MSP
Program Eval.
• Eval.of Miami’s DHHS
Statewide Mental Health
First Aid Capacity project.
• Comprehensive analysis of
progress and impact of DPS
education programs.
• Instrument development and
administration for Brown
University.
• Funding research/grant
writing for YWCA (Hamilton).
• Over 30 math/science
workshops and trainings for
650 teachers.

8. OVERVIEW OF SERVICES
• Comprehensive - Collaboration or assistance
in developing a project or program proposal for
external funding and/or designated services for
funded initiatives, for example:
Development or co-development of proposals for funding.
Development and/or implementation of evaluation,
assessment, or research plans (proposed or funded).
Design and/or implementation of virtual and/or face-to-face
math and science teacher PD experiences.

9. OVERVIEW OF SERVICES
• Technical Assistance – Subaward or contract
agreement to perform specific technical services
for proposed or existing project or program, for
example:
Online data collection or collection of interview/focus group
or observation data.
Sophisticated qualitative and/or quantitative data analyses.
Instrument development/modification, validation, and
psychometric testing.
Design of research or evaluation methodology or expert
review and/or validation of evaluation, assessment, research,
and PD plans, products, and/or findings.

10. OVERVIEW OF SERVICES
• General Support – In-kind (Miami) or case-by-
case contract agreement (non-Miami) to
perform specific support services for proposed
or existing project or program, for example:
Review or assistance developing supplemental and/or
budgetary materials for proposals.
Workshops or trainings on a variety of evaluation, assessment,
research, and professional learning topics.
Consultation, training, or tutorials for using research or
statistical software (e.g., SPSS, NVivo, SAS, R, Qualtrics).
Editorial review of proposals, professional publications, or
academic documents.

11. BEYOND PROVIDING SERVICES…
ne of the Discovery Center’s major
goals is not just to provide evaluation,
assessment, research, and professional
learning services, but also to broaden the
collective knowledge about each of these
subjects, through resource and knowledge
sharing. We like to ask our own challenging
questions about STEM education, but also
strive to provide helpful information for the
teaching and learning initiatives of others.

12. BEYOND PROVIDING SERVICES…
What’s the difference
between evaluation vs.
assessment?
How can I create an
effective research or
evaluation plan?
How can I design/
implement effective
math/science
PD experiences?
What type of statistical
analyses is most appropriate
for analyzing my data?
How can I test if my data
collection instruments valid
and/or reliable?
How do I appropriately
budget for my project or
program’s proposed
activities?
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13. CENTER STAFF…(HOW WE DO WHAT WE DO)
• The Center includes a staff of 18-20
employess with knowledge/experience in:
• Advanced Statistics
• Instrument psychometrics
• Qualitative/quantitative data collection,
analyses, and reporting
• Mathematics and science education
(teaching and learning)
• Educational leadership, administration,
and policy

14. EXECUTIVE & SUPPORT TEAM...
• The Center’s Executive/Support Team leads and manages all
Center activities and are responsible for fiscal and day-to-day
operations of the Center.

15. RESEARCH, EVALUATION, &
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING TEAMS...
• The Center’s research/evaluation/PD teams manage and
execute projects in their areas of expertise and carry out day-
to-day activities for assigned projects and programs.

16. OPPORTUNITIES AT THE CENTER…
The Center offers an EHS Research Computer Space
(408 McGuffey Hall):
• PC computers with quantitative and qualitative
statistical software (e.g., Nvivo, HLM, Lisrel,
Winsteps, SPSS, Amos).
• Facilities and consultancy for using software
are available to all Miami University faculty,
staff, and students.

17. OPPORTUNITIES AT THE CENTER…
The Center offers a Discovery Center Fellowship
Program:
• Extended to all Miami University faculty (with
continuing appointments) and emeritus faculty.
• Two key areas of inquiry:
(1) Pre-K-20+ teaching and learning
related to science, mathematics,
technology, engineering, and computing
education (STEM-C), and
(2) Equity in education opportunity,
access, and outcomes across disciplines
and fields.

18. LOCATION & CONTACT INFO…
The Discovery Center
for Evaluation, Research,
& Professional Learning
Miami University
210 E. Spring St.
408 McGuffey Hall
Phone: (513) 529-1686
discoverycenter@MiamiOH.edu
Updates
coming soon to the
Discovery Center Website.