Improvement Science Research

Improvement science research is enjoying increasing popularity as a strategy for creating scalable educational improvement. Although educational research has often focused on identifying what works, many in the field have come to believe that evidence that an innovation can work is not sufficient for large-scale, sustainable change, due to the challenges that result when innovations are implemented in diverse local contexts. In contrast, improvement science research aims to create practical improvements while generating knowledge about what works, for whom, and under what conditions. This entry further describes improvement science and how it developed and then discusses its principles and applications in education.

Improvement science emphasizes learning from rapid, iterative tests of small innovations conducted by practitioners working under diverse conditions. The process of experimentation begins with ...