This article originally appeared in the School of Education's fall issue of Advancing. To view a PDF, please click here.
Turning the Tide
The UCI School of Education is teaming up with a growing number of local schools to create partnerships that address schools’ specific needs. Through this network, OCEAN, they’re transforming Orange County education.
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A single partnership with a local school can have a wave of impact on learning outcomes for a subset of the population.
A network of partnerships working in concert, however, can be the series of waves that turns the tide and transforms education across an entire county, region, or country. In fall 2018, the UCI School of Education partnered with six local schools to establish the Orange County Educational Advancement Network (OCEAN). Through these research-practice partnerships, a School of Education faculty member and a doctoral student are matched with a local school, and the partnership team works with school leadership to identify greatest needs and goals, and conduct research that will positively impact the school. |
UCI School of Education Dean Richard Arum welcomes local K12 educators to an OCEAN event, April 2019.
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The schools then meet with one another to identify and address their common, complex problems. Orange County schools, alongside the School of Education, can then mobilize to implement a measured, trackable improvement plan that identifies and disseminates effective practices to affect multiple schools simultaneously. The resulting work is known as a Networked Improvement Community (NIC).
Since fall 2018, the number of partnering schools has grown, with plans to expand to 18 schools in fall 2020.
“Well-designed partnerships can provide formative, on-site research; instructional support for teachers; and longitudinal analysis of student performance,” said Richard Arum, dean and professor of the UCI School of Education. “These partnerships are creating a national model for how to advance the science of education into both the community and the university.”
“The UCI School of Education is a true partner to our schools, engaging in meaningful research and evidence-based practices that advance our understanding of teaching and learning while promoting equity and opportunity for all students,” said Dr. Al Mijares, Orange County Superintendent of Schools. “The School of Education is contributing to the fulfillment of our vision that Orange County students will lead the nation in college and career readiness and success.”
Since fall 2018, the number of partnering schools has grown, with plans to expand to 18 schools in fall 2020.
“Well-designed partnerships can provide formative, on-site research; instructional support for teachers; and longitudinal analysis of student performance,” said Richard Arum, dean and professor of the UCI School of Education. “These partnerships are creating a national model for how to advance the science of education into both the community and the university.”
“The UCI School of Education is a true partner to our schools, engaging in meaningful research and evidence-based practices that advance our understanding of teaching and learning while promoting equity and opportunity for all students,” said Dr. Al Mijares, Orange County Superintendent of Schools. “The School of Education is contributing to the fulfillment of our vision that Orange County students will lead the nation in college and career readiness and success.”
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Why OCEAN?
OCEAN is unique in a few ways. First, the targeted research allows school leadership to tell UCI faculty and doctoral students what they’d like to focus on, making sure that research directly arises from community needs. Collaboration with other schools then produces change at a systemic level. It’s a “best of both worlds” scenario, as schools experience improvement at a micro and macro level. “It’s hard to have everyone just do their own thing if you want to improve something district, city, or county-wide,” said Associate Professor June Ahn. “When everyone focuses on a goal, however, and we can both measure the goal and thoughtfully attend to all the barriers and work processes for that goal, then you can start to see systemic improvement.” |
Local educators work through an exercise at the School of Education's dinner in April.
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In April, representatives from OCEAN schools – including principals, teachers, parents, counselors, and district and city board members – came together for the first time to discuss their work. Participants were asked to write down their schools’ greatest strengths and needs, and their notes were grouped into themes alongside other schools’ replies.
“You don’t want the ideas to just come from a faculty member or another random person,” Ahn said. “In that case, you’re setting an agenda and recruiting people. Instead, we’re seeding ideas for what larger projects can and should be.”
Ahn joined the School of Education in fall 2018 from the New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. He was recruited to UCI in large part to help create and lead OCEAN.
“The job posting specifically called for a professor of research-practice partnership, and I don’t think there’s ever been a call like that before,” Ahn said. “It speaks to what we’re trying to accomplish here - all schools of education around the nation partner and work with the community, but we’re trying to do that more systematically here in Orange County.”
Another unique aspect of OCEAN is that any interventions are quickly and easily adaptable. A large reason for this is because the research is data intensive. By collecting data and iterating on it quickly, schools can improve dynamically. This approach is different from some traditional academic research, Ahn said, where studies take years to complete and results are shared only after the study is finished.
“We want to work together from the start – rapidly organize, come up with an idea, map everything out, then commit to a plan over the course of 10-12 weeks,” Ahn said. “With a strong focus on data and dynamic collaboration, schools can measure change and see improvement quickly, or see that something isn’t working, and pivot.”
Though there is only one School of Education faculty assigned to each of the school sites, OCEAN has the full support of the entire School of Education faculty and their breadth of knowledge. Therefore, if a NIC project arises that necessitates expertise in a given area, a School of Education faculty can be called upon to lead efforts.
“Our faculty are leading experts in a wide-range of subjects, and collectively they study the entire lifespan: from early childhood to professional development for teachers, and everything in-between,” Arum said. “Anything that our school districts are in need of, we can lend support.”
“You don’t want the ideas to just come from a faculty member or another random person,” Ahn said. “In that case, you’re setting an agenda and recruiting people. Instead, we’re seeding ideas for what larger projects can and should be.”
Ahn joined the School of Education in fall 2018 from the New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. He was recruited to UCI in large part to help create and lead OCEAN.
“The job posting specifically called for a professor of research-practice partnership, and I don’t think there’s ever been a call like that before,” Ahn said. “It speaks to what we’re trying to accomplish here - all schools of education around the nation partner and work with the community, but we’re trying to do that more systematically here in Orange County.”
Another unique aspect of OCEAN is that any interventions are quickly and easily adaptable. A large reason for this is because the research is data intensive. By collecting data and iterating on it quickly, schools can improve dynamically. This approach is different from some traditional academic research, Ahn said, where studies take years to complete and results are shared only after the study is finished.
“We want to work together from the start – rapidly organize, come up with an idea, map everything out, then commit to a plan over the course of 10-12 weeks,” Ahn said. “With a strong focus on data and dynamic collaboration, schools can measure change and see improvement quickly, or see that something isn’t working, and pivot.”
Though there is only one School of Education faculty assigned to each of the school sites, OCEAN has the full support of the entire School of Education faculty and their breadth of knowledge. Therefore, if a NIC project arises that necessitates expertise in a given area, a School of Education faculty can be called upon to lead efforts.
“Our faculty are leading experts in a wide-range of subjects, and collectively they study the entire lifespan: from early childhood to professional development for teachers, and everything in-between,” Arum said. “Anything that our school districts are in need of, we can lend support.”
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Training the Future
Not only does OCEAN improve the learning experiences of the county’s diverse student body, but it also instills in doctoral students the experience of conducting targeted research that addresses concrete, pragmatic needs. “Being a part of OCEAN has given me invaluable experiences in co-designing research for improvement with school partners,” said Ha Nguyen, the doctoral student stationed at Willard Intermediate in Santa Ana. Nguyen created a dashboard to facilitate conversations with teachers about school connectedness and students’ English language development. “The most important lesson for me is learning how to communicate research to different educational stakeholders, such as the principal, teachers and district staff.” |
Associate Professor June Ahn works with doctoral students during a weekly OCEAN meeting.
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Chris Wegemer, the doctoral student assigned to Samueli Academy in Santa Ana, designed surveys in order to inform school practices and guide strategic interventions related to the school’s STEM-focused curriculum. He said the experience of working directly with teachers and administrators was particularly beneficial, as he learned how a public school system uses data.
“The process of establishing a research-practice partnership is complex, but it seems to be one of the most effective ways for data to inform practice,” Wegemer said. “I am committed to social justice and applied research that targets pressing issues; going forward as a professor, I will be much more capable of partnering with schools and community members.”
Ahn said the lessons doctoral students learn from OCEAN will help them in their future careers and the communities they serve.
“You can imagine graduate students who have been trained in this network, who are now faculty all over the country,” Ahn said.
“They’ll be able to direct and steer similar initiatives in their respective communities, and improve education across the nation. “They’ll have been trained in, and spreading knowledge of, ‘The UCI Way.’”
Growing the Network
Arum wants to grow OCEAN to 18 schools for the 2020-21 school year. Not every school needs to participate in a given NIC project, so every additional school added to OCEAN exponentially increases the number of potential collaborations. Each of the partnerships is privately funded. “
“Soon we’ll be at a point where districts, cities and counties can quickly implement targeted, measured, systemic changes,” Arum said.
With a population of more than 3 million, Orange County is the sixth most populous county in the country. The districts’ needs are constantly evolving, but student support remains paramount. In particular, schools continue to research and implement ways to accommodate students who are traditionally not supported as well, be it an ethnic or socioeconomic gap.
“The goals for this network – developing innovations that improve pathways for underrepresented students – those are things that everyone should be happy to collaborate on, and to share and gain from one another,” said William F. Podlich, the former CEO of PIMCO and UCI Trustee. Podlich funds three of the partnerships in OCEAN.
“UCI’s School of Education is changing the landscape for public education in Orange County,” said Stacey Nicholas, a UCI trustee. Nicholas is funding a partnership with Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano and Marco Forster Middle School. “The data-driven research of OCEAN will shape new methods of teaching and learning, and will serve as a model for the rest of the nation.”
Ahn envisions a future in which the network is comprised of 18 local schools, each with a doctoral student producing a research paper annually and contributing to local school improvement efforts. Over the course of a decade, he says, the numbers and impact start adding up.
“You take a full network over 10 years – that’s 18 sites, 180 papers, 180 wins. Plus, graduate students’ careers have launched because they’ve been able to undergo this partnership research, and the region has mobilized around an improvement idea and we’ve moved the needle and shown it to the rest of the country.
“That’s the dream.”
“The process of establishing a research-practice partnership is complex, but it seems to be one of the most effective ways for data to inform practice,” Wegemer said. “I am committed to social justice and applied research that targets pressing issues; going forward as a professor, I will be much more capable of partnering with schools and community members.”
Ahn said the lessons doctoral students learn from OCEAN will help them in their future careers and the communities they serve.
“You can imagine graduate students who have been trained in this network, who are now faculty all over the country,” Ahn said.
“They’ll be able to direct and steer similar initiatives in their respective communities, and improve education across the nation. “They’ll have been trained in, and spreading knowledge of, ‘The UCI Way.’”
Growing the Network
Arum wants to grow OCEAN to 18 schools for the 2020-21 school year. Not every school needs to participate in a given NIC project, so every additional school added to OCEAN exponentially increases the number of potential collaborations. Each of the partnerships is privately funded. “
“Soon we’ll be at a point where districts, cities and counties can quickly implement targeted, measured, systemic changes,” Arum said.
With a population of more than 3 million, Orange County is the sixth most populous county in the country. The districts’ needs are constantly evolving, but student support remains paramount. In particular, schools continue to research and implement ways to accommodate students who are traditionally not supported as well, be it an ethnic or socioeconomic gap.
“The goals for this network – developing innovations that improve pathways for underrepresented students – those are things that everyone should be happy to collaborate on, and to share and gain from one another,” said William F. Podlich, the former CEO of PIMCO and UCI Trustee. Podlich funds three of the partnerships in OCEAN.
“UCI’s School of Education is changing the landscape for public education in Orange County,” said Stacey Nicholas, a UCI trustee. Nicholas is funding a partnership with Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano and Marco Forster Middle School. “The data-driven research of OCEAN will shape new methods of teaching and learning, and will serve as a model for the rest of the nation.”
Ahn envisions a future in which the network is comprised of 18 local schools, each with a doctoral student producing a research paper annually and contributing to local school improvement efforts. Over the course of a decade, he says, the numbers and impact start adding up.
“You take a full network over 10 years – that’s 18 sites, 180 papers, 180 wins. Plus, graduate students’ careers have launched because they’ve been able to undergo this partnership research, and the region has mobilized around an improvement idea and we’ve moved the needle and shown it to the rest of the country.
“That’s the dream.”
