Abstract
Design-based research is characterized as a methodology where the “outcomes” of research include new or (hopefully) improved interventions in addition to contributing to the development of theory. Rather than developing an intervention in isolation (“in vitro”) and then “piloting” the intervention to evaluate its efficacy, design-based research in education develops interventions significantly “in vivo,” and directly engages stakeholders such as learners, teachers, and local administrators, in the research and design process as collaborators (van den Akker, 2007). Project OCCAMS, an acronym for “Online Curriculum Consortium for Accelerating Middle School,” is a collaboration between university-based centers for gifted education and talent development and a diverse urban school district which adopted this approach in pursuit of a shared goal of increasing access to advanced learning opportunities for low income and diverse students in middle school and providing a new pathway for successful participation in college-level coursework in high school.
The articles in this special issue collectively tell the story of the development of a novel language arts curriculum which compacts three grade levels of curriculum standards into a 2-year course of study. The program facilitates academic acceleration of many students otherwise ineligible for traditional gifted education services with a goal of placing bright but underserved students in diverse schools on a path that narrows achievement gaps with more advantaged subgroups and creates time in high school for learners to take fuller advantage of advanced learning options more widely available in high schools. The authors of these articles bring both higher education and K-12 perspectives. They describe the evolution of Project OCCAMS from an experimental intervention originally perceived as somewhat radical to some practitioners to an institutionalized model that has become sustainable and has continued to grow its impact beyond the life of the grants that supported its early development.
In the introductory article, Calvert, Olszewski-Kubilius, Cross, and Cross describe the goals of Project OCCAMS and its theoretical underpinnings in research on academic acceleration (Steenbergen-Hu et al., 2016), talent development (Subotnik et al., 2021) and the Integrated Curriculum Model (VanTassel-Baska & Wood, 2010). The authors also describe how the features of Project OCCAMS respond to specific policy and structural barriers minoritized and low-income students face to participation in advanced learning opportunities. These barriers are identified through analyses of public data and state and local policies that unintentionally contribute to the persistent underrepresentation of diverse and low-income learners in gifted education services and advanced coursework in secondary schools.
In their article describing the content, development, and revision of the Project OCCAMS Accelerated Language Arts curriculum, Robins, Sanguras, and Carpenter describe how the Integrated Curriculum Model was combined with curriculum compacting strategies (Reis et al., 2021) and culturally responsive instructional design frameworks (Gay, 2018). The authors also describe how input and feedback from participating students and teachers contributed to the evolution of the curriculum over two cycles of testing and iteration.
In the third article, Colleen Boyle, who served as the local Gifted and Talented Director for the first 5 years of Project OCCAMS, describes the professional development model and scaffolding that were developed to support teachers in successfully implementing the curriculum and making use of the online learning platform through which students interact with elements of the curriculum and each other. Boyle highlights how preliminary stakeholder feedback and early outcome data were used in the professional learning process and the value of creating opportunities for consultation between teachers and curriculum designers.
Bright and Calvert, in the fourth article, provide a deep dive into the role of educational technology in Project OCCAMS through the lens of critical technology theory, which considers both the affordances and constraints of teaching and learning with technology with a focus on equity and inclusion. The authors report that the actual barriers encountered during Project OCCAMS were often different from what stakeholders expected. They argue for the need to test assumptions about minoritized and low-income students’ attitudes toward and access to technology and discuss ways technology may be used thoughtfully to help close opportunity gaps across schools and communities.
In the final article in this issue, Boyle and Carpenter describe the partnership structure that has supported Project OCCAMS. The authors explore the value of professional networks that bridge K-12 education, higher education and government, and the essential nature of mutual trust in collaboratively developing design-based interventions. They share insights into how institutional obstacles were overcome and how the district-based team navigated political and attitudinal barriers to gradually build support for the program over time. Finally, they share recommendations based on lessons learned for others pursuing development of substantive interventions in today’s complex public education landscape.
We hope you enjoy this special issue and encourage readers to reflect on the lessons learned through this unique design-based research collaborative. The articles describe numerous barriers and challenges to providing curriculum that is both rigorous and engaging and to addressing access gaps that disproportionately affect adolescents of color and learners from lower income households and schools with high rates of poverty. But, collectively, they also show how even in difficult times diverse urban schools can be laboratories of innovation when researchers, teachers, school leaders, and learners themselves are actively engaged in the process of learning design.