This interactive roundtable discussion will focus on the benefits, challenges, and promise of the use of observational methods in education research. The panel includes researchers from four different IES funded early learning and Autism grants/projects representing both NCER and NCSER funded projects. All four projects utilize observational methods in their grant/project for different purposes. For example, observations individual children within classrooms, fidelity of implementation within intervention studies, and professional development/quality improvement. The interactive roundtable discussion format will include flash presentations, a moderated panel discussion, and moderated questions geared toward attendee response and participation. These methods build upon previously funded research by IES using classroom observation tools, fidelity checklists, professional development, and quality improvement to embed naturalistic observations within observational, quasi-experimental, and experimental research-designs. However, observational methods are expensive to collect, intensive for teachers, and require in-person or technology-dependent resources that may limit use and acceptance in educational settings. As such, future directions for the application of observational measures in educational interventions and research will be discussed in this roundtable. Equity-related considerations also come into play when applying value-based judgments on the behavior or participants which can be problematic and will be discussed by the panel and participants.
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