The research to be conducted will be led by Principal Investigator Dr. Alex Lawson and co-investigators Dr. Lisa Korteweg and Dr. Christina van Barneveld. All are with
LakeheadUniversity's Faculty of Education. The lab will be housed in the Faculty of Education, in a new research space which was specifically designed and built to host a high-technology, high-security lab.
The Multi-Data Convergence Laboratory will fill the need to conduct and merge educational research at the macro and micro levels. Specifically, the lab would have the capacity to host and analyze large-scale, secure data sets such as the provincial Education Quality Assurance Office's (EQAO) provincial achievement data, School Achievement Indicators Program (SAIP) data, the Ministry of Education's MISA (Managing Information on School Assessment) data, or Census data.
At the micro level the Laboratory has the capacity to collect longitudinal multimedia data (video, photo, audio, and scanned documents) from the field (
Ontario schools) on a sample of the population assessed in these large-scale data sets. The data would include ongoing researcher documentation of students in assessment interviews, or in classroom situations as well as student-produced documentation over time. The multimedia data (video, photos, transcript text) offers a level of depth of analysis and validity unavailable in other medium. The analysis of the intersection of longitudinal multimedia data with large-scale data sets (of the same students), has rarely been achieved in either
Canada or the
U.S., despite recent calls to do so. At present, neither Lakehead nor other regional research centres offer the necessary hardware, or access, to academic expertise housed in one lab.
Dr. Rui Wang, Vice President Research,
LakeheadUniversity, says: "The lab would allow us to pursue leading-edge research on a number of fundamental questions regarding our educational system. We will be able to gather and analyze highly detailed, longitudinal qualitative data in conjunction with large-scale quantitative data to determine whether various instructional practices are having their intended impact in areas such as mathematics education and culturally responsive education."
Dr. Alex Lawson adds: "We will be able to contribute to determining whether large-scale testing practices are a valid assessment of students' abilities. We hope o
ur research findings will influence the direction of mathematics education, education for Aboriginal students, and large-scale educational assessment design and implementation across
Canada --- all areas vital to the continued educational capacity, achievement, and well-being of our students. We also expect our work to produce highly trained Canadian personnel in multi-methods educational research. "
LakeheadUniversity's award is part of a $22-million fund awarded by CFI under the Leaders Opportunities Fund, an ongoing program designed to assist Canadian universities in attracting and retaining outstanding faculty members and researchers.
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Media: Drs. Lawson, Korteweg, and Van Barneveld may be contacted for interview through the Multi-Data Convergence Lab at 807-343-8964.
For further information on this news release, please contact:
Heather Scott, Communications Officer, 807-343-8177 or
commun@lakeheadu.ca,
Eleanor Abaya, Director of Communications, 807-343-8372 or
eabaya@lakeheadu.ca
ABOUT CFI: A complete list of the projects awarded today, by university, can be found at: www.innovation.ca.
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is an independent corporation created by the Government of Canada to fund research infrastructure. The CFI's mandate is to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that benefits Canadians.
About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in
Thunder Bay,
Ontario and a campus in
Orillia,
Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the
NorthernOntarioSchool of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named
Lakehead UniversityCanada's
ResearchUniversity of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on
LakeheadUniversity, visit www.lakeheadu.ca
