A Teacher's Guide to Meta-Analysis

Ms. Quinn, the special education director, convened her monthly meeting with the district's special education teachers. The theme of Ms. Quinn's discussion was the implementation of evidence-based practices required by the No Child Left Behind Act. During this discussion she brought up the term meta-analysis in reference to research studies, stressing that this type of liter ature review may be helpful when selecting effective practices for students with special needs. The term was a new one for many of the teachers and even the ones who were aware of the term were perplexed how meta-analysis could possibly impact their day-to-day classroom teaching.