P. Shawn Irvin
Biography
Dr. Irvin is a former geologist/geochemist and elementary/middle school science educator who has taught in diverse educational settings, elementary through graduate. After earning a PhD at the University of Oregon (UO) in 2015 specializing in assessment and measurement, Dr. Irvin joined Behavioral Research and Teaching (BRT) at the UO as a Research Associate. As a doctoral student and since joining BRT as faculty, Dr. Irvin has developed extensive expertise in interim-formative and summative-accountability assessment systems development and validation, including for measuring the achievement growth and learning-related behaviors of exceptional groups (e.g., preschoolers and children with learning disabilities) over critical developmental stages (e.g., transition toward kindergarten).
Since being promoted to Research Assistant Professor at BRT in 2018, Dr. Irvin has continued honing an independent line of research characterized by building assessment and data literacy for key education stakeholders (students, teachers, parents, and administrators) within teaching and learning ecosystems. His research has been funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), with grants submissions to those and the National Science Foundation (NSF) pending and ongoing. Dr. Irvin recently documented the underlying structure and predictive-concordant capacity of Oregon’s kindergarten entry assessment and led development of the Oregon Science Alternate Assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities. Two current federally-funded projects involve developing “smart” web-based professional development to support implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) and a tablet-based assessment-learning tool to identify early risk factors of reading disabilities and inform teacher decision-making in preschool and kindergarten.
Education
Ph.D., 2015, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
Major: Quantitative Methodology and Measurement
M.S., 2007, Antioch University, Yellow Springs, OH
Major: Educational Leadership (Earth/Space Science Teaching License and Principal Licensure)
M.S., 2002, Miami University, Oxford, OH
Major: Geochemistry and Volcanology
B.A., 1997, Miami University, Oxford, OH
Major: Geology
Publications
Anderson, D., Rowley, B. Stegnaga, S., Irvin, P. S., & Rosenberg, J. (In press) Evaluating content-related validity evidence using a text-based, machine learning Procedure. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice.
Scalise, K., Irvin, P. S., Alresheed, F., Zvoch, K., Yim, H., Park, S., Landis, B., Meng, P., Kleinfelder, B., Halladay, L., & Partsafas, A. (2018). Accommodations in digital interactive STEM assessment tasks: Current accommodations and promising practices for enhancing accessibility for students with disabilities, Journal of Special Education Technology, 33(4), 219-236. doi:10.1177/0162643418759340
Farley, D., Anderson, D., Irvin, P. S., & Tindal, G. (2016). Modeling reading growth in grades 3-5 with an alternate assessment. Remedial and Special Education. 38(4), 195-206. doi:10.1177/0741932516678661
Tindal, G., Irvin, P. S., Nese, J. F. T., & Slater, S. (2015). Skills for entering kindergarten. Educational Assessment, 20, 297-319. doi:10.1080/10627197.2015.1093929
Anderson, D., Irvin, P. S., Alonzo, J., & Tindal, G. (2015). Gauging item alignment through online systems while controlling for rater effects. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 34(1), 22-33. doi:0.1111/emip.12038
Scalise, K., Timms, M., Moorjani, A., Clark, L., Holtermann, K., & Irvin, P. S. (2011). Student learning in science simulations: Design features that promote learning gains. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(9), 1050-1078. doi:10.1002/tea.20437
Rowley, B., Anderson, D., Irvin, P. S., Tindal, S., & Tindal, G. (2020). What's behind options A, B, & C? Manuscript in preparation.
Sáez, L., & Irvin, P. S. (2020). Reducing reading difficulty risk through a prekindergarten assessment-guided instructional approach. Manuscript in preparation.
Irvin, P. S., Tindal, G., & Slater, S. (2020). The relation of kindergarten entry skills to emergent literacy and mathematics achievement. Manuscript in preparation.
Irvin, P. S., Huna, Y., Tindal, G. (2020). Considerations in evaluating teachers and schools: Comparing models of student change. Manuscript in preparation.
Irvin, P. S., Saven, J. L. S., Tindal, G. (2020). Growth in elementary mathematics skills: A comparison of standards-based interim measures. Manuscript in preparation.
Research
Dr. P. Shawn Irvin earned a PhD at the University of Oregon (UO) in 2015 specializing in assessment and measurement. Dr. Irvin has worked as a teacher and educator in diverse educational settings, elementary through graduate levels, for over fifteen years, and is now a Research Assistant Professor at Behavioral Research at Teaching at UO. Dr. Irvin’s research centers on how academic and other learning-related outcomes in literacy, math, and science can guide data interpretation and use, instructional decision-making and learning supports, and targeted professional development (PD). In particular, Dr. Irvin seeks to better understand how student data can be systematized, accessed, modeled, and visualized in novel ways that support improved classroom decisions, teacher PD, and desired student outcomes (e.g., improved achievement, reduction in risk of/negative impact from disability). His current work, via existing and proposed federal grants and state contracts, operationalizes innovative assessment-guided approaches with "wrap-around" teacher supports for linking evidence-based teaching with improved outcomes for struggling students.