Commentaries regarding appropriate methods for researching professional development have been a frequent topic in recent issues of "Educational Researcher" as well as other venues. In this article, the authors extend this discussion by observing that randomized trials of specific professional development programs have not enhanced our…

Describes a Committee on Basic Research in Education that was formed in 1968 and that worked for four years in cooperation with the U. S. Office of Education to identify problems to be attacked by basic research in education and to develop and try out plans and procedures for stimulating and supporting such research. (Author/JM)

Evaluates the activities of the Committee on Basic Research in Education (COBRE), pointing out that its work was based on the premises that basic research is oriented to the academic disciplines, that its outcomes are scientific knowledge as opposed to products or solutions, and that its outcomes are unpredictable. (Author/JM)