There is a science teacher on another forum who says, "The plural of anecdote is not data."

I'm also interested in mathematics and computer science education. I'm a long-time tutor at a local HS and for the past few years I have run the community outreach program where I work.

We tutor students at local schools - including HS, MS, ES. We have a deaf employee who tutors a deaf kid on several subjects and we have a number of other tutors who tutor on various things. I also do guest lectures in CS. (In fact, I'm putting some of my lectures on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=05A438121EDCC103 )

We also have a teacher internship program, an essay contest, a science night - and a few other things. A new program we're trying to kick-off is to have a professional day where 9th graders come to spend half a day with us and learn how we use basic algebra.

I'm not an expert, but that doesn't stop me from forming opinions. I'm very skeptical of what passes for research and study in the area of education. I think a LOT of people start with philosophy and then start looking for data to support it - even funding "studies" with pre-determined conclusions. A prime example of poor analysis is the NCTM's "standards and practices" document, which is much more of a socio-political manifesto than a work of science.

Here's an interesting video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr1qee-bTZI

There was a really sought after math teacher who was brought in to teach at my kids' school. She tried to teach the kids these other rules - which is not bad AFTER you understand the basic method. I had to go back in and do some work with my kids to make sure she didn't screw them up.

BTW, I've tutored in a number of subjects, but mostly algebra and geometry. (The calc kids usually don't need a lot of tutoring.)