School of Education | University of Wisconsin–Madison
Authors: Mitchell J. Nathan, Martha W. Alibali, Kate Masarik, Ana C. Stephens, Kenneth R. Koedinger July 2010, 29 pp. Abstract: The present study examined middle school students’ (N = 82) representational fluency, the ability to reason with and between multiple representations, using tabular, graphical, verbal, and symbolic representations of linear and nonlinear relations. Preinstructional data …
Author: Elizabeth Bagley May 2010, 26 pp. Abstract: Preparing citizens to address the complex problems inherent in cities requires changing society to embrace a new kind of education. One way to train people to think about complex problems is to identify and study how professionals who think in those ways develop their epistemic frame. This …
Authors: Natalie A. Tran, Alan B. Nathan, Mitchell J. Nathan May 2010, 10 pp. Abstract: This paper illustrates how propensity score matching (PSM) can provide a robust estimate of a program treatment effect on student learning outcomes. A quasi-experimental design was used to investigate the impact of enrollment in a pre-college engineering curriculum on student …
Author: Matthew T. Hora April 2010, 66 pp. Abstract: The System-Wide Change for All Learners and Educators (SCALE) project — funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation Mathematics and Science Partnership program — sought to effect change in its partner institutions of higher education by creating a “transformative culture” through the development of …
Author: Gina Navoa Svarovsky April 2010, 23 pp. Abstract: In response to industry’s demands for better-prepared engineering graduates, capstone design courses have been included in undergraduate engineering programs for over three decades. These practicum experiences, typically encountered during the final year or semester of the course sequence, provide valuable “real-world” experience by allowing students to …
Authors: Eric J. Osthoff, Vansa Shewakramani, Kimberle Kelly February 2010, 26 pp. Abstract: This paper (Part I of II) explores the impact of district and school contexts on the implementation of curriculum reform. The reform in question is an inquiry-oriented elementary science initiative undertaken in the Los Angeles Unified School District as part of a …
Author: Jane Cooley February 2010, 58 pp. Abstract: Understanding peer effects is critical to evaluating the effect of public school segregation on the achievement gap. This paper develops a new approach to identifying the effect of peer behavior on achievement, using a framework that integrates previously unexplored types of heterogeneity in peer spillovers. Applying the …
Author: Erica Halverson February 2010, 19 pp. Abstract: The study of learning environments that support positive youth development is a growing field in the United States. This article describes one type of learning environment where youth have the opportunity to construct adaptive, emergent identities: arts-based youth organizations. Within these organizations, youth participate in the dramaturgical …
Authors: Steven M. Kimball, Rachel Lander, Christopher A. Thorn, Katie Herrem January 2010, 63 pp. Abstract: This paper reports on results from the pilot test of evaluation guidelines and related tools from the comprehensive evaluation of education grant-making by The Chicago Community Trust conducted by researchers at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. Prior evaluation …
Author: Jane Cooley September 2009, 41 pp. Abstract: Empirical studies of peer effects rely on the assumption that peer spillovers can be measured through observables. However, in the education context, many theories of peer spillovers center around unobservables, such as ability, effort or motivation. I show that when peer effects arise from unobservables, the typical …