University of Wisconsin–Madison

Author: klgrant2

Field Day Blends Art and Science for Video Games That Teach, Engage

Ann Marsh has heard the question before. The UW–Madison teaching assistant and Ph.D. candidate in entomology said people ask her “all the time” why, out of all the living things on Earth, she chose to study insects. “And I always tell everybody, ‘If you could see what I see through the microscope, you would know …

Benbow Receives NSF Grant to Study College Success for Rural STEM Students

UW–Madison scientist Ross Benbow will use a three-year, nearly $700,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to better understand how the social networks of students from rural Wisconsin influence their success in college. “I’m interested in the transitions students make between different kinds of social and cultural environments. University campuses can be much different …

UW–Madison Leaders in Research Education Call for Stronger Mentor-Student Relationships to Boost Undergraduate Research, Student Outcomes

In a new commentary published in the Council on Undergraduate Research’s journal Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research, UW–Madison Interim Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning and Associate Professor of Kinesiology Janet Branchaw and Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) Deputy Director Christine Pfund make an evidence-based case for strengthening mentorship ecosystems to improve undergraduate research experiences and …

Building Equity-Focused School Leadership: Wisconsin’s Role in a National Partnership

How can universities and school districts work together to prepare school leaders who champion equity in education? A recent study published in the Journal of Professional Capital and Community explores this question through the lens of the Equity-Centered Pipeline Initiative—a six-year, $102 million nationwide effort funded by The Wallace Foundation. What Is It? Launched in 2021, the Wallace …

WCER’s Field Day Collaborates with Wisconsin Sea Grant to Develop Shipwrecks Game

When Field Day Director David Gagnon wanted to explore making a new online learning game for young students about the Great Lakes, Gagnon’s campus colleague Anne Moser knew immediately what the game should be about—shipwrecks. “I knew that shipwrecks really capture kids’ imaginations,” said Moser, the education coordinator and senior special librarian for Wisconsin Sea …

2025 MSAN Student Conference Offers Equitable Paths to ‘American Dream’

An estimated 200 high school students and their advisors representing eight states from across the 20-district MSAN network will gather in Arlington, Va., on Nov. 12–15 for the 26th annual MSAN Student Conference with the student-chosen conference theme, “I Am…The American Dream.” The conference, offered every fall for high school students by the Wisconsin Center for Education …

2025 MSAN Student Conference Offers Equitable Paths to ‘American Dream’

An estimated 200 high school students and their advisors representing eight states from across the 20-district MSAN network will gather in Arlington, Va., on Nov. 12–15 for the 26th annual MSAN Student Conference with the student-chosen conference theme, “I Am…The American Dream.” The conference, offered every fall for high school students by the Wisconsin Center for Education …

WCER Team Creates National Platform for More and Better Jobs for People with Disabilities

A nationwide UW–Madison research project to increase the number and quality of jobs for individuals with disabilities has achieved an extraordinary record of reach and engagement with essential state workers tasked with helping this underserved population. As the five-year, federally funded project known as the Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center for Quality Employment (VRTAC-QE) begins wrapping up, …

Language-Integrated Framework for Teaching (LIFT): A Framework Supporting Multilingual Learners Through Core Teaching Practices

Author: Mariana Castro October 2025, 21 pp. Abstract: As linguistic diversity within American K–12 classrooms increases, educators need tools to effectively leverage and support the assets of multilingual learners (MLs). MLs face the significant challenge of simultaneously mastering the language of instruction and learning academic content. While core teaching practices are recognized as a research-based, …

The Current and Future Educator Workforce in Wisconsin’s Rural Schools

Authors: Jenny Seelig and Bradley Carl October 2025, 54 pp. Abstract: This paper builds upon previous work investigating Wisconsin’s rural educator workforce by (a) summarizing key characteristics of the current teacher workforce in Wisconsin’s rural schools and how these may have changed over time; and (b) documenting ways in which the state’s approved educator preparation …