University of Wisconsin–Madison

Author: klgrant2

UW–Madison Team Honored for Course in Multi-Institution Project Advancing Inclusive Teaching for Nation’s STEM Faculty

University of Wisconsin–Madison researcher Don Gillian-Daniel led a team that was nationally recognized this summer for creating a path-breaking online course credited with advancing inclusive teaching practices for some 5,000 faculty members in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields across the country. The course was offered for eight consecutive semesters through fall 2025 as …

New UW–Madison Report Finds Wisconsin School Districts Rejecting Teacher Performance Pay

A working paper from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison examines how pay practices have changed in Wisconsin school districts that experimented with reforms to traditional teacher salary schedules following the enactment of Act 10 in 2011. This landmark legislation limited collective bargaining for public employees and allowed districts …

New Research Examines How Hands-on Arts Training Improves Teaching

A new working paper from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison investigates how professional learning in the form of embodied arts experiences can help schoolteachers understand, design and deliver better social-emotional learning practices in the classroom, such as increased educator empathy and student-centered instruction. The research, funded by the …

New UW–Madison Study Reveals Keys to Graduate Student Wellness, Belonging, Persistence

A new study from the University of Wisconsin–Madison sheds light on the unique challenges Black men face when adjusting to graduate engineering programs—and offers actionable insights for improving program persistence and support for underrepresented students. Published in the journal Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, the research highlights the importance of sociocultural adjustment …

Improving College Access: UW–Madison’s Odle Helps Launch One of the Largest Education Research Studies of the Century

In a groundbreaking project that could reshape the national college admissions landscape, the state of Tennessee launched TN Direct Admissions last week, a pilot program offering automatic college admission and personalized financial aid estimates to approximately 41,000 high school seniors. At the heart of this ambitious effort is Taylor Odle, an assistant professor of educational policy studies …

Teacher Compensation Practices When Collective Bargaining Disappears: A Follow-up Study 10 Years After

Authors: Steve Kimball, Anthony Milanowski, Bradley Carl, Jessica Arrigoni, and Elisabeth Geraghty July 2025, 19 pp. Abstract: In 2011, Wisconsin curtailed public employee collective bargaining through legislation (Wisconsin Act 10) that limited the scope of bargaining to total base wages, rather than the specifics of teacher salary schedules, and tied total base wage increases to …

Rob Hubal Announced As Inaugural SimLab Director

The Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Education is pleased to announce the appointment of Rob Hubal as the new director of the SimLab, effective July 28, 2025. Hubal brings more than two decades of experience in simulation systems, with a focus on high-stakes training environments. A cognitive …

Building Arts-Based Social-Emotional Learning Practices Through Embodied Professional Learning: UW–Madison Community Arts Collaboratory’s Research Lab

Authors: Yorel Lashley, Erica Halverson, Stephanie Richards, Emily Nott, Tracey Bullington, Lindsey Kourafas, John Samuels, Leila Rahnamanoabadi, and Audriana Ryann Zeuske July 2025, 35 pp. Abstract: This paper presents the preliminary findings and research agenda for the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Community Arts Collaboratory’s (Arts Collab) 2-year initiative supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. …

WEC Report on Community Learning Centers Featured in Media Story on Funding Cuts

A report co-authored by UW–Madison’s Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative (WEC) provides key impact data in a recent story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about proposed federal cuts to out-of-school learning programs in Wisconsin and nationally. WEC’s review of the 21st Century Community Learning Center program, in collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and the Consortium of Applied …

Game Incubator Event Fuels Educator, Research Partnership at UW–Madison

Researchers from UW–Madison recently teamed with state educators and game designers in a day-long competition called Game Incubator to pitch ideas for a new, free educational learning game that could be played by hundreds of thousands of young students across Wisconsin and beyond. Field Day Lab hosted the event, which was part of GameWorks, a UW–Madison …