Category: News

WCER shares news and stories that highlight research discoveries, past achievements, publications, and the people behind the work.

UW–Madison’s Samuel Honored for Work Supporting Black-Jewish Fellowship

UW–Madison education researcher Michal Avera Samuel has been honored by Columbus Jewish News (CJN) as a difference maker for her work supporting Black-Jewish diversity and community, in part as coordinator of the Shalom Curriculum Project, based in the School of Education’s Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER). Samuel, a Jewish woman of color who works …

How Education Researchers Can Test AI Models for Errors, Bias and Unexpected Behavior: Insights from WCER’s Community Learning Series

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more embedded in education research and classroom practice, understanding its limits and risks is vital to proper use. One key caveat for education researchers: A general-purpose AI model can perform well on standard evaluations (benchmark tests) but still fail when it encounters the messier, context-specific data education researchers and teachers …

2026 MSAN Student Conference to Boost Leadership and Research Skills

Close to 200 high school students and their advisors will gather in Warrensville Heights, Ohio, near Cleveland, on Nov. 4–7 for the 27th annual MSAN Student Conference to strengthen leadership skills and research-related abilities under this year’s conference theme, chosen by students, “Changing the Narrative: Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Leaders.” The conference is hosted every fall …

Andy Garbacz Joins WCER Leadership Team as Deputy Director

Andy Garbacz, a professor in the School Psychology Program in the Department of Educational Psychology, has been appointed deputy director of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Education, effective Sept. 23, 2026. In this role, Garbacz joins the center’s leadership team and will help advance WCER’s mission …

UW–Madison Researcher Explores the Emotional Side of Peer Review in Newly Published Commentary

For researchers, few emails carry quite the same emotional weight as a journal’s decision on a manuscript. And when the verdict is “revise and resubmit,” the accompanying reviewer comments can provoke everything from relief to frustration and self-doubt. A new commentary by UW–Madison School of Education’s Xueli Wang argues that researchers shouldn’t ignore those emotions. …

Taylor Odle Honored with Early Career Award From the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness

Taylor Odle, a researcher at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) and an assistant professor of educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Education, has received a 2026 Early Career Award from the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE). The award recognizes early-career professionals who have shown exceptional promise and …

New International Award Honors Legacy of UW–Madison Researcher

When evaluators from around the world gather in Chicago in October for the 9th International Conference of the Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA), they will celebrate a longtime UW–Madison School of Education leader whose work has helped shape the field for decades. CREA has announced the creation of the Dr. Hazel Symonette …

New Apprenticeship Program to Tackle Special Education Teacher Shortages Statewide

UW–Madison’s School of Education will use $2.4 million in federal funds over five years to help launch a new registered apprenticeship program to prepare special education teachers in Wisconsin and advance innovative supports for special educator retention. The initiative aims to recruit, prepare, support and retain 100 new master’s-level special educators on an “earn-while-you-learn” basis …

MLRC Announces 2026–27 Speaker Series

The Multilingual Learning Research Center (MLRC), housed within the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Education, invites researchers, educators, students and community members to explore current issues in multilingual education through its 2026–27 Speaker Series. The annual series features scholars whose work examines language learning, literacy, policy, AI, …

UW–Madison Study Highlights Refugee-Engaged Research and Community Change

A new journal article co-authored by Matthew Wolfgram, a researcher at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) in UW–Madison’s School of Education, argues that participatory action research offers a powerful and ethical framework for engaging refugees in higher education and improving services for refugee communities. Published in Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry, the article — …