U.S. Educators Meeting Online in MSAN Institute to Advance Anti-Racist School Leadership
April 15, 2021 | By Karen Rivedal, WCER Communications
Conference attendees are sharing current research and learning promising practices to eliminate barriers to learning and create a more equitable educational environment for students of color.
Report: Outcomes-Based Funding Models Need to be Made More Equitable
April 7, 2021 | By Sara Weissman, Diverse Issues in Higher Education
More than 30 states have outcomes-based funding models, which allocate money to colleges and universities at least partly based on various metrics for student success. But a new report by The Education Trust – examining outcomes-based funding formulas across the country from 2017 to 2020 – argues that these models perpetuate inequities in the ways they’re currently designed.
New Digital Hub Reveals How COVID-19 Has Impacted College Students
April 5, 2021 | By Lynn Armitage, WCER Communications
Over the last year, the pandemic has disrupted the lives of many people, particularly college students whose education, career goals and entry into the workforce have been thrown into a state of uncertainty.
The Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions (CCWT) is shedding light on the higher education experiences of five diverse groups of students from Wisconsin, Georgia and Maryland during the COVID crisis through a new digital hub
The School of Education Sponsors Lecture Promoting Ideals of Antiracism
March 25, 2021 | By St. John's University
Our society faces many concurrent challenges in addition to the COVID-19 outbreak. Anti-Black racism, the threat of financial collapse, and the frequency of environmental disasters often co-exist. Taken together, these four crises have a devastating effect on the nation’s young people of color who confront a variety of daily fears, including eviction, poor air and water quality, racism, and food insecurity.
Theorizing Educational Justice: Political & Educational Considerations
March 22, 2021
Winston Thompson discusses the need to expand upon today’s most popular concepts of educational justice. He introduces two ways of expanding these concepts into a distinctively educational type of justice. By sharing examples of race and immigration cases, he illustrates how broadening current concepts of educational justice can reframe our thinking and better address urgent and under-theorized ethical concerns. Presented by the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and co-sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Education.
UW–Madison research reveals benefit of ethnic studies for Hmong American students
March 11, 2021 | By Janet L. Kelly, WCER Communications
A new report from WCER’s Center for Research on College-to-Workforce Transitions reveals second-year research findings from a unique study of current and former UW–Madison students of HMoob (Hmong)* descent, a population of students rarely researched in higher education. Mentored by WCER research scientists, an eight-member team of current and recently graduated HMoob American UW–Madison students interviewed nearly 100 members of the university’s HMoob American student community. The study found that exposure to ethnic studies courses and programs during college can transform the students’ lives.
Newly funded research will use biomarkers from blood to understand how childhood shapes risks of Alzheimer’s and other dementias
March 3, 2021 | By University of Minnesota News and Events
The University of Minnesota announced today it will begin collecting blood samples from a diverse sample of 25,520 people around the country to better understand how early-life conditions and experiences shape later-life risk of Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
The research, supported by $14.2 million in new funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), adds a new component to the ongoing $28.4 million High School & Beyond (HS&B) cohort study and builds upon a $500,000 pilot study funded by the Alzheimer’s Association in 2020.
A year after deadly shooting, Molson Coors has set a course for more inclusive culture — but cultivating real change will take time
March 3, 2021 | By Sophie Carson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
After an electrician at Molson Coors shot and killed five of his coworkers and himself last February, several employees at Milwaukee’s iconic brewery spoke up.
They told news outlets about racism they’d experienced on the job, and supervisors who didn’t seem to take meaningful action against it.
The Milwaukee Police Department said its investigation found racism likely was not the main motive of the gunman Anthony Ferrill, who was Black. He had been exhibiting paranoia and erratic behavior for about three years before the shooting.
UW−Madison Researchers Partner with Madison Schools on Equity Advances, COVID Fixes
March 1, 2021 | By Karen Rivedal, WCER Communications
The Madison Education Partnership (MEP) issues awards annually to university researchers, supplementing research done internally by MEP directors and staff. MEP is a research-practice partnership formed in 2016 between the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and the Madison Metropolitan School District. The number of grants awarded in 2021 was triple that of most previous years of MEP’s sponsored-research program.
‘Real Talk for Real Change’ Panel to Feature WCER Deputy Director Mariana Castro
February 17, 2021 | By WCER Communications
The Real Talk for Real Change symposia series focuses on critical issues of racial justice in education by centering the voices of UW–Madison scholars of color and community members. Organizers hope to share knowledge and facilitate conversations that will help UW–Madison and the wider education community focus on equity in education policies, curriculum, and practices of teaching and learning.
As pandemic endures, La Follette staffers focus on personal connections, community
February 15, 2021 | By Lily Gray and Lauren Laib, The Cap Times
Weekly check-ins have become a staple for La Follette High School’s Minority Services Coordinator John Milton. With students learning virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Milton serves as a mentor, video calling up to 40 students per week.
“Basically my job was created a while back to help students of color stay focused on high school graduation and going into college,” Milton said, “by building self-esteem and building community and motivating them.”
Like many educators in Madison, Milton’s job has shifted since the pandemic began. In addition to helping students of color remain focused on academics, Milton now works to ensure his students’ overall well-being. This comes in various ways — regular check-ins, virtual Black Student Union meetings and being available for his students whenever they need him.
Celebrating innovators who shaped workforce development
February 12, 2021 | By Carrie Rosingana, Lansing State Journal
The next name I want you to get to know is Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings — her long career in pedagogy and teacher education is still in full swing, even after her recent retirement. Through roles with colleges and universities, and the National Academy of Education, she’s dedicated her career to researching educational equity, which has shaped much of the workforce system’s approach to training and careers.
COVID-19 shows why it’s time to finally end unpaid college internships
February 9, 2021 | By Matthew T. Hora and Mindi Thompson, The Conversation
Unpaid internships are often seen as an important rite of passage for college students. And with good reason. Studies have found that students acquire new skills and networks that enhance their job prospects.
In the years just after graduating from college, students who have an internship are 15% less likely to be unemployed and earn 6% more than students who did not. Simply put, an internship is widely viewed as a “must-have” experience for college students.
Countering Narratives About English Learners in Mathematics
February 3, 2021
Zandra de Araujo, associate professor of mathematics education at the University of Missouri, researches curriculum use, particularly with English learners. In this talk she examines her findings from recent studies that highlight the need to rethink the notion of supporting English learners. She will discuss common assumptions about English learners and proactive ways to move forward in research and teaching. A former high school mathematics teacher, de Araujo is the creator of the Mathematically Education blog and co-creator of the Two-Minute Teacher’s Guide.
The Heterogeneity Problem: New Approaches to Parsing the Variance in Mental Health Research
January 29, 2021
Damien Fair tackles the heterogeneity problem encountered in psychiatric research and clinical investigations due to the assumption that categories in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual represent homogenous syndromes. The speaker will provide considerations, concepts, and approaches for investigators examining human cognition, education, and mental health.
