News from WCER

WCER launches evaluation collaborative to help educational organizations in Wisconsin

February 12, 2016   |   By Lynn Armitage

Need a good program evaluator? WCER has launched the Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative (WEC), a network of experienced evaluators from UW-Madison’s School of Education ready to jump in and help preK-12 education partners.


WCER’s Connolly Invited to Join National Academies Committee on STEM Education

February 11, 2016

Mark Connolly, an associate research scientist at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) in UW-Madison’s School of Education, has been invited to serve on a National Academies of Sciences committee charged with developing indicators of quality in undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).


Erica Halverson Appointed Associate Editor for Journal of the Learning Sciences

January 28, 2016

WCER researcher and UW–Madison educator Erica Halverson appointed associate editor for Journal of the Learning Sciences


Re-‘Making’ the World of Education: A Learning Revolution

January 21, 2016   |   By Lynn Armitage

Pancake-making robots. A mechanical horse. A life-sized mousetrap. No, these aren’t highlights from the latest episode of “Shark Tank.” They are real-life inventions of a burgeoning community of artists, do-it-yourselfers and entrepreneurs known as “makers” — pioneering tinkerers and problem-solvers who are inspiring some educators to bring more hands-on learning into the classroom.


$2.1 Million Grant Will Help Gifted, Low-Income Middle School Students

December 15, 2015

“Supporting Smart Spaces,” a project of the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth (WCATY) and the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education, has been awarded a $2.1 million grant by the Jacob K. Javits Program through the U.S. Department of Education.


STEMMing the Tide of Bias: Video Game Teaches Professors How Discrimination Feels

December 3, 2015   |   By Lynn Armitage

Brett Woods knows all too well what racial bias feels like.


DPI and UW-Madison education researchers team up in $5.2 million grant to reduce gaps in opportunity

November 24, 2015

Strong research collaboration aimed at helping all kids succeed


“Seven Questions” with Sara Goldrick-Rab

November 16, 2015

Wisconsin HOPE Lab Examines College Living Costs


Program Prepares Mathematics Education Researchers for Careers

October 28, 2015

A mathematics training program at WCER is helping answer the nation’s need for a continuing supply of experts who can provide an empirical basis for curriculum design, assessment, instruction, and learning environments, and who can determine the effectiveness of educational programs and policies.


“Seven Questions” with Aydin Bal

October 28, 2015

Aydin Bal is leading an initiative to improve equity in schools across Wisconsin by implementing Culturally Responsive Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (CRPBIS), a framework he developed to prompt locally meaningful and sustainable change in schools.


U.S. student leaders meet in Madison to address academic achievement gaps

October 5, 2015

Verona Area School District, UW-Madison host 16th annual MSAN Student Conference


Center for Ethics and Education at UW-Madison Announces Inaugural Fellows

July 22, 2015

The Center for Ethics and Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the first academic center of its kind in the United States, announced its appointment of five inaugural senior fellows.


PRIME approach improves teacher implementation of student behavior plans

July 21, 2015

Disruptive classroom behavior across grade levels has worsened in recent years, according to teachers polled by Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2012. More than half of the teachers questioned said they wish they could spend less time disciplining students.


Multidisciplinary $10 Million NIH Grant Accelerates Mentoring to Diversify Science

July 21, 2015

Christine Pfund is using a decade’s worth of knowledge improving mentoring outcomes to serve a key role on a multidisciplinary, multi-institution team recently awarded a $10 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to develop a national research mentoring network.


Hess Named Next School of Education Dean

July 16, 2015

Diana Hess, senior vice president of the Spencer Foundation in Chicago, has been named the next dean of UW-Madison’s School of Education. Hess, who is also a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, will begin Aug. 1.