News from WCER

Improving Health Through the HIV/AIDS Curriculum

March 1, 2012

In AIDS-afflicted areas, the task of caring for ill parents or relatives often falls on children, and these responsibilities compel many students to drop out of school.


VARC Collaborates with Tulsa Schools

February 27, 2012

The Value-Added Research project has entered Year 2 in a collaboration with the Tulsa Public Schools.


Improving Evaluations for Teachers and Principals

February 20, 2012

Steve Kimball and WCER colleagues are working with the Department of Public Instruction’s Educator Effectiveness Design Team to develop frameworks for teacher and principal evaluation.


Network Promotes Climate Science

February 13, 2012

Sandra Rutherford and colleagues are working to advance discovery and understanding of climate science


Team Teaching Practices Affect Value-Added Measurements

February 12, 2012

Schools can be closed. Compensation for teachers and principals can be affected.


Law Students Need Epistemic Experience

February 6, 2012

There’s a difference between having a law degree and being ready to provide services.


Center on Education and Work Collaborates with Singapore Educators

January 31, 2012

Students and schools in Singapore are benefiting from research from the UW-Madison’s Center on Education and Work. In February 2009 the Singapore Ministry of Education adapted CEW’s WISCareers and CareerLocker online career-information systems for use in Singapore schools.


Strengthening Community Colleges

January 30, 2012

Sara Goldrick-Rab has been appointed to The Century Foundation’s Task Force on Preventing Community Colleges from Becoming Separate and Unequal.


Engaging Researchers and Education Service Agencies

January 23, 2012

WCER and the Office of Education Outreach and Partnerships look forward to hosting staff from Wisconsin’s Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESAs) at our annual meeting 21 February.


Evaluating Individualized Learning Plans

January 17, 2012

There is strong consensus among parents, teachers, and students that individualized learning plans (ILPs) help improve student outcomes.


Exploring the Paradox: Adolescent Reasoning in Mathematical and Non-mathematical Domains

January 15, 2012

A perennial concern in mathematics education is that students often fail to understand the nature of evidence and justification in mathematics, that is, the nature of proof.


Professional Practice Simulations in a First-Year Engineering Course

January 9, 2012

Naomi Chesler and colleagues in the Epistemic Games project developed a first-year engineering design course that meets the criteria and constraints of several traditional stakeholders.


Improving Mentor-Mentee Collaboration

January 3, 2012

Christine Pfund and colleagues are testing the effectiveness of a research mentor training program.


Themes Cross-Cut International Boundaries

December 30, 2011

Has standards-based reform improved the quality of teaching and improved rates of retention?


Design Challenges for Middle School Science Students

December 27, 2011

Students and teachers in Grades 6-8 are piloting an approach to science instruction using a technology-rich interactive environment.