News from WCER

Examining the Relationships Between Expectations, Access, and Postsecondary Life Engagement

November 7, 2011

Current work by Audrey Trainor will help researchers and teachers who design and implement transition education for youth with disabilities as they move from high school into adulthood.


Evaluation of the Milwaukee Community Literacy Project

November 1, 2011

The Milwaukee Community Literacy Project supports 300 struggling readers in kindergarten through 3rd grade in reaching proficiency through support in three spheres: the school sphere, the community sphere, and the family sphere.


Analyzing STEM Thinking and Learning

October 24, 2011

David Williamson Shaffer and colleagues are using a new method of STEM assessment called epistemic network analysis.


CIRTL Network Expands

October 17, 2011

Since 2003 the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) has prepared science graduate students at a handful of universities to be as bold and creative in the classroom as they are in their programs of research.


Benefits and Drawbacks of Social Media in Education

October 15, 2011

WCER researcher Mark Connolly acknowledges that social media shows value in educational settings.


Assessment of Natural Play for Instructional Planning

October 11, 2011

Play is a natural activity that young children use to explore and learn about their world, and how to function in it.


Globalization, Standardization and e-Portfolios in Teacher Education

October 4, 2011

UW-Madison education professor Francois Victor Tochon is helping improve teacher education in a public university that trains language teachers from Anatolia, a poor region of Turkey.


Wisconsin Wins $10.5 M Enhanced Assessment Grant

October 3, 2011

A new online assessments system is being developed for English learners (ELs), funded by a $10.5 million, four-year competitive grant


Improving Educational Outcomes in METTE Programs

September 26, 2011

The decline in the number of U.S. college graduates with degrees in manufacturing engineering technologist and technician education (METTE)-related fields is an issue of national importance.


Computer-Interactive Items for Students with Language Challenges

September 19, 2011

Rebecca Kopriva and colleagues are working to increase the accessibility and validity of science assessments for high school students with limited English proficiency.


Tangibility for Teaching, Learning and Communicating Mathematics

September 15, 2011

Talk about getting high school students engaged! Let’s give them the tools they need to build a big catapult to hurl the projectiles of their choice across a gym and land on, or near, a target.


Formative Assessment for High-Stakes Accountability

September 12, 2011

School leaders have considerable data to use for judging school performance, yet they can struggle to associate data with school leadership practice.


Culturally Relevant Teaching in Pre-K Math

September 6, 2011

Beth Graue, Meg Meyer, and colleagues are developing a professional development program to help teachers of 4-year-old kindergarten.


Evaluating an Algebra Readiness Program

August 29, 2011

Bill Clune and WCER colleagues are evaluating an implementation of the Academic Youth Development (AYD) program.


Collaborating in a Virtual Engineering Internship

August 22, 2011

Teamwork and collaboration are vital skills for students to master.