News from WCER

What Makes Schools Work

March 22, 2010

John Smithson and colleagues are analyzing how teachers in about 150 schools teach grades 2-8 mathematics.


VARC Featured in NY Public Schools Training Video

March 15, 2010

WCER’s Value-Added Research Center is helping New York City schools better measure teacher contributions to student achievement.


A New Era for the Strategic Management of Human Capital

March 10, 2010

Over the past 18 months educators have seen the national education reform agenda transformed. Novel ideas and unique strategies have been placed on the national docket for serious consideration. This transformation includes a focus on developing talent and managing human capital, a core emphasis of the education agenda of President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.


The Mathematics of Space and Motion

March 8, 2010

Martha Alibali and Mitchell Nathan are leading a team of three university groups investigating the learning and teaching of the mathematics of space and motion.


District and School Contexts Affect Science Curriculum Reform

March 1, 2010

National and state contexts affect curriculum reform by shaping district policies and resource allocation.


Postdoctoral Students Train in Mathematical Learning and Instruction

February 22, 2010

The U.S. needs more well-trained education researchers (a) to address questions about the effectiveness of educational programs and policies and (b) to provide an empirical basis for designs of curricula, assessments, instructional approaches, and learning environments.


Millar Named Morgridge Institute Leader

February 15, 2010

WCER Scientist Susan Millar has been appointed to the leadership team for The Morgridge Institute for Research.


Distributing Leadership to Support Instructional Change

February 10, 2010

Discussions of comprehensive school reform and distributed leadership have been dominated by descriptions of what they are and what forms they take.


Artistic Production Spurs Youth Development

February 8, 2010

The study of learning environments that support positive youth development is a growing field in the U.S.


VARC Receives $3.7 M Grant

February 1, 2010

The Value-Added Research Center has been awarded a new $3.7 million grant


Interactive Animations in High School Biology

January 26, 2010

Agile Mind for Biology (AMB) supports the teaching and learning of high school biology content.


New Directions for Mixed-Ability Instruction

January 20, 2010

How can teachers best organize students for instruction? After a century of research on tracking and ability grouping, one might expect a definitive answer to this question.


Evaluation Tools to Inform Foundation Education Reforms

January 18, 2010

Education foundations and their grantees are most effective when grantees fully understand the foundation’s priorities and when foundations correctly assess the impact of their diverse grant activities.


School Psychologists and Evidence-Based Practice

January 11, 2010

With the development of the evidence-based practice (EBP) movement, training psychologists to work in schools is critical, says Thomas R. Kratochwill.


Learning Sciences a Growing Field

January 5, 2010

The Learning Sciences are poised to make great strides in understanding complex human behavior.