Study Shows Power of Refocusing Student Stress in Middle School Transition
July 29, 2019 | By Karen Rivedal, WCER Communications
A new study by education researchers at the University of Wisconsin−Madison shows that proactively addressing students’ anxieties with clear and cost-effective messaging early in the school year can lead to a lasting record of higher grades, better attendance, and fewer behavioral problems for sixth graders embarking on their stressful first year of middle school.
Fear of a Black Mermaid
July 9, 2019 | By Ellen McGirt
Writing in Fortune about the controversy of a Black actress being cast to play the lead role in "The Little Mermaid," Ellen McGirt references Gloria Ladson-Billings and her paper, "Just What Is Critical Race Theory and What’s It Doing In a Nice Field Like Education?"
‘We Care for Dane Kids’ Team, Including WCER’s Graue, Wins 2nd Place, $400K to Raise Family Incomes
July 3, 2019 | By Karen Rivedal
A campus-community partnership including WCER’s Beth Graue is one of two teams from UW-Madison to win funding in a national competition aimed at developing innovative ideas to expand and strengthen the U.S. middle class.
$1.8 Million Grant Expands Study of College Internships & How Students of Color Enter Workforce
June 25, 2019 | By Janet L. Kelly
Over the next two years, a team of education researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison will use a new $1.8 million grant to learn significantly more about college internships and how students of color enter the workforce from college. A CCWT research team led by Matthew T. Hora will add six institutions serving students of color to expand Hora's College Internship Study to the first nationwide investigation of the topic.
Study Shows Mixed Test Results For Technology In Classrooms
June 17, 2019 | By Shamane Mills
Rich Halverson, professor of leadership and policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin--Madison, was interviewed by Wisconsin Public Radio about a study that found Wisconsin fourth graders who used tablets in most classes had reading scores nine points lower on a standardized test than those who didn’t use tablets in class.
Low Internship Participation Indicates A Need For Change
June 14, 2019 | By Jackson Schroeder
WCER researcher Zi Chen was interviewed for a report on The University Network (TUN) about on a new CCWT working paper on barriers to college internships that was co-authored by Chen and CCWT Director Matthew T. Hora, with graduate students Emily Parrott and Pa Her, plus study collaborators Mindi Thompson and Matthew Wolfgram.
UW-Madison Study Recommends Closer Look at ‘Long-Term English Learner’ Label
June 13, 2019 | By Susan Endress
After finding a wide difference across states, researchers at the University of Wisconsin are recommending more research be done on how students are classified as “long-term English learners” — those who haven’t reached proficiency in the language after at least five years in a U.S. school.
Apply for Funding Up to $30K to Study Early Childhood Education by July 15
June 12, 2019
The Center for Research on Early Childhood Education (CRECE) is offering two funding opportunities of up to $30K each to UW--Madison faculty and research staff interested in studying early childhood education. Applications are due July15 with more information available here: https://crece.wceruw.org/funding-opportunities/
Study on Barriers for Student Internships
June 11, 2019 | By Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
In a recent issue of "Inside Higher Ed," a new working paper on college internships is spotlighted. Co-authors and WCER researchers Matt Hora, Zi Chen, Emily Parrott and Pa Her recommend that universities make internship programs more accessible for students.
New Study Finds Successful Student Internships Require Careful Design, Equitable Access
June 10, 2019 | By Karen Rivedal, WCER Communications
A new working paper co-authored by Matthew T. Hora based on student experiences at three diverse colleges describes what works in successful college internships. It also provides demographic data on students who take internships, identifies key barriers for those students unable to participate in these on-the-job learning experiences and provides a model for developing better internships.
OPINION: Is This Minority Group Too Small to Have a Voice on Campus?
June 6, 2019 | By Matthew Wolfgram, Bailey Smolarek
The Center for Research on College to Workforce Transitions' Matthew Wolfgram and Bailey Smolarek penned an article for The Hechinger Report about the educational experiences of HMoob (Hmong)-American students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Their study found the students' experiences are influenced and organized into spaces of belonging and exclusion, and that this geography of campus had consequences for students’ well-being, career development and educational attainment.
Teachers at the Table: Voice, Agency, and Advocacy in Educational Policymaking
June 3, 2019 | By Julie Kallio, New Books Network
Evaluator and researcher Annalee Good, co-director of WCER's Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative, is interviewed about her book, "Teachers at the Table," in a New Books network podcast episode, starting with her own journey from teaching middle school social studies to studying teacher engagement in policy advocacy. Annalee's book is a systematic inquiry into the institutional forces that make it hard for teachers to engage in policymaking, and how that hurts policy quality and legitimacy.
Online Credit Recovery Fuels Higher Grad Rates, But Learning Suffers, Report Finds
May 28, 2019 | By Alyson Klein
Research on the pros and cons of learning in K12 online credit recovery classrooms by WCER's Annalee Good and Emily Chang, with colleagues at Vanderbilt University, in a recent article for the American Educational Research Journal was highlighted in Education Week's Digital Education blog.
Itinerant English-Learners Pose Challenges for School Systems
May 23, 2019 | By Corey Mitchell
Education Week reports that a new 15-state analysis found that 1 in 5 English-learners move so frequently or so far that schools and state education agencies are unable to track them over the course of their academic careers, placing the students at greater risk of struggling in school. The revelation is one of the key findings of new research from the WIDA Consortium, a group of nearly 40 state education agencies that share English-language-proficiency standards and assessment for ELLs.
First Extensive Study of Long-Term English Learners Finds Significant Differences Across U.S.
May 23, 2019 | By Lynn Armitage
The broadest study ever undertaken of long-term English learners (LTELs) in U.S. public schools underscores the need to better understand how students receive this classification, and why the size of the LTEL population varies widely across and within states.
