A year after deadly shooting, Molson Coors has set a course for more inclusive culture — but cultivating real change will take time
March 3, 2021 | By Sophie Carson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
After an electrician at Molson Coors shot and killed five of his coworkers and himself last February, several employees at Milwaukee’s iconic brewery spoke up.
They told news outlets about racism they’d experienced on the job, and supervisors who didn’t seem to take meaningful action against it.
The Milwaukee Police Department said its investigation found racism likely was not the main motive of the gunman Anthony Ferrill, who was Black. He had been exhibiting paranoia and erratic behavior for about three years before the shooting.
UW−Madison Researchers Partner with Madison Schools on Equity Advances, COVID Fixes
March 1, 2021 | By Karen Rivedal, WCER Communications
The Madison Education Partnership (MEP) issues awards annually to university researchers, supplementing research done internally by MEP directors and staff. MEP is a research-practice partnership formed in 2016 between the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and the Madison Metropolitan School District. The number of grants awarded in 2021 was triple that of most previous years of MEP’s sponsored-research program.
‘Real Talk for Real Change’ Panel to Feature WCER Deputy Director Mariana Castro
February 17, 2021 | By WCER Communications
The Real Talk for Real Change symposia series focuses on critical issues of racial justice in education by centering the voices of UW–Madison scholars of color and community members. Organizers hope to share knowledge and facilitate conversations that will help UW–Madison and the wider education community focus on equity in education policies, curriculum, and practices of teaching and learning.
As pandemic endures, La Follette staffers focus on personal connections, community
February 15, 2021 | By Lily Gray and Lauren Laib, The Cap Times
Weekly check-ins have become a staple for La Follette High School’s Minority Services Coordinator John Milton. With students learning virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Milton serves as a mentor, video calling up to 40 students per week.
“Basically my job was created a while back to help students of color stay focused on high school graduation and going into college,” Milton said, “by building self-esteem and building community and motivating them.”
Like many educators in Madison, Milton’s job has shifted since the pandemic began. In addition to helping students of color remain focused on academics, Milton now works to ensure his students’ overall well-being. This comes in various ways — regular check-ins, virtual Black Student Union meetings and being available for his students whenever they need him.
Celebrating innovators who shaped workforce development
February 12, 2021 | By Carrie Rosingana, Lansing State Journal
The next name I want you to get to know is Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings — her long career in pedagogy and teacher education is still in full swing, even after her recent retirement. Through roles with colleges and universities, and the National Academy of Education, she’s dedicated her career to researching educational equity, which has shaped much of the workforce system’s approach to training and careers.
COVID-19 shows why it’s time to finally end unpaid college internships
February 9, 2021 | By Matthew T. Hora and Mindi Thompson, The Conversation
Unpaid internships are often seen as an important rite of passage for college students. And with good reason. Studies have found that students acquire new skills and networks that enhance their job prospects.
In the years just after graduating from college, students who have an internship are 15% less likely to be unemployed and earn 6% more than students who did not. Simply put, an internship is widely viewed as a “must-have” experience for college students.
Countering Narratives About English Learners in Mathematics
February 3, 2021
Zandra de Araujo, associate professor of mathematics education at the University of Missouri, researches curriculum use, particularly with English learners. In this talk she examines her findings from recent studies that highlight the need to rethink the notion of supporting English learners. She will discuss common assumptions about English learners and proactive ways to move forward in research and teaching. A former high school mathematics teacher, de Araujo is the creator of the Mathematically Education blog and co-creator of the Two-Minute Teacher’s Guide.
The Heterogeneity Problem: New Approaches to Parsing the Variance in Mental Health Research
January 29, 2021
Damien Fair tackles the heterogeneity problem encountered in psychiatric research and clinical investigations due to the assumption that categories in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual represent homogenous syndromes. The speaker will provide considerations, concepts, and approaches for investigators examining human cognition, education, and mental health.
Renowned educational theorist, teacher educator to lead Georgia Southern 2021 Fries Lecture
January 14, 2021 | By Georgia Southern University
Gloria Ladson-Billings, Ph.D., renowned pedagogical theorist, teacher educator and author, will present the 2021 Norman Fries Distinguished Lecture, hosted by Georgia Southern University’s College of Education.
The lecture will take place virtually via Zoom on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Taking Action: Advancing Social Justice through the Transformation of International Schools
January 7, 2021 | By Mariana Castro and Christina Nelson, The International Educator
As we write this from the University of Wisconsin—Madison, with its wintery snowcapped buildings and frozen lakes, we recognize that we are on the Native lands of the Ho-Chunk nation as well as other indigenous peoples. We begin by acknowledging the circumstances that led to their forced removal and honor who they are and their history. We also acknowledge our roles in this history and the circumstances that brought us to and keep us in positions of power.
The Humanities & Business Education In an Economic Crisis: A Podcast
January 5, 2021 | By Aspen Institute
As colleges weigh whether to welcome students back to campus this fall, they do so under the burden of financial pressures on higher education that have been building for over a decade. Among these pressures is a question increasingly prominent in media: Given the rising cost of tuition, what is the return on investment of a college education?
CCWT releases report on internships at HBCUs
January 5, 2021 | By WCER Communications
The Center for Research on College to Workforce Transitions, which is housed in the School of Education’s Wisconsin Center for Education Research, has published a new research brief examining internships at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
The report, titled “What do we know about internships at HBCUs? A review of the literature and agenda for future research,” was authored by UW–Madison’s Matthew Hora and Jacqueline Forbes, with Deshawn Preston of the United Negro College Fund.
Millions of ELL Students Face Prospect of In-Person, Federal Testing During COVID-19
January 5, 2021 | By Corey Mitchell, Education Week
The disruption to in-school learning caused by the global pandemic this year has hit the nation’s 5 million English-language learners especially hard.
These students often lack access to dependable internet and technology, have non-English-speaking parents who struggle to support their remote learning, and have lost crucial access to teachers and classmates who have in prior years helped them develop their language skills.
Gates Foundation awards WCER’s Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions $1.1 million to serve national audience
January 5, 2021 | By Lynn Armitage, WCER Communications
The Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions (CCWT), housed at UW‒Madison’s Wisconsin Center for Education Research, has been awarded a $1.1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
What did we learn? Gloria Ladson-Billings is not excited about ‘going back to normal’
December 28, 2020 | By Yvonne Kim, The Cap Times
In April, Indian novelist Arundhati Roy published a series of essays, including one titled “The pandemic is a portal.”
“Nothing could be worse than a return to normality,” Roy wrote in Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction. “Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next.”
This idea has been the year’s biggest takeaway for Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor emeritus, author and education researcher. The COVID-19 pandemic is a portal, she said, for educators in Madison and across the country to rethink how they teach.
