Bringing the Learning Sciences to Research on Teaching

As a student of the Learning Sciences, Mitchell Nathan works to improve student learning outcomes for concepts and skills in mathematics.

Cultivating Inquiry-Driven Learners

Clifton Conrad proposes a unifying purpose for a college education: cultivating inquiry-driven learners who can develop promising ideas for successfully navigating the rapidly-changing and inequitable world of the 21st century.

Developing and Implementing Value-Added Models

When the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) decided to use value added models in its multiple measures kit, the district contacted WCER's Value Added Research Center (VARC) and technical/methodological experts from around the country.

Exploring the Dynamics of Organizational Learning

Organizational learning – the processes whereby organizations change and evolve over time in light of new information – is the subject of recent research by Matthew Hora and colleague Anne-Barrie Hunter.

Managing Education Talent Strategically

Allan Odden writes about talent management in education and explores why the focus on talent has quickly assumed a prominent role in the nation’s education-policy and practice agendas.

Games-based Course in Engineering

This fall, the UW-Madison College of Engineering will offer for the first time a course entirely based on digital learning simulations.

Evaluating Teacher Effectiveness

WCER researcher Sara Kraemer is leading an evaluation study of the Teacher Union Reform Network.

Inspired by MSAN, Local Students Organize Conference

A group of high school students in Verona, Wisconsin organized a two-day community building and leadership training event on April 8 and 9.

Factors that Affect Student Academic Growth

The Value-Added Research Center (VARC) develops ways to compare school performance in a fair and accurate way, whether the school is public or private, urban or suburban, large or small.

What, Exactly, is an “English Learner” Student?

Because no two students are alike, developing a common definition for “English learner” will be tough.

Supporting Dual Language Children

WIDA staff are working with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to develop resources, professional development, and technical assistance to community partners regarding culturally and linguistically responsive practices.

Mathematics for Social Justice

Anita Wager is among educators who explore, develop, research, and/or teach mathematics for social change.

Elizabeth Cranley and colleagues at WIDA are helping classroom teachers to make core STEM content accessible to English Learner students (ELs) and to put them on the path to college and career readiness..

Programming Standing Up

In collaboration with colleagues at the University of Texas-San Antonio, Matthew Berland is developing software and high school curricula to teach engineering programming using mobile devices that will allow students to walk around and interact with each other as they develop programs for virtual robotics competitions.

WCER Hosts 2013 Conference on Engaged Research

Administrators from school districts and educational agencies across the state gathered Feb. 19 at WCER's 2013 Conference on Engaged Research. The conference, the 16th annual iteration of the event, seeks to share the work of University of Wisconsin education researchers with administrators from the state’s school districts.

Scaling Up Research in Philadelphia

A diverse and highly motivated team of educators and researchers met in Philadelphia in early February to begin a scale-up of the Families and Schools Together (FAST) program in Philadelphia Schools.

First-year engineering students are engaging in a computer-based virtual internship that simulates engineering professional practice.

The Manufacturing Engineering Technologist and Technician Education (METTE) project works to improve student success by targeting research to inform the development and assessment of innovations.

In a new Working Paper Sara Goldrick-Rab and colleagues examine the impacts of a private need-based college financial aid program among first-year Pell Grant recipients at 13 public Wisconsin universities.

Matthew Berland and colleagues are studying how museum exhibits can be used to increase the number of students who follow pathways to eventual engineering careers.

ASSETS incorporates multiple technology-based assessments and a professional development program that corresponds to rigorous state academic standards, including the Common Core State Standards.

Sadhana Puntambekar is designing the next generation of digital STEM content for school and college level education. She calls it ‘dynamic digital text.’

It's generally agreed that students should experience a long-term, sustained algebra education beginning in the elementary grades. But how does early algebra affect performance in middle school?

More than 4,000 students and their families will be better prepared for success in school thanks to a new initiative based at WCER.