| | Professional development to improve schools
Professional development often presents information that teachers see as irrelevant to student learning in their specific school settings. Students Respond to Solidarity in Community
Professor Jeffrey Lewis uses the phrase solidarity in community to refer to the collective classroom characteristics, teaching practices, and disciplinary practices that promote positive school outcomes for African American children in low-income urban settings. The concept combines insights from studies of social cohesion, belonging, teacher-learner relationships, and culturally relevant teaching. Professional Development for Teachers of American History
In 2007 the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) undertook a three-year teacher professional development project called “Building Informed Citizens.” A Teaching American History grant from the U.S. Department of Education enabled the district to offer this professional development project that aims to raise student achievement by increasing teachers’ knowledge and understanding of U.S. history. This joint effort involves the MMSD, the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, the Wisconsin Historical Society, and the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. It’s being evaluated by WCER researcher Shihmei Barger. She aims to provide scientifically rigorous evidence on the extent to which project outcomes meet the project goals and objectives. Assessing Learning in the 21st Century
In computer games, students can learn by solving problems that are realistic, complex, and meaningful. So games have great potential to teach the kind of thinking that young people need in the digital age, says UW-Madison education professor David Williamson Shaffer. But after years of designing and testing digital learning environments emphasizing learning in action, Shaffer has turned to the problem of assessment. Games, simulations, and other digital tools have the power to revolutionize learning, letting students work in challenging, real-world situations. But standardized tests focus on basic facts and skills, which are only part of what it takes to solve real-world problems. So Shaffer and his research team at UW-Madison have been asking: How can we assess the digital learning that happens in educational games? A New Practice Guide for Using Data Effectively
Richard Halverson and colleagues helped produce a guide for the U.S. Department of Education, “Using student achievement data to support instructional decision making.” This practice guide shows how to adapt lessons or assignments in response to students’ needs, how to alter classroom goals or objectives, and how to modify student grouping arrangements.
The guide shows educators how to use common assessment data to improve teaching and learning. Common assessments include annual statewide accountability tests such as those required by NCLB; commercially produced tests administered at multiple points throughout the school year; end-of-course tests administered across schools or districts; and interim tests developed by districts or schools, such as quarterly writing or mathematics prompts. Teachers Changing Beliefs about Engineering Learning and Instruction
Mitchell Nathan and Allen Phelps examined teachers’ beliefs and expectations about engineering instruction and student learning as it occurs at the high school level. They documented how these views changed as teachers were trained to use a high school engineering curriculum, Project Lead The Way (PLTW). The PLTW curriculum integrates engineering, math, science, and technology into middle- and high school students’ program of study. PLTW is well regarded and is one of the most widely used precollege engineering curricula in the US. Teachers Changing Beliefs about Engineering Learning and Instruction
Mitchell Nathan and Allen Phelps examined teachers’ beliefs and expectations about engineering instruction and student learning as it occurs at the high school level. They documented how these views changed as teachers were trained to use a high school engineering curriculum, Project Lead The Way (PLTW). The PLTW curriculum integrates engineering, math, science, and technology into middle- and high school students’ program of study. PLTW is well regarded and is one of the most widely used precollege engineering curricula in the US. |
