Teacher residency programs are a relatively new method for building stronger teacher pipelines. Research assessing the impact of these programs is still limited, but some early reports suggest that residency programs hold promise for improving teacher effectiveness and retention rates (Barrett, Hovde, Hahn, & Rosqueta, 2011; Papay, West,…

In honor of the 2014 International Year of Crystallography, the first Wisconsin Crystal Growing Competition was successfully organized and conducted. High school students from 26 schools across the state competed for prizes by growing large crystals of CuSO[subscript4]·5(H[subscript2]O). This paper describes how the event was planned and carried…

Since the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) launched the Collaborating States Initiative (CSI) to support social and emotional learning (SEL) in 2016, participation has grown dramatically. CASEL initially planned to work with five states. In the past two years, the CSI team and its partners have worked with 25,…

Between Fall 2008 and Summer 2010, the Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE) analyzed state special education dispute resolution systems and their components, with the objective of identifying particularly effective systems and creating a resource that other states could draw on when considering improvement…

Designed to improve PK-12 professional learning and increase student achievement, Wisconsin's policymakers developed and implemented new educator licensing guidelines (PI 34) and a Professional Development Plan (PDP) system based on empirical research and national policy trends in 2004. As PI 34 and the PDP system are relatively new, the…

This article presents Culturally Responsive Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (CRPBIS), the first framework to operationalize cultural responsiveness in the context of positive behavioral interventions and supports in the United States (Bal 2011). To develop the CRPBIS framework, the author first conducted a systematic review of…

Across the United States, a wide cross-section of administrators and teachers are learning the ins and outs of setting, assessing, and scoring student learning objectives (SLOs). An SLO is a set of goals that measures an educator's progress in achieving student growth targets. SLOs are particularly helpful for teachers in nontested subjects and…

Background: Matching evidence-based alcohol prevention strat- egies with a community's readiness to support those strategies is the basis for the Tri-Ethnic Community Readiness Model (CRM). The purpose of this evaluation was to assess the association of a community's readiness to address alcohol abuse in their community with the implementation of…

The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) launched Quality Collaboratives (QC): Assessing and Reporting Degree Qualifications Profile Competencies in the Context of Transfer in 2011 as a three-year project that engaged educational, assessment, and policy leaders in student learning outcomes assessment and transfer pathways.…

This study examined how elementary teacher education programs in the Midwest Environmental Education Conference partner states (Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) address and assess the competencies set forth by the NAAEE "Guidelines for the Preparation and Professional Development of Environmental Educators". In April 2012,…

In recent years, terms such as "social media" and "social networking" have become staples in the university continuing education marketer's vocabulary. This article provides both a working knowledge of the social media landscape and practical applications of the concepts using a case study approach from a Midwestern university.…

Alverno College is a private, liberal arts college located in a residential neighborhood on the southwest side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In fall 2008, the student body numbered 2,783, and there were 231 resident students. The student body is highly diverse (34% minority), and most students commute to campus for their classes. The culture at Alverno…

This 5-year multisite mixed-methods evaluation study chronicles the field-testing of the planning process Guidelines for Selecting Alternatives to Overreliance on Paraprofessionals in 26 schools (Grades K-12) in six states. Evaluation of the utilization and outcomes of the guidelines process was based on data from 472 study participants. Findings…

A research project was designed to develop and validate instrumentation and procedures for a comprehensive internal and external evaluation of Wisconsin's Vocational, Technical and Adult Education Field/Community Services programs. A review of evaluation literature pertaining to adult and continuing education, the identification of statewide…

Describing Wisconsin's Project CONNECT, this handbook provides information enabling communities to start and operate a volunteer-based, prevention-oriented program of support services for teenage parents. Chapters 1 and 2 provide brief overviews of problems associated with adolescent parenthood from national and community perspectives. Chapter 3…