Inequities continue to weaken Michigan's capacity to respond quickly and effectively to crises, both natural and human-made. Minority and low-income populations, already disadvantaged, suffer the burden of the inequitable social, environmental, and economic injustices that have culminated in previously unacknowledged levels. Since 2011, the…

Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions target developmentally appropriate skills in young children with autism spectrum disorders using behavioral techniques in naturalistic interactions. Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions demonstrate strong empirical support and frequently utilize caregiver training of intervention…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of sustainability-focused, cocurricular, interdisciplinary programming for graduate students at creating future leaders in sustainability, i.e. did interdisciplinary sustainability programming further prepared graduate students in sustainability leadership beyond the scope of the…

The Adult Tutoring Program within the Literacy Center of West Michigan has been running monthly professional developments (PDs) (known as tutor in-services) for volunteer tutors since early 2021. All in-services fit into at least one of the categories of strategies, life skills, civics, next steps, or digital literacy. The team has been able to…

Robust evidence supports the efficacy of early autism intervention. Despite broad consensus that earlier intervention leads to better outcomes, evidence for this has been limited to correlational studies. This study examined timing effects of the Early Social Interaction (ESI) model, a parent-implemented intervention, using a complete crossover…

Background: Comprehensive health education in schools can effectively prevent drug use and related outcomes, but successful implementation remains challenging. Contextual determinants, including intervention-setting compatibility, focus on the intervention, available resources, and leadership support, influence implementation success. This study…

Background: Research on the effects of adventure education lessons on social emotional skills (SEL), psychological outcomes, and physical activity (PA) is limited. Purpose: This study assessed the effectiveness of adventure education lessons in improving high school students' SEL competencies, resilience, and PA. Methods: 95 10th grade students…

Detentions and suspensions disproportionately affect children from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds, specifically Black children and children of lower socioeconomic status. These disparities in school discipline are addressed in a cognitive flexibility approach to professional learning through a privately funded district improvement…

This study examines the effectiveness of Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction (EBLI) Teacher and Student Lessons in whole-classroom settings for grades K-5. Conducted in a Michigan school district during the 2023-2024 school year, this mixed-methods research evaluated implementation and outcomes across 815 students from 35 classrooms. MAP Growth…

Virtual Reality Job Interview Training (VR-JIT) and Virtual Interview Training for Transition Age Youth (VIT-TAY) demonstrated initial effectiveness at increasing employment among transition-age youth with disabilities engaged in pre-employment transition services. We characterized activities and estimated the labor and non-labor costs required to…

Graduate students and postdocs in science, technology, engineering, and math fields are faced with a wide range of career paths to employment, but they are often not trained to effectively pursue these opportunities. The lack of career management skills implies long tenures in graduate school for many students, especially as tenure-track positions…

Farm- and nature-based early childhood education programs have a unique potential to provide young children with skills and experiences that build a strong foundation for future learning and environmental stewardship, but can also to extend positive impacts to families. In this paper, we work to bridge the gap between research and practice by…

The Institute for Multi-Sensory Education's (IMSE) mission of "empowering districts, schools, teachers, and parents to be agents of change toward equitable literacy instruction for all learners that is driven by research" is reflected in the organization's structured literacy approach to the Orton-Gillingham (OG) curriculum and their…

State-funded prekindergarten (preK) programs are increasingly common across the country. This study estimated the effects of eight state-funded preK programs (Arkansas, California, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and West Virginia) on children's learning using a regression discontinuity design. These programs vary with…

This article describes the first implementation of the Future Educators Learning Community, and particularly, the impact of three linked courses and instructor collaboration. With supporting literature and the context and background of this learning community as the foundation, our experiences are structured into three distinct categories:…