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Building on J. Dewey's (1907) original work with the laboratory school, the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Texas-Arlington is expanding the original concept to include partners throughout a school system and the community in order to support and advance learning in multiple learning environments. The goal is to establish a network of schools, administrators, teachers, graduate students, and policymakers; not necessarily everyone, but a critical mass of vested partners working collaboratively in what we call a Research Schools Network (RSN). The Network uses the new field of Mind, Brain and Education (MBE) to develop a theoretical and practical foundation for addressing educational challenges in the community. This article explores how the college has partnered with Arlington Independent School District (AISD), neighboring universities, the business community, and our state representative to develop and define new paradigms that not only promote MBE as an academic field, but also inform and are informed by the community it seeks to serve.

We describe the emergence of a new field, "Mind Brain and Education", dedicated to the science of learning, as well as the roles researchers, policy makers, and educators need to play in developing this collaborative effort. The article highlights the challenges that MBE faces and the strategy researchers and educators in Texas are developing to meet these challenges. In particular, through the creation of a Research Schools Network, educators and researchers are creating an infrastructure to identify and test ideas critical to educators. This network builds on Dewey's laboratory school by creating new responsibilities and partnerships. To this end we identify four critical objectives: develop a clear vision; build trusting relationships; set a standard for rigorous research and scholarship; and, promote meaningful assessment tools. (Contains 3 notes.)

Building on J. Dewey's (1907) original work with the laboratory school, the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Texas-Arlington is expanding the original concept to include partners throughout a school system and the community in order to support and advance learning in multiple learning environments. The goal is to establish a network of schools, administrators, teachers, graduate students, and policymakers; not necessarily everyone, but a critical mass of vested partners working collaboratively in what we call a Research Schools Network (RSN). The Network uses the new field of Mind, Brain and Education (MBE) to develop a theoretical and practical foundation for addressing educational challenges in the community. This article explores how the college has partnered with Arlington Independent School District (AISD), neighboring universities, the business community, and our state representative to develop and define new paradigms that not only promote MBE as an academic field, but also inform and are informed by the community it seeks to serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]