534,704 results on '"Michigan"'
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2. Responding, Reimagining, Realizing: Out-of-School Time Coordination in a New Era
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Research for Action (RFA), McClanahan Associates, Inc. (MAI), Tracey Hartmann, Wendy McClanahan, Mark Duffy, Leana Cabral, Carolyn Barnes, and Brian Christens
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The Wallace Foundation commissioned Research for Action and McClanahan Associates to study how out-of-school time intermediaries (OSTIs) responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and the role they could play in supporting communities moving forward. Citywide out-of-school time (OST) systems encompass a wide variety of afterschool and summer programs and associated provider organizations, youth participants, and their families. These systems were stretched during the COVID-19 pandemic and the national racial reckoning to respond to community needs in new and more equitable ways. Also impacted were OSTIs that manage OST systems within individual cities. OSTIs operate through various governance structures and perform a range of coordination functions intended to ensure quality, access, and equity in OST systems so that all youth have access to the unique out-of-school resources and opportunities they need to thrive.
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- 2024
3. What Is a College 'Promise' Program? The Creation and Transformation of a Concept, 2005-2022. EdWorkingPaper No. 24-985
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Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, David B. Monaghan, Crystal Almanzar, Madison Laughman, and Allyson Ritchey
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Promise programs are discussed as a policy movement that began with the 2005 launch of the Kalamazoo Promise. Since then, programs bearing the Promise label or sharing similar features have spread across the higher educational landscape, appearing in most states and across postsecondary sectors. Simultaneously, scholarly literature discussing these programs has burgeoned. And yet, scholars and others are unable to formulate a clear conception of what a Promise program is and what if anything sets such a program apart from other scholarship programs (e.g., state need-based grants). In this paper, we examine how scholars have discussed these programs over time. We begin with the initial theorization of the Kalamazoo Promise as a case and observe its use as a prototype in the formulation of a general model once "Promise program" was established as a category. We follow how the spread and transformation of "Promise programs" was reflected in repeated partial reconceptualization. We find three competing conceptual models emerging in sequence: 1) a thick, place-based causal model derived as a generalization of the Kalamazoo Promise, 2) a thin empirical model crafted in the aftermath of the launch of the Tennessee Promise, and 3) a partially acknowledged minimal or symbolic model advanced haltingly in response to critiques of last-dollar community college state programs. Scholarly conceptualization is largely reactive to empirical program diffusion and transformation, though scholarly idealization may have played a role in this diffusion itself.
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- 2024
4. An Experiential Learning Approach to the Introduction to Business Course
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Bret J. Wagner and Melissa Intindola
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This paper presents the results of a multi-year effort to redesign the introduction to business course at Western Michigan University. ScrimmageSIM, a business simulation that emulates commercial ERP systems, provides the core experience in the course and is a mechanism for students to develop their understanding of business with a focus on quantitative analysis. The design and implementation of the simulation experience follows the experiential learning spiral, as students run the simulation five times with increasingly complex scenarios. The overall design of the course is competency-based, as students have the opportunity to redo many of the course assignments to earn a better grade. The simulation experience, combined with the competency-based design of the course, has resulted in a more rigorous course with students earning grades that are better than they were with the previous curriculum.
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- 2024
5. Answering the Call: How Changes to the Salience of Job Characteristics Affects College Students' Decisions. EdWorkingPaper No. 24-956
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Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, Carly D. Robinson, Katharine Meyer, Chasity Bailey-Fakhoury, Amirpasha Zandieh, and Susanna Loeb
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College students make job decisions without complete information. As a result, they may rely on misleading heuristics ("interesting jobs pay badly") and pursue options misaligned with their goals. We test whether highlighting job characteristics changes decision making. We find increasing the salience of a job's monetary benefits increases the likelihood college students apply by 196%. In contrast, emphasizing prosocial, career, or social benefits has no effect, despite students identifying these benefits as primary motivators for applying. The study highlights the detrimental incongruencies in students' decision making alongside a simple strategy for recruiting college students to jobs that offer enriching experiences.
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- 2024
6. Supporting Learning Online: Perspectives of Faculty and Staff at Broad-Access Institutions during COVID-19
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Columbia University, Community College Research Center (CCRC), SRI Education, Achieving the Dream, Inc., Amy E. Brown, Susan Bickerstaff, and Nikki Edgecombe
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This Postsecondary Teaching with Technology Collaborative (the Collaborative) report examines how faculty and staff at seven community colleges and two broad-access universities reconsidered students' online learning needs in the midst of the pandemic. The report focuses on a set of interconnected student mindsets and competencies that the authors call self-directed learning (SDL) skills; in their framing, SDL skills include motivational processes (e.g., building self-efficacy and sense of belonging), metacognitive processes (e.g., identifying and adjusting learning strategies and reflecting), and applied learning processes (e.g., managing time and seeking help). The authors explore whether and how the colleges offered supports for students to strengthen their SDL skills and the extent to which SDL skill supports were offered within online courses versus outside of class. Findings from interview data and secondary sources show that most institutions made changes to improve conditions for online teaching and learning, including improved use of learning management systems, increased professional development for instructors, improved physical technology infrastructure and expanded software licenses, and the development of student-facing online orientation materials. At the same time, increased use of online courses continued to present challenges, including poorer student performance in online course sections, lack of meaningful communication and engagement, lower likelihood for online students to seek help when they need it, and increased demands for students to apply SDL skills such as time and task management. Moreover, many SDL supports occurred at the institution level and therefore were not tailored to particular content areas or course types. These supports provided students with valuable and needed resources to help them succeed in college but also had some limitations. Finally, while most faculty and staff the authors interviewed expressed that SDL skills are important and should be supported by the institution, explicit instructional support for SDL skills inside classrooms appeared to be limited and uneven; faculty may not know how to teach these skills, may not think that they have the time or resources to do so, or may not see it as their responsibility. The report concludes with three recommendations for institutions to promote SDL skill development. "Teaching and Designing Online STEM Courses to Support Self-Directed Learning Skills" which focuses on teaching and designing online STEM courses to support SDL skills is a collaborative report.
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- 2024
7. From Insights to Impact: Fostering Innovation through Texas Higher Education. Technical Appendix
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Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
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This is the technical appendix for the report "From Insights to Impact: Fostering Innovation through Texas" which examines the current national landscape of higher education research and development to help gauge Texas' current position and identify opportunities to drive further innovations into the future. This appendix includes the following sections: (1) Maintaining Texas' Edge; (2) From Roadmap to Reality; (3) Texas' Competitive Position; (4) Technology Transfer Landscape; and (5) Amplifying the Impact. [This report was produced with TIP Strategies, Inc. and Research Bridge Partners.]
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- 2024
8. Crossing the Line: Segregation and Resource Inequality between America's School Districts. Education Policy
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New America, Zahava Stadler, and Jordan Abbott
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School district boundaries define more than just the area where a certain group of children attends a given set of schools. They also determine the taxing jurisdiction that supports those schools with local property taxes. Big differences in property value can lead to large funding gaps, even between neighboring districts. These disparities in property values are the legacy of discriminatory housing policies explicitly intended to segregate neighborhoods by race and class. The school district lines drawn onto this divided landscape then replicate segregation and inequity in schools. But our current district borders need not be permanent. They can be redrawn to produce better outcomes for students and their schools. In a new research report, New America's Education Funding Equity Initiative analyzes nearly 25,000 pairs of adjacent school districts to measure how district borders create deep economic and racial divisions, producing radically different educational resources and experiences for students in different districts--even districts that are right next door to each other. It also features stories about these disparities told by local educators and families. An accompanying multimedia story shows what these divides mean for American school districts and communities, and an interactive national map and data tool allows users to explore American school districts and the borders that surround them.
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- 2024
9. The Show Must (Not) Go on: Student Second Responders on Days after
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Juliet Hess and Alyssa Hadley Dunn
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In the wake of collective trauma and tragedy, artists may be called upon as "second responders" to facilitate healing and grief for a community. In this article, we explain the artists-as-second-responders discourse, including the messaging of artists feeling useful, art as diversion, and art as healing. Then, using an example of student-artists compelled to make sure "the show must go on" at Michigan State University in the days after a mass school shooting, we critique the second-responder discourse by arguing that such messaging may cause more harm to artists and facilitate problematic escapism. We also challenge the "call to serve" and offer recommendations for how, on days after, institutions can respond in more trauma-informed and supportive ways. In doing so, we argue that, in fact, the show must not always go on.
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- 2024
10. The Tables Have Turned: The New Landscape for Collective Bargaining in Michigan Schools
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Mackinac Center for Public Policy and Steve Delie
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The tables have turned on Michigan's public school boards and other school officials. As a result of changes to the state's labor law in 2023, school districts face the risk of losing some authority to determine who should be teaching in their classrooms. Teachers unions are empowered once again to demand districts treat teachers as if they are interchangeable widgets, basing all decisions related to promotion, placement and pay on seniority. School officials have not had to bargain over these issues for more than a decade but will suddenly find themselves facing these concerns again. The report reviewed the teachers union contracts in the 200 largest school districts in Michigan, which enroll about 70% of the public school students in the state. It reveals that some districts have automatic revival language in their contracts, which will make the changes to collective bargaining take immediate effect. It also assesses how thoroughly districts complied with the 2011 reforms and offers suggestions for school officials to deal with this new bargaining reality. It concludes by suggesting school districts review their existing contracts, familiarize themselves with previously prohibited terms, and negotiate firmly to preserve contract terms that prioritize improving teacher effectiveness and educational outcomes rather than union priorities such as reestablishing seniority-based rules.
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- 2024
11. Expanding Faculty Development through Capacity-Building: An Institutional Case Study
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Vicki L. Baker, Andrew N. Christopher, and Sarah Noah
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The global pandemic highlighted the need for diverse faculty development partners to ensure student and faculty learning was supported, particularly in intensive modes of educational delivery. Our paper presents an institutional case study of how educational technology, in collaboration with the Center for Teaching and Learning and subject matter experts, served as untapped providers of faculty development. We detail the decision to shift to an intensive 7-week module system rather than our traditional 15-week semester in response to COVID-19. Although challenging for both faculty and students, this shift in educational delivery facilitated innovative approaches to faculty and student learning that are present on our campus today. This institutional case study highlights the role that capacity-building plays in capability development and professional learning for faculty and students alike to support effective teaching practice across diverse delivery modes.
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- 2024
12. Evaluation of the Michigan Water School: Water Education Program for Local Leaders
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Heather A. Triezenberg, Jennifer Hunnell, Erick Elgin, Bindu Bhakta, and Mary Bohling
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Local leaders are essential for helping Michigan achieve its 30-year water strategy goals. The Michigan Water School is an Extension nonformal educational program to address the knowledge gap of local leaders. We evaluated programs conducted from 2017 to 2019. Results revealed program outcomes in knowledge, attitudes, perceptions of criticalness to work, and stewardship and behavioral intentions aligned to water quality, water quantity, and field experience units. Growth areas for program improvement include water policy, economics, planning, and finance as well as expanding the focus of the program for transformational leadership and to broaden recruitment efforts.
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- 2024
13. Optimal GED Student Recruitment: Perceptions of Program Directors
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Michael T. Miller
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Much is unknown about those who do not finish high school and there is a need to understand who enters and completes alternative high school completion programs, such as the HiSet (High School Equivalency Test), GED (General Education Development Test), or growing number of state sponsored high school equivalency programs. The purpose for conducting the study was to describe the perceptions of adult education program coordinators about how to best categorize potential high school credential alternative completers. Using a phenomenological framework and semi-structured interviews, 12 adult education program administrators were interviewed about who enrolls in and completes their programs. A thematic analysis of these responses indicated distinct categories of individuals including opportunists (those looking for better opportunities), exceptionals (those with exceptionalities such as a disability that prevented the individual from completing a traditional high school diploma), immigrants (those validating learning in another country or language learners), and those who have been reformed in some way (e.g., those with a history of difficulty with legal situations). By identifying these initial categories of adult learners taking part in high school equivalency programs, recruitment efforts as well as the programs themselves might be better structured to correspond to learner needs.
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- 2024
14. Insights into Impact: Evaluating an Adult Leadership Program Offered through Michigan State University Extension
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Aaron J. McKim and Jordan Pusateri Burroughs
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Agriculture, food, and natural resource (AFNR) systems need leaders to catalyze positive change. Thus, Extension professionals have consistently developed innovative and impactful leadership programming. In the current study, the alumni of one such program in Michigan were surveyed to evaluate the sustained impact of the program. Program alumni rated themselves highest in Empowerment and Perspective Development and perceived the strongest programmatic impact in Empowerment and Emotional Resilience. These data were further analyzed to create a "Leadership Impact Factor," which illuminates the impact of a program using a single number. Recommendations are made for Extension professionals facilitating similar leadership education programming.
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- 2024
15. Bending without Breaking - COVID-19 Tests the Resilience of State Education Policymaking Institutions. EdWorkingPaper No. 23-888
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Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, David Menefee-Libey, Carolyn Herrington, Kyoung-Jun Choi, Julie Marsh, and Katrina Bulkley
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COVID-19 upended schooling across the United States, but with what consequences for the state-level institutions that drive most education policy? This paper reports findings on two related research questions. First, what were the most important ways state government education policymakers changed schools and schooling from the moment they began to reckon with the seriousness of COVID-19 through the first full academic year of the pandemic? Second, how deep did those changes go -- are there indications the pandemic triggered efforts to make lasting changes in states' education policymaking institutions? Using multiple-methods research focused on Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, and Oregon, we documented policies enacted during the period from March 2020 through June 2021 across states and across sectors (traditional and choice) in three COVID-19-related education policy domains: school closings and reopenings, budgeting and resource allocation, and assessment and accountability systems. We found that states quickly enacted radical changes to policies that had taken generations to develop. They mandated sweeping school closures in Spring 2020, and then a diverse array of school reopening policies in the 2020/2021 school year. States temporarily modified their attendance-based funding systems and allocated massive federal COVID-19 relief funds. Finally, states suspended annual student testing, modified the wide array of accountability policies and programs linked to the results of those tests, and adapted to new assessment methods. These crisis-driven policy changes deeply disrupted long-established patterns and practices in education. Despite this, we found that state education governance systems remained resilient, and that at least during the first 16 months of the pandemic, stakeholders showed little interest in using the crisis to trigger more lasting institutional change. We hope these findings enable state policymakers to better prepare for future crises.
- Published
- 2023
16. Randomized-Control Efficacy Study of IXL Math in Holland Public Schools
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Johns Hopkins University, Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE), Susan Copeland, Michael A. Cook, Ashley A. Grant, and Steven M. Ross
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The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of IXL Math in an elementary school context, using a randomized-control trial (RCT). This study examined mathematics achievement trajectories of 545 Grades 3-5 students across four elementary schools in a small Michigan school district during the 2022-23 school year. Teachers were randomly selected to use IXL Math (treatment condition) or business-as-usual instruction (control condition) for the winter and spring of the 2022-23 school year. Outcome variables included spring 2023 Renaissance Star mathematics scores (progress monitoring) and spring 2023 M-STEP mathematics scores (state test scores). Prior achievement variables included winter 2023 Renaissance Star mathematics scores and spring 2022 M-STEP mathematics scores. Treatment teachers were also administered a survey focusing on teacher experiences with and reactions to the IXL Math program. District-wide, nine of 11 treatment teachers volunteered to complete the survey. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) with students nested within teachers was used to complete the main impact analyses, while quantitative survey data were analyzed descriptively, and open-ended items were analyzed qualitatively. The results of the main impact analyses showed a significant positive impact of IXL Math on student mathematics achievement, with treatment students gaining approximately 10-points more on the Renaissance Star mathematics assessment than did control students. The effect size of this impact was 0.13 SDs, indicating a small-to-moderate practical impact of IXL Math on student mathematics achievement. Subgroup analyses showed that IXL Math had additional significant positive impacts on Hispanic, special education, ELL, and free and reduced meal (FARMS) students, with the magnitudes of these impacts ranging from 13-17 points. In addition, teacher perceptions of IXL Math were generally very positive, especially in relation to professional development and overall program perceptions. In all, the results of this study provide evidence supporting efficacy of IXL Math in improving student mathematics achievement, especially for student subgroups that historically had started at lower performance levels.
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- 2023
17. Reconceptualizing Family Engagement as an Improvisational Practice: Lessons from Pre-K Teachers' Practices during COVID-19
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Bethany Wilinski, Alyssa Morley, and Jamie Heng-Chieh Wu
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Scholars have argued against a post-COVID return to normality on the grounds that the pandemic offers an opportunity to break with the past and imagine a different, more just future. In this analysis of pre-kindergarten teachers' reflections on teaching during COVID-19 in the state of Michigan, we take up the notion of the pandemic as a portal to consider how practices that emerged during the pandemic might be carried forward post-pandemic. Through a qualitative interview study with 25 public pre-K teachers in Michigan, we sought to understand how the pandemic altered the nature of family-teacher engagement. Our analysis led us to conceptualize teaching as an improvisational practice that was highly responsive to the circumstances and needs of families. We identified three central themes that animated pre-K teachers' work during the pandemic: supporting families through new types of "offers" (a term from improv theory), making learning accessible, and fostering collectivity by partnering with families. Teachers' practices during the pandemic reveal new avenues for conceptualizing family engagement as an improvisational practice. We draw on the principles of improv theory to outline a framework for this approach.
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- 2024
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18. The Changing Role of the District PBIS Coordinator throughout the Stages of Implementation
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Alice J. Amaya and Lisa Amundson
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Various district-level factors contribute to the successful implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) in schools, a widely implemented evidence-based framework supporting students' social, emotional, and behavioral development. Prior research has identified the district PBIS coordinator as a critical factor supporting school-level PBIS implementation. However, further research is needed to clarify the functions of the district PBIS coordinator role throughout the implementation process. This pilot study developed and validated a survey instrument to clarify (a) the common functions of the district PBIS coordinator role and (b) how the common functions of district PBIS coordinators changed across the distinct implementation stages. The Kruskal-Wallis H-test was used to determine whether significant differences existed in the amount of time district PBIS coordinators spent on functions of their role by implementation stage. Results from the pilot administration conducted in the U.S. state of Michigan indicated that district PBIS coordinators initially focused time on leadership and organization functions while competency functions developed as implementation matured. The survey findings offer preliminary insights into the district PBIS coordinator role, which may help inform professional development planning at the local and state levels, technical assistance offerings, and personnel decision-making. This study also serves as a blueprint for future research.
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- 2024
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19. Supporting Social-Emotional Development in Preschoolers: Implementation Evaluation of the PEDALS Program. Research Report. RR-A3269-1
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RAND Social and Economic Well-Being, RAND Education and Labor, Elaine Lin Wang, Nastassia Re, Christopher Joseph Doss, and Jill S. Cannon
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Though early childhood educators have a long history of emphasizing learning through play to foster the development of the whole child, including social-emotional competencies, the proliferation of formal social-emotional learning (SEL) curricula first seen in kindergarten to 12th grade has expanded to prekindergarten. This report presents initial implementation findings of the Positive Emotional Development and Learning Skills (PEDALS) program, an SEL program in prekindergarten classrooms in Western and Central New York and Southeast Michigan. PEDALS is a two-year program that combines the Second Step Early Learning SEL curriculum with comprehensive supports for teachers and site directors. Findings indicate that educators perceived the Second Step curriculum, PEDALS training, and PEDALS coaching support very favorably; strongly believed in supporting children's social-emotional development; and had a strong sense of self-efficacy for doing so. Observations indicated that educators were highly skilled in implementing Second Step lessons; however, teachers used strategies less consistently when children were having a difficult time or experiencing interpersonal conflict. Educators identified PEDALS resources for developing children's social-emotional competencies as the factors that provided the most implementation support; meanwhile, they identified some contextual factors, such as children's challenging behavior and lack of planning time, as the factors that most hindered implementation. Preliminary findings suggest that many preconditions for effective SEL instruction were met. This implementation study is a part of a larger evaluation of PEDALS that also will estimate the effect of the program on children's SEL and executive functioning skills. A second report will be published at the study's conclusion. [Additional funding from the Health Foundation for Western & Central New York.]
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- 2024
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20. A Longitudinal Study of Loneliness in Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disabilities: Coping with Loneliness from Childhood through Adulthood
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Hillary Schiltz, Dena Gohari, Jamie Park, and Catherine Lord
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Many autistic people and people with non-spectrum neurodevelopmental disabilities (e.g. intellectual disability) report feeling lonely, which can negatively impact their well-being. There is little longitudinal research, however, tracking changes in how autistic people experience, conceptualize, and cope with loneliness throughout their lives. A longitudinal sample of 114 people, which included autistic participants and participants with neurodevelopmental disabilities, characterized experiences of loneliness, perceptions of other people's loneliness, and strategies used to cope with loneliness from childhood to adulthood. Level of loneliness and coping strategies were coded from Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule Modules 3 and 4 protocol forms. Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule Loneliness Ratings were correlated across time and increased from adolescence to young adulthood. The most common loneliness coping strategies were Behavioral Distraction (e.g. watching TV) and Instrumental Action (e.g. seeking social contact), which were both used by more people in adulthood than childhood. Those who used Behavioral Distraction and a greater number of coping strategies had higher Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule Loneliness-Self Ratings (i.e. were lonelier) during adolescence and adulthood. Findings highlight adulthood as a particularly vulnerable time for loneliness and indicate a need for more support and social opportunities for autistic adults and adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities who wish to make more social connections.
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- 2024
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21. Teaching Critical Thinking in Nutritional Sciences: A Model Course and Assignments
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Tyler B. Becker, Vanessa N. Cardino, James Lucas, and Jenifer I. Fenton
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Critical thinking is a common and important learning outcome in college curricula. Case-based and problem-based learning can be used to assess and foster critical thinking skills. HNF 250--Contemporary Issues in Human Nutrition is a critical thinking course developed during the redesign of a nutritional sciences major program. Course assignments were designed to assess the course and nutritional sciences major learning outcomes. The nutrition and health claim assignment is scaffolded across the academic semester as three assignments: (1) bibliography assignment; (2) poster presentation; and (3) paper. Course lectures and materials have been designed to prepare students for completion of each assignment. The assignments have been modified over time based on classroom observations and student performance. In 2021, the course learning outcomes were examined by assessing several assignments including the nutrition and health claim poster and paper. Course learning outcome benchmarks using these assessments generally included 80% of students achieving an 80% for each criterion. Results revealed that students were not meeting most of these assessment benchmarks during the 2021 iteration, although benchmark data from other course assessments were more satisfactory. It is possible that the transition from a virtual to an in-person format negatively influenced student performance on these course learning outcomes. This course and the nutrition and health claim assignment example can provide a course design and learning outcome assessment framework for other higher education critical thinking courses.
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- 2024
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22. A CURE Lab in Introductory Biology at a Regional Comprehensive University Negatively Impacts Student Success in the Associated Lecture Course among Students from Groups Underrepresented in Science
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Anne M. Casper and Marianne M. Laporte
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Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been proposed as a mechanism to democratize access to the benefits of apprentice-style scientific research to a broader diversity of students, promoting inclusivity and increasing student success and retention. As we evaluate CUREs, it is essential to explore their effectiveness within the environments of regional comprehensive universities and community colleges, because they are important access points for a wide variety of students. It is also important to address the potential influence of volunteer bias, where students can opt to enroll in either the CURE or a traditional lab, on the outcomes of CUREs. We evaluated a CURE at a regional comprehensive university under conditions both with and without volunteer bias. We find that nonvolunteer students report a lower sense of discovery and relevance of the CURE compared with students who volunteered for the course. Importantly, we also find that our replacement of the traditional lab class with a CURE resulted in lower scores on exams in the associated lecture course among students who are both BIPOC and Pell eligible. We call for additional research on the effects of CUREs at nonresearch-intensive institutions and without volunteer bias, to better understand the impact of these classes. When a traditional lab was replaced with a CURE a Regional Comprehensive Institution, students who are both BIPOC and Pell eligible have lower scores on the exams in the associated lecture course. Also, students who did not volunteer for the CURE report a lower sense of discovery and relevance in the course.
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- 2024
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23. Utilizing a Medical School Outreach Program to Help High School Students Explore the Impact of Food Security and Ultraprocessed Foods on Health Risks
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Kyeorda Kemp, Brianne Lewis, Akshata R. Naik, and Virginia E. Uhley
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We offered an enrichment program for high school students with the theme, "The Environment, Health, and You" during the Summer of 2022 and the Spring of 2023. We developed several educational modules for high school students that provided them with an opportunity to learn and explore the foundations of physiological systems, nutrient needs to maintain health, and the impact that environmental factors can have on them. The modules included videos, discussion boards, games, readings, and labs. These modules were integrated into the first session: Your Body and Health. On "day 1," the first module explored the basic physiology and anatomy of the body with respect to the organization of cells into organ systems. Additionally, the educational content included information on macro- and micronutrients and their impact on body development, nutrition, and metabolism. The nutrition module explored nutrition concepts and various factors that can impact healthy eating patterns, such as food insecurity issues and the consumption of ultraprocessed foods. A lab activity on label reading was included to help empower students to make healthy choices. A total of 43 high school students participated in the program. Overall, the quality of the educational content in the modules was rated highly by the students, and they indicated that the educational experience inspired them to learn more about the physiology and nutrition concepts associated with human metabolism, and the importance of healthy food choices to maintain health.
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- 2024
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24. An Online Communication Partner Training Program: POWR+ Intervention Results for Teachers, Paraeducators, and Children
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Sarah N. Douglas, Ryan Bowles, Joshua Plavnick, Sarah M. Dunkel-Jackson, Tiantian Sun, and Atikah Bagawan
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Paraeducators frequently support children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) but often lack access to effective training opportunities. Similarly, special education teachers are responsible for supervising paraeducators but often lack effective training on AAC and paraeducator supervision. The POWR+ (Prepare the activity and AAC, Offer opportunities for communication, Wait for the child's communication, Respond to the child's communication, + model AAC) intervention provides training to both paraeducators and supervising teachers to support communication for children who use AAC. In this study, a single-case multiple probe design was used to examine the effects of the POWR+ intervention (e.g., communication opportunities, responses to child communication, and plus AAC models provided by paraeducators) for three teacher-paraeducator-child teams. As a result of the POWR+ intervention paraeducator communication opportunities and paraeducator AAC models increased for all paraeducators. Increases were also noted for communication turns for one child and paraeducator responses to child communication for two paraeducators. Results indicate that the POWR+ intervention may be a viable training option for paraeducators and teachers who support children who use AAC.
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- 2024
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25. 'There Are Other Ways to Answer This': Development of Pedagogical Content Knowledge via Listening as a Benefit to Writing Fellows across Disciplines
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Naitnaphit Limlamai, Emily Wilson, and Anne Ruggles Gere
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While much research has been devoted to understanding how peer tutoring benefits tutors, less attention has been given to how peer tutors develop pedagogical content knowledge as an additional benefit of working with students as they write. In this qualitative study of 15 undergraduate Writing Fellows (writing-focused peer tutors who work in large undergraduate gateway courses at the University of Michigan), we explore how Fellows describe their interactions with students in order to understand how they developed more nuanced knowledge of content and honed their pedagogical skills. We use the framework of interpretive and hermeneutic listening in a novel way in order to understand how the Fellows' listening orientation towards students informed their pedagogical strategies. We found that Writing Fellows took students seriously as sense-makers and used their numerous interactions with students and their close proximity to novice perspectives to develop flexible thinking about the subject and to inform their teaching.
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- 2024
26. A Foundation and a Fire: Strengthening Humanities Education in Community Colleges
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Columbia University, Community College Research Center (CCRC), Cho, Selena, Bickerstaff, Susan, Sparks, Daniel, and Schanker, Jenny
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Participation in humanities coursework is vital, both for community college students pursuing credentials considered "academic" and for those in career and technical education fields who may not transfer to four-year colleges. Humanities courses help students develop foundational skills; they may also light students' fire for learning as they experience opportunities to think critically and collaborate creatively with peers. In this report, the authors present findings from research on humanities coursetaking at Michigan community colleges conducted as part of the Strengthening Michigan Humanities (MiHumanities) project. The authors analyze quantitative data, including term-over-term enrollment, coursetaking, and credential completion records for students entering Michigan community colleges between academic years 2009-10 and 2017-18, and qualitative data from interviews and focus groups with faculty, administrators, and students at a number of Michigan community colleges. They find that while community college students and faculty identify benefits they associate with participation in humanities coursework, most Michigan community college students take relatively few humanities courses outside of English Composition, and the number of students taking non-composition humanities courses has declined modestly in recent years. The use of streamlined pathways to promote program completion at community colleges makes it challenging for colleges to simply increase the number of humanities courses students are able to take within a program of study. It therefore becomes important for community colleges to make the most of the opportunities that students do have to encounter the humanities. Colleges should implement strategies that position critical thinking, argumentation, and creativity as central to the student experience, regardless of intended course of study. The authors offer ideas on how states, intermediaries, and individual institutions can bolster humanities learning among community college students across all programs of study.
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- 2023
27. Literacy Gains from Weekly Newsela ELA Use: A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of Content-Rich Instruction
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Lisa B. Hurwitz
- Abstract
As part of integrated instruction, educators aim to efficiently and simultaneously address learning goals across multiple subject areas like English language arts (ELA) and science or social studies. While studies are beginning to show that this instructional approach can be effective, it is challenging to implement in practice, requiring that educators dedicate considerable energy to sourcing interdisciplinary texts. This study explored whether Newsela ELA could enable integrated instruction and lead to stronger reading outcomes for students in upper elementary school. Newsela ELA is a knowledge and skill-building platform with a vast content library that includes thousands of leveled nonfiction texts and standards-aligned multiple-choice quizzes. This study compared upper elementary classes that used Newsela ELA to support integrated instruction throughout an entire school year to control classrooms within the same school that searched the Internet to find texts for integrated instruction. Fourth grade Newsela users exceeded the state's reading performance average. They demonstrated the equivalent of about three additional months of literacy skill growth more than peers in comparison classrooms when evaluated against national normative growth benchmarks. Newsela classes read 44% more nonfiction texts and engaged in more frequent multiple choice practice than comparison classes. Newsela teachers were less reliant on Google to source classroom texts. Results suggest that Newsela ELA can help make integrated instruction feasible for teachers by making it easier for them to find high-quality texts and for their students to engage in valuable skills practice. Newsela ELA appears to have increased the quality of texts students accessed without adding additional instructional time. [This report was produced by newsela.]
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- 2023
28. Viral Change: Trends in Michigan Teacher Attrition and Mobility before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Policy Brief
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National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH), Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC), Bryant G. Hopkins, Katherine O. Strunk, and Salem Rogers
- Abstract
Educators and policymakers across the country have been raising alarms about a growing teacher shortage. In Michigan, teacher shortages were so severe in the 2018-19 school year that 2,500 classrooms were staffed by long-term substitutes--nearly ten times the number placed in classrooms five years prior. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised even greater concerns about the supply of teachers, with several surveys of Michigan educators administered early in the COVID-19 pandemic indicating that a substantial proportion of full-time and substitute teachers are considering leaving the teaching profession due to pandemic-related concerns. In this study, we use administrative data from Michigan to understand how teachers' propensities to leave the public school system, switch districts, or switch schools shifted after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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- 2023
29. School Choice Programs Need a Firewall for Homeschoolers. Briefing Paper Number 164
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Cato Institute and Colleen Hroncich
- Abstract
The growth of homeschooling from a somewhat fringe movement during the 1970s and 1980s to a more widespread and socially accepted approach in recent decades has provided a strong foundation of flexible learning models. When Florida's school choice expansion, House Bill 1, was introduced in January 2023, one of its goals was to allow more homeschoolers to participate in the education savings account (ESA) program. But many homeschoolers and homeschool advocacy groups balked at the proposal. Having worked hard to achieve independence, they were loath to be linked to government funding. Even if the program were optional, they feared that associated regulations would eventually extend to traditional homeschoolers. In the end, the bill passed with new language that satisfied traditional homeschoolers by creating a new option for parents to educate their children at home. As states continue to enact and expand education savings accounts, Colleen Hroncich argues that it is crucial that policymakers craft bills in a way that maximizes freedom and minimizes roadblocks.
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- 2023
30. IMSE Orton-Gillingham Teacher Professional Development Program: Evaluation Findings Report
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Pamela Ferguson, Anthony Shreffler, and Deborah Shama-Davis
- Abstract
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 related professional development opportunities for school districts and teachers. To examine the effectiveness of the IMSE OG program, with the primary consideration of submitting findings for ESSA's Evidence Standards, a quasi-experimental research design was utilized to compare treatment and control group students in first, second, and third grades on oral reading fluency. Two comparable public-school districts in Michigan were chosen for the study, which included five elementary schools (three from the control district and two from the treatment district). At each grade level, an analysis of covariance was conducted to evaluate the impact of IMSE OG teacher professional development training on student achievement. When controlling for fall reading fluency scores, students in all three grade levels who were taught by IMSE OG-trained teachers scored significantly higher on spring oral reading fluency compared to students who received the traditional curriculum.
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- 2023
31. Educational Recovery and Acceleration through Equitable Funding: How Michigan's Budget Can Improve Outcomes for All Students. Brief on the Fiscal Year 2025 Executive School Aid Budget Recommendation
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Education Trust-Midwest
- Abstract
All students deserve access to a high-quality education and the resources they need to thrive. However, in Michigan this has not been the reality for far too long, particularly for students who are the most underserved. Longstanding inequities have persisted and worsened since the beginning of the pandemic, and Michigan has fallen further and faster than leading states since 2019. Further, pandemic recovery as of 2023 has been woefully inadequate. To improve outcomes for all Michigan students, Education Trust-Midwest (ETM) outlined 10 evidence-backed recommendations as part of the 2023 State of Michigan Education Report. In the Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget Recommendation, Governor Whitmer includes several key investments for students' educational recovery and acceleration that align with those recommendations. This document is intended to highlight these key pieces of Governor Whitmer's education budget recommendation and explore how these priorities, as well as other strategies, can advance equity and excellence in Michigan schools.
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- 2024
32. Transforming a Regional Education Agency through MTSS Implementation
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, State Implementation and Scaling-up of Evidence-based Practices (SISEP) Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, FPG Child Development Institute, National Implementation Research Network (NIRN), Brian Jones, Julie Cassie, and Caryn Ward
- Abstract
Context matters in implementation. The Lenawee ISD (LISD) in Michigan navigated implementation through major changes in its school district's administration and the COVID-19 pandemic. The district highlighted in the impact story experienced leadership change in the District Superintendent position and three school principal positions. The district and LISD credit the sustained use of MTSS to the accomplished system work. The initial cohort of districts reported their ability to respond quickly and proactively to the COVID-19 pandemic due to their teaming and systems being in place. As the LISD implementation team reflects on their MTSS implementation journey to date, several key learnings are generated. [This report was created with the Lenawee Intermediate School District.]
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- 2024
33. The Stickiness of Pandemic-Driven Disenrollment from Public Schools. EdWorkingPaper No. 23-820
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Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, Andrew Bacher-Hicks, Tareena Musaddiq, Joshua Goodman, and Kevin Stange
- Abstract
The extent to which pandemic-induced public school enrollment declines will persist is unclear. Student-level data from Michigan through fall 2021 yields three relevant findings. First, relative to pre-pandemic trends, fall 2021 enrollment had partially recovered for low-income, Black, and Hispanic students, but had declined further for non-low-income, White, and Asian students. Second, annual public school exit rates remained elevated for elementary students and accelerated further for middle school students. Third, public school exit is sticky and varies by chosen alternative. Only 21 percent of those who left for private schools in fall 2020 had returned by fall 2021, while 50 percent of those who left for homeschooling had returned. These findings suggest that pandemic-driven public school enrollment declines may persist, and more so among higher income families.
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- 2023
34. System Responses to Crisis: Organizational Perspectives. Technical Report
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National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH), University of Southern California (USC), Center on Education Policy, Equity and Governance (CEPEG), Jabbar, Huriya, Winchell Lenhof, Sarah, Marsh, Julie, Daramola, Eupha Jeanne, Alonso, Jacob, Singer, Jeremy, Watson, Chanteliese, and Mulfinger, Laura
- Abstract
In March 2020, the coronavirus shuttered schools across the United States and the world. In the first year of the pandemic, school systems faced difficult decisions about how to deliver instruction while maintaining the safety and wellbeing of students, families, faculty, and staff. As the months passed, the consequences from this public health crisis became even more apparent, as it disproportionately affected historically marginalized communities and further exacerbated existing educational inequities. Therefore, it is essential to understand how schools and systems respond to crises so we can design and implement changes in policy and practice that will better prepare us for the future. In this research, the authors sought to accomplish this goal by asking the following questions: (1) How did school systems respond to challenges in this early phase of the pandemic?; and (2) And did these responses differ by school sector (charter, private, or traditional public school) and by context? [For "A Year That Forced Change: Examining How Schools and School Systems Adapted to the Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Calls for Racial Justice in 2020. Policy Brief," see ED629490.]
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- 2023
35. School System Responses to Racial Injustice. Technical Report
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National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH), University of Southern California (USC), Center on Education Policy, Equity and Governance (CEPEG), Enoch-Stevens, Taylor, Daramola, Eupha Jeanne, Marsh, Julie, Mulfinger, Laura, Ogden, Kait, Bradley, Duwana, Hemphill, Annie, and Williams, Sheneka
- Abstract
Over the past two years, there have been calls for racial justice in nearly every sphere of social and political life, including the field of education. As much of the nation reeled at yet another life violently taken at the hands of a police officer, education workers faced the challenge of responding to local and national demands for policy change at the school and district levels in order to better meet the academic, social emotional, and other personal needs of racially minoritized students. In this report, the researchers share data from our 2020-21 study of how schools in eight districts across the United States responded to racial injustice, as well as parents' satisfaction with these responses. Specifically, they ask: (1) How did school systems in different sectors (i.e. traditional versus charter) respond to heightened attention to racial injustice?; (2) How did these different organizational contexts or other conditions shape response?; and (3) How did parents experience this year of racial reckoning and system responses? [For "A Year That Forced Change: Examining How Schools and School Systems Adapted to the Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Calls for Racial Justice in 2020. Policy Brief," see ED629490.]
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- 2023
36. A Year That Forced Change: Examining How Schools and School Systems Adapted to the Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Calls for Racial Justice in 2020. Policy Brief
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National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH), University of Southern California (USC), Center on Education Policy, Equity and Governance (CEPEG), Jabbar, Huriya, Enoch-Stevens, Taylor, Winchell Lenhoff, Sarah, Marsh, Julie, Daramola, Eupha Jeanne, Alonso, Jacob, Singer, Jeremy, Watson, Chanteliese, Mulfinger, Laura, Ogden, Kait, Bradley, Dwuana, Hemphill, Annie, and Williams, Sheneka
- Abstract
In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 virus shuttered schools across the country and world and calls for racial justice expanded into nearly every sphere of social and political life as the nation reeled at another life violently taken at the hands of a police officer. School system leaders faced difficult decisions about delivering instruction while maintaining the safety and well-being of students, families, faculty, and staff. Moreover, the spotlight on racial injustice also drew attention to the need for educational reform to better serve historically marginalized students with academic, social, emotional, and other special needs. This research explores how educational institutions and their systems responded to two sudden disruptions, the COVID-19 pandemic and increased awareness of racial inequity. This research compared responses from traditional, charter, voucher-receiving private schools and rural and urban districts. The findings were based on 68 interviews with district, school, and community leaders and 46 interviews with parents, plus website, social media, and document analysis across four states and Washington, DC. [For the "School System Responses to Racial Injustice. Technical Report," see ED629491. For the "System Responses to Crisis: Organizational Perspectives. Technical Report," see ED629492.]
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- 2023
37. Viral Change: Trends in Michigan Teacher Attrition and Mobility before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic
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Michigan State University (MSU), Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC), Bryant G. Hopkins, Katherine O. Strunk, and Salem Rogers
- Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised even greater concerns about a growing teacher shortage. In this study, we use administrative data on more than 140,000 Michigan traditional public and charter school teachers in an interrupted time series framework to understand how teacher attrition and supply may have shifted after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results suggest that Michigan teachers were more likely to leave the profession, less likely to leave their districts, and more likely to switch schools within their district after the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years relative to pre-pandemic trends. Additionally, teachers in low COVID-19 rate communities, as well as those in districts that offered fully in-person instruction at the start of the 2020-21 school year, were more likely to leave the teaching profession or switch districts following the 2019-20 school year compared to teachers in fully remote districts.
- Published
- 2023
38. Durability and Debate: How State-Level Policy Actors Frame School Choice
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Daramola, Eupha Jeanne, Allbright, Taylor N., Marsh, Julie A., Jabbar, Huriya, and Kennedy, Kate E.
- Abstract
School choice policies have become a prominent feature of K-12 education in recent decades, reflecting the broader institutionalization of market-based political ideology in education. In this qualitative multiple case study, we draw on framing theory and interviews with 57 state-level education policy actors to explore the nature of the continued debate over school choice in five U.S. states. We find five patterns of framing choice as beneficial, centering around five purported goals-- quality, equity, liberty, plurality, and innovation--along with critiques of these frames. Our findings illustrate that despite the contested nature of these policies, the broad appeal and flexibility of "choice"' helps to explain its durability.
- Published
- 2023
39. Durability and Debate: How State-Level Policy Actors Frame School Choice
- Author
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Eupha Jeanne Daramola, Taylor N. Allbright, Julie A. Marsh, Huriya Jabbar, and Kate E. Kennedy
- Abstract
School choice policies have become a prominent feature of K-12 education in recent decades, reflecting the broader institutionalization of market-based political ideology in education. In this qualitative multiple case study, we draw on framing theory and interviews with 57 state-level education policy actors to explore the nature of the continued debate over school choice in five U.S. states. We find five patterns of framing choice as beneficial, centering around five purported goals--quality, equity, liberty, plurality, and innovation--along with critiques of these frames. Our findings illustrate that despite the contested nature of these policies, the broad appeal and flexibility of "choice"' helps to explain its durability.
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
40. Every Student Is Not Succeeding: ESSA, Titles I-IV, & Religious School Students. White Paper No. 262
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Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, Olson, Tom, Hellman, Ariella, and Fleming, Russell
- Abstract
As the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides to public and private school students and schools wide-ranging academic and educational supports. This paper provides a historical review of: (1) the federal government's role in education; (2) the creation and passage of ESEA; and (3) ESEA's subsequent development and reauthorizations. The authors next describe ESEA's application to parentally placed private school students. The law makes it clear that private school students are to participate equitably in the benefits that ESEA confers. Upon identifying and describing the challenges to this equitable participation that private school students and stakeholders have faced under ESEA's most recent reauthorization (ESSA), the authors conclude by offering concrete recommendations on how ESEA's next reauthorization can effectively address these challenges.
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- 2023
41. Celebrating Differences: A Conjoint Analysis of Senior Year Mechanical Engineering Students' Occupational Preferences
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James N. Magarian and Warren P. Seering
- Abstract
Given its ongoing struggles at attaining demographic diversity and its key role in nations' economies, the engineering workforce receives considerable attention from researchers and policymakers. Yet, prior studies and STEM recruitment initiatives have often underemphasized the variety among available engineering jobs and careers. It therefore remains unclear which attributes of engineering work are most salient in shaping students' choices to persist in or depart from engineering pathways. This study introduces a novel conjoint survey experiment conducted with over 1000 senior year mechanical engineering students. This randomized experiment allows the authors to disentangle supply-side and demand-side factors to assess engineering job attributes' marginal influences on students' occupational preferences, as well as to examine these attributes' interaction effects with supply-side factors. Toward strengthening persistence in engineering pathways, findings suggest that broad STEM recruitment initiatives, though potentially advantageous in pre-college years, should give way to more targeted campaigns that increase university students' awareness about key dimensions of variety across engineering work roles.
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- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
42. Child Effects on Positive Parenting Vary with Neighborhood Opportunity
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S. Alexandra Burt, Elizabeth A. Shewark, Jeffrey Shero, Amber L. Pearson, Jenae M. Neiderhiser, Kelly L. Klump, and Joseph S. Lonstein
- Abstract
Prior theoretical and empirical research has highlighted links between positive parenting and the socioeconomic characteristics of the family's neighborhood, but has yet to illuminate the etiologic origins of this association. One possibility is that the various predictors of parenting outlined by Belsky (1984; e.g., characteristics of the child, characteristics of the parent, and contextual influences) may matter more in some neighborhood contexts than in others. To examine this possibility, we conducted etiologic moderation analyses in a sample of 1,030 families of twins (average age 8 years; 51% male, 49% female; racial composition: 82% White, 10% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Indigenous, and 6% multiracial) from the Twin Study of Behavioral and Emotional Development in Children in the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Neighborhood and parenting were assessed using multiple informants and assessment strategies (neighborhood and family informants, administrative data, and videotaped parent-child interactions). Results pointed to strong evidence of etiologic moderation, such that child effects on positive mothering were prominent in neighborhoods with little opportunity and near zero in neighborhoods with ample opportunity. Such findings not only reframe the magnitude of child effects on the parenting they receive as context-dependent, but also indicate that mothers in impoverished neighborhoods may be more responsive to their children's characteristics than mothers in neighborhoods with ample opportunity.
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- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
43. Longitudinal Associations between Online Usage of Library-Licensed Content and Undergraduate Student Performance
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Felichism Kabo, Annaliese Paulson, Doreen Bradley, Ken Varnum, and Stephanie Teasley
- Abstract
Seeking to better understand the longitudinal association between online usage of library-licensed content and short- and long-term student performance, we linked EZproxy logs to institutional university data to study how library usage impacts semester and cumulative GPAs. Panel linear mixed effects regression models indicate online library usage is significantly associated with both semester and cumulative GPAs. The library usage effect is larger for semester GPA, and varies by on- and off-campus residency. The effect on semester GPA is larger for off-campus students, while for cumulative GPA the effect is larger for on-campus students. Longitudinally linked library-institutional data offers key insights on the library's value.
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- 2024
- Full Text
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44. Cultivating Critical Race Theory Awareness with Secondary Pre-Service Teachers through Examination of Black Lives Matter-Themed Literature
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K. Dara Hill
- Abstract
This study documents secondary pre-service teachers (PSTs) who examined Black Lives Matter (BLM)-themed young adult literature (YAL) embedded in contemporary realistic fiction and graphic novels, as part of coursework for an online YAL course required for secondary teacher certification. An analysis of instructor mentoring, online discussions, literature evaluations, and interviews demonstrates enhanced awareness of the need to implement BLM-themed literature, against the grain of rigid curricular requirements and policies that ban critical race theory (CRT) dialogue in numerous school districts. Moreover, PSTs identified these texts as a source to guide CRT to raise awareness of the history and permanence of systemic racism and its influence on contemporary society and the implementation of culturally relevant literature.
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- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
45. Strengthening Quality Rating Improvement Systems for School-Aged Childcare
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Forum for Youth Investment
- Abstract
State Quality Rating Improvement Systems (QRIS) can effectively support the improvement of school-age childcare programs by leveraging Program Quality Assessments (PQAs) alongside structured improvement planning and professional development. Real-world implementations in Arkansas, Michigan, and Pennsylvania underscore the impact and adaptability of the PQA within QRIS, emphasizing its role in fostering a culture of improvement and the importance of investing in well-trained staff to ensure positive outcomes for school-age children.
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- 2024
46. Is Study Abroad Still a Privilege? Exploring the Inequality Gap between Intentions and Study Abroad at a Public Midwestern University in the U.S.
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Hermann Kurthen and Anna Hammersmith
- Abstract
Although more students study abroad today than in decades prior, participation still lags behind national goals put forth by the Lincoln Commission. Many students plan to study abroad, yet this often does not correspond with actual participation. This gap suggests there are barriers that prevent study abroad intentions from evolving into program enrollment. This study analyzes full population data and a NSSE (National Survey of Student Engagement) subset to distinguish study abroad and non-study abroad student intentions and participation between 2007 and 2017 at Grand Valley State University (GVSU), a public liberal arts university in the U.S. Midwest. The role of demographic, academic, and socioeconomic factors are explored using logistic regression. Findings confirm alignment of study abroad patterns with student characteristics, which represent barriers as well as opportunities for study abroad participation. Interventions at institutional and individual levels could be useful for addressing social group disparities and the participation gap.
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- 2024
- Full Text
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47. A New Architecture for High School Learning
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Ali, Russlynn and Knowles, Timothy F. C.
- Abstract
In 1906, the Carnegie unit, or credit hour, was introduced to standardize U.S. public education. It defined the precise number of minutes students needed to learn a particular subject and the number of credit hours required to earn a high school or college degree. At the dawn of the 20th century, the Carnegie unit served the important purpose of bringing order to an entirely unstandardized system. However, today, this model of schooling exacts a heavy toll. Young people consistently report feeling they are in an intellectual straightjacket: Their schools give them schedules, tell them what classes to take, stick them in rows of desks, and make them read textbooks that lack relevance and study subjects that are disconnected from the skills they need to succeed. For most students, school is neither engaging nor inspiring; it is something to endure. less than half of U.S. high school graduates are ready for college or a career. Consequently, most young people start their adult lives behind, and they will have to spend some, if not all, of their time trying to catch up. This article argues that state leaders should retire the Carnegie unit and open the door for high school designs that ensure learning is engaging, relevant, experiential, and competency based.
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- 2023
48. Innovative Uses of Federal Relief Funds for K-12. Policy Guide
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Education Commission of the States (ECS), Duncombe, Chris, and Syverson, Eric
- Abstract
Innovation in education is vital for responding to emerging challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and for building progress on longstanding challenges in schools. The infusion of substantial, highly flexible pots of federal relief dollars created an opportunity to pilot new programs and initiatives. Many states and districts opted to invest resources in traditional K-12 expenses, such as increasing staff capacity or updating facilities. However, states are also using the funds to spark new initiatives that otherwise may not have been possible and can be replicated across the country. This Policy Guide presents six strategies along with state examples to assist in planning, designing, implementing, and sustaining innovative services and programs. In addition to these strategies, other researchers have developed models for change that put forward other unique approaches, such as allowing for locally driven variation, providing human capital support for ongoing technical assistance and tolerating small-scale risk. The end goal of using these approaches is to design innovative policies that endure and improve long-term student outcomes.
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- 2023
49. What Will It Take to Achieve Funding Adequacy for All Michigan Students? $4.5 Billion Needed to Close Funding Gaps
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Education Law Center, Delpier, Tanner, and McKillip, Mary
- Abstract
School funding in Michigan is inadequate and inequitable. Michigan does not provide a sufficient base per-pupil amount, nor does the state properly address the cost of educating students with additional needs, especially students with disabilities, English learners, and low-income students. It would cost $4.5 billion to bring districts to funding adequacy based on estimates updated from the 2018 Michigan School Finance Research Collaborative (SFRC) adequacy study. This cost includes an estimated $1.6 billion to introduce universal, no-cost preschool. This report emphasizes the importance of the SFRC's adequacy recommendations by highlighting the following current needs and potential benefits from the SFRC adequacy study: (1) Most Michigan districts need substantial increases in revenue to reach adequate funding; and (2) Certain districts, especially those serving significant numbers of low-income students, are more severely under-resourced.
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- 2023
50. Boosting Michigan FAFSA Completion with a State-Wide Mandate
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The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS)
- Abstract
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the primary application that determines access to federal, state, and institutional financial aid. When students fail to complete their FAFSA application, they are less likely to enroll or complete a credential, leaving tens of millions of federal resources for students on the table. Boosting FAFSA completion rates in Michigan is integral in reducing out-of-pocket costs for all Michiganders looking to improve their job eligibility and lifetime earnings. As one of the core priorities of TICAS Michigan and community partners across the state, it is crucial that any implementation of a state-wide mandate of FAFSA completion as a high school graduation requirement removes potential barriers and unintended consequences for outgoing high school graduates. TICAS Michigan's analysis compiles key feedback from community partners across the state to provide insights and student-centered recommendations to help guide policy discussions on solutions to improving Michigan's FAFSA completion rates.
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- 2023
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