Event Archives

Policy Challenges Webinar: Developing Effective Fractions Instruction for Kindergarten Through 8th Grade
December 2010
A high percentage of U.S. students lack conceptual understanding of fractions—even after studying fractions for several years—which limits their ability to solve problems with fractions and to learn and apply computational procedures involving fractions. This interactive webinar introduced math teachers and educators in the Northeast and Islands Region to a new Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide on effective fractions instruction. Co-author Dr. Francis “Skip” Fennell presented the Guide’s five evidence-based recommendations to improve students’ learning of fractions. Attendees were encouraged to participate in an online Q&A session with Dr. Fennell. Webinar archive available.

Policy Challenges Conference: Bridging Research and Practice: Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades
October 2010
Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES) in Hamden, Conn., works with 25 school districts in south central Connecticut. Until recently, these districts had limited professional-development opportunities around strategies for working with English language learners (ELLs). This event provided district- and school-level staff from ACES’ member districts an opportunity to engage with Dr. Robin Scarcella, director of Academic English/ESL at the University of California, Irvine, and co-author of an Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide on teaching English literacy to ELLs. Speaking via webinar, Dr. Scarcella presented the Guide’s five evidence-based recommendations and answered questions submitted by participants. An archive of Dr. Scarcella’s presentation is available.

Policy Challenges Conference: Bridging Research and Practice: Multiple Measures of Teacher Effectiveness
June 2010
Leaders from the six New England states are participating in a regional network—the New England Collaborative for Educator Quality and Effectiveness (NECEQE)—to review research and share state efforts to develop policies and programmatic support for the complex challenge of measuring teacher effectiveness. This daylong meeting convened leaders from the Collaborative and their invited colleagues to delve more deeply into topics central to this undertaking: (a) defining teacher effectiveness, (b) measuring and evaluating teacher effectiveness, and (c) professional development and compensation systems tied to teacher evaluation. Featured speakers included Dr. Laura Goe of Educational Testing Service (ETS) and Charlotte Danielson, author of Enhancing Professional Practice:  A Framework for Teaching (2007).

Identifying Learning Disabilities in English Language Learners: Lessons from Three New York Districts
May 2010
This conference co-hosted with the Mid-Hudson Bilingual/ESL Technical Assistance Center (BETAC) and Mid-Hudson Regional Special Education Technical Assistance Center (RSE-TASC) brought together about 80 practitioners from the Mid-Hudson Region of New York with national and REL-NEI researchers, and New York State Education Department (NYSED) administrators, to share relevant, research-based information about identifying learning disabilities in students who are English language learners (ELLs). Dr. Janette Klingner of the University of Colorado at Boulder provided a national perspective on the issue and challenges involved in identification.

Policy Challenges Webinar: Measuring Teacher Effectiveness in New England
May 2010
In this webinar co-hosted with the New England Comprehensive Center and the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, Dr. Douglas Harris at the University of Wisconsin–Madison presented current research on value-added models for measuring teacher effectiveness. Among the webinar participants were representatives from the New England Collaborative for Educator Quality and Effectiveness (NECEQE), a newly formed initiative comprised of teacher-effectiveness leaders from each of the six New England states. Webinar archive available.

Policy Challenges Webinar: Implementing Response to Intervention (RTI) in Mathematics: Research-Based Strategies for Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont Grades K–8 Schools
February and March 2010
During this two-part webinar, Dr. Bradley Witzel of Winthrop University assisted district leaders and other educators in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont in learning how to better implement response to intervention (RTI) in mathematics through a focus on eight research-based recommendations presented in an Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide on the topic. Webinar archive available.

Policy Challenges Conference: Bridging Research and Practice:
Dropout Prevention: Keeping Our Kids in School

February 2010

Co-hosted with the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Department of Education, this conference brought Dr. Russell Rumberger, Professor of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara, to the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas to speak with USVI education leaders and policymakers about policies and practices to keep students in school. Dr. Rumberger presented six evidence-based recommendations for reducing dropout rates from the Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide on Dropout Prevention. Following his presentation, key Virgin Islands stakeholders, including Gov. John P. deJongh, Jr. and Education Commissioner Dr. La Verne Terry, commented on the recommendations from the perspectives of USVI policymakers and practitioners. Additionally, attendees participated in facilitated discussions about local laws, policies, and practices needed to reduce dropout rates in USVI schools.

Policy Challenges Conference: Bridging Research and Practice: Reducing Behavior Problems in the Elementary School Classroom

January 2010

This daylong conference in Framingham, Massachusetts, brought together nationally recognized mental health researcher Dr. Krista Kutash with teams of educators from districts across Massachusetts. Dr. Kutash presented five evidence-based recommendations for improving classroom behavior from an Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide on behavior management, which she co-authored. Dr. Kutash also met individually with the district teams to discuss how they can implement the recommendations in their particular schools.