Webinar Archives

Translating Research into Policy and Practice: REL-NEI at Work in the Region

August 2010
The Regional Educational Laboratories are active agents in identifying and implementing research initiatives—small and large—to address issues of state, regional, and national concern. In this webinar, REL Northeast and Islands’s director Jill Weber provided an overview of REL-NEI’s research services and then talked with selected stakeholders from around the region about their work with the REL. Attendees were invited to ask questions about REL services and translating research into policy and practice, as well as describe their own needs for research support. For more information and additional materials, visit the webinar overview page.

Identifying Learning Disabilities in English Language Learners: Lessons from Three New York Districts

May 2010
In this webinar, REL-NEI researchers presented findings from an Issues & Answers Report that examines the practices and processes in three suburban New York school districts to identify learning disabilities among students who are English language learners (ELLs). The researchers discussed eight challenges to identifying learning disabilities in ELLs and five interrelated elements that appear to be important for avoiding misidentification of learning disabilities. An instructional supervisor with the Miami-Dade Public Schools connected the research findings to her own district’s practices. For more information and additional materials, visit the webinar overview page.

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. For more information and additional materials, visit the webinar overview page.

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 (IES) Practice Guide on the topic. For more information and additional materials, visit the webinar overview page.

Response-to-Intervention Policies in 16 States

January 2010

Researchers from REL Northeast and Islands and REL West presented findings from two Issues & Answers Reports that reviewed state education agency (SEA) policies and supports for response to intervention (RTI) in districts and schools. Following the researchers’ presentation, a Vermont-based education consultant discussed the implications of the reports’ findings for practical implementation of RTI in schools and classrooms. For more information and additional materials, visit the webinar overview page.