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News & Events
Spotlight on Research
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION RESEARCH CONFERENCE
February 13th, 2009 • 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Miller Hall, University of Washington
Research provides educators with the knowledge and tools needed to advance learning, and the UW College of Education is a leading research university focused on developing educational solutions for real-world problems.
Please join us for the 2009 Research Conference.
SYMPOSIA SET #1 (12:00 pm – 1:15 pm)
Symposium: Connecting Learning Theory and the Practice of Leadership, Teaching and Learning across Settings (Part 1)
Miller Hall Room 104 • 12:00pm – 1:15pm. This symposium continues in the following session, with the main discussion period during the 1:30-2:45 session.
Faculty across the college are engaged in field-defining research that uses ideas from social theories of learning to understand pressing problems of educational practice. Some say that a hallmark of our college is the convergence of faculty work across the college on understanding how theories of learning as a social phenomenon, especially socio-cultural learning theory, can help improve the quality of educational research and practice. For this panel, faculty from areas across the college will discuss how they are using socio-cultural learning theory, in conjunction with other learning theories, in their research. A discussant will comment across the papers and invite audience participation in a discussion of cross-cutting issues.
Exploring the Relationship between the Elective Pursuits of Children and the Situated Practices of Scientific Work
Secondary Teachers’ Informal Professional Learning
Instructional Coaching: Using Theory to Understand the Role and Its Professional Challenges
Complex Interactions in Student Teaching: Lost Opportunities for
Learning
What is a Culture of Evidence? . . . And How Do We Get One?
District Central Offices as Learning Organizations: How Sociocultural and Organizational Learning Theories Elaborate District Central Office Administrators’ Participation in Teaching and Learning Improvement Efforts
Symposium: Closing the Achievement Gap
Miller Hall Room 112 • 12:00pm – 1:15pm
Asian American K-12 Students in Washington: Closing Their Hidden Achievement Gaps
Pacific Islanders and Academic Achievement in Washington
Hispanic Students and Academic Achievement in Washington
BREAK (1:15 – 1:30)
Refreshments will be available throughout the afternoon
SYMPOSIA SET #2 (1:30 pm – 2:45 pm)
Symposium: Connecting Learning Theory and the Practice of Leadership, Teaching and Learning across Settings (Part 2)
Miller Hall Room 104 • 1:30pm – 2:45pm.
This symposium is a continuation of the previous session, with discussion.
Symposium: Student Learning in School Contexts
Miller Hall Room 112 • 1:30pm – 2:45pm
Talk, Timeout And Expel: How Early Childhood Educators Support (And Sometimes Thwart) The Social And Emotional Development Of Young Children
Making Sense of F’s: How High School Shapes Students’ Interpretations of and Responses to Failure
Dropout rates in urban high schools are high and disproportionately affect low-income and minority students. Early course failure in ninth grade has been shown to put urban students at great risk of dropping out of school. This study focused on eight failing African American students the year after initial ninth grade failure, in order to shed light on the school and classroom structures, policies, and practices that influenced the ways these students made sense of and responded to their failure experiences. The study also focused on the pathways available to failing students for remediation and credit recovery. Designed as a qualitative three-level, comparative multi-case study, I interviewed failing students as well as their teachers and administrators in two small high schools in a large urban district. One school was a regular district high school using a conventional grading system. The other was a charter school using an alternative system for evaluating students and awarding course credit. While teacher practices and classroom policies were important, the study’s findings suggest that school-level structures, policies, and practices may have the potential for the greatest impact on student sensemaking and responses to early failure.
The AP+ Project: A Mixed-Methods Study of a Redesigned Advanced Placement Course (AP Government and Politics) Now Underway in 12 High School Classes
Advanced Placement (AP) courses are widely seen as one of the best ways to provide better curriculum and greater challenge to more high school students. Among high school graduates of 2006, 24.2% had taken an AP Exam, up from 15.9 percent in 2000 and growing (College Board, 2007). Yet the dominant method of teaching AP courses has changed little in the 50 years since the program began. The question we pose is: Can Project Based Learning improve high school AP? A major National Academy of Sciences report in 2002 found that “existing programs for advanced study are frequently inconsistent with the results of research on cognition and learning” (National Research Council, p. 2). In the press for acceleration, existing AP programs frequently resort to coverage of content as their primary aim. In contrast, deep conceptual understanding of the content and unifying concepts of a discipline is needed, research has shown, for accelerated future learning as well as for innovative and integrative solutions across subject matter specialties (National Research Council, 2000). In this talk, we’ll give an overview of the AP+ Project, a collaboration among UW, the Bellevue School District, and the George Lucas Educational Foundation. We’ll describe our systems-oriented approach to the re-design of the “AP Government and Politics” course and the study, and share some early impressions of where in the data the “plump pieces” are likely to be – inviting you to join us in rethinking AP.
BREAK (2:45– 3:00)
Refreshments will be available throughout the afternoon
SYMPOSIA SET #3 (3:00 pm – 4:15 pm)
Symposium: Explorations of Power and Possibilities
Miller Hall Room 104 • 3:00pm – 4:15pm
Intervening in School Bullying: An Optimistic Look at the Potential for Creating Egalitarian-Enhancing Peer Environments
People with a social dominance orientation desire non-egalitarian, hierarchical social relationships. In schools, skillful dominators use a combination of prosocial behavior and bullying to achieve their social position, and enforce conformity among others. Bullying affects academic performance by reducing class participation and a sense of belonging for members of “out-groups.” A random-control trial of a bullying reduction program showed impressive declines in playground bullying and reactive aggession after two years. Differences in rates of response-to-intervention suggest that some types of aggression are more easily changed than others. Skillful dominators probably have the social acumen to adapt quickly to more positive classroom norms. Reactively aggressive young people, who are frequently victimized, appear to benefit from extra support for self-regulatory abilities.
Philosophy in the Sandbox: Meditations on Alternatives to Domination and Acquiescence in Asymmetrical Relationships
The author of “In the Sandbox: Meditations on the Care of the Self and One Another” reports on using accessible stories and metaphors to explore theory-based alternatives to relations of domination and acquiescence in asymmetrical power relationships, such as between teacher and child.
Teaching to Watch, Not Just Watching to Teach: Using Documentary Films to Enhance Cross-Cultural Understanding
Scott Macklin will present various sections from the film “Masizakhe: Building Each Other”. The Eastern Cape city of Port Elizabeth is home to a group of dynamic young artists dedicated to uplifting their community through cultural activism. This film explores the collective identity of these activists through their ideologies and diverse initiatives. Rushay and Imhotep, big brothers of the scene, “emcee” a narrative that explores the principles and relevance of hiphop, black consciousness and history to the youth’s continuing struggle for freedom. Animations combined with powerful spoken word poetry support a documentary that demonstrates the energy and urgency of a new South African youth culture. As Imhotep says in the film, “this energy flows to and from students in the United States, Europe, South America – in fact, from all over the world.” Following the screening, there will be a discussion regarding implications of how to teach a film...not just watch a film in classroom settings.
Symposium: Research on Higher Education
Miller Hall Room 112 • 3:00pm – 4:15pm
Examining the Views of Undergraduate Math and Science Majors Regarding K-12 Teaching as a Career Choice
In this study, we seek to gain a better understanding of how undergraduates with a major field of study in math, science, and engineering fields view the K-12 teaching profession. A survey was conducted with a strategic sample of undergraduates enrolled in math, science, and engineering courses in community college and university settings, both public and private in Washington state(n=718). The survey addresses the following questions:
1. What is the level of interest in K-12 teaching among undergraduate math and science majors?
2. How do these undergraduates perceive the teaching profession?
3. To what extent does K-12 teaching offer these students the factors that they regard as important in a future career?
4. What policy measures and other influencing factors might encourage these students to consider a career in K-12 teaching?
What Matters for Excellence in PhD Programs? Latent Constructs of Quality in Recent Social Science Graduates’ Evaluations of PhD Program Elements
Traditionally, quality in PhD programs has been thought of (mostly) as synonymous with faculty scholarly prestige. But there is clearly another dimension of importance–effectiveness of the doctoral program in preparing students for their career roles. In this paper we explore this latter dimension from the viewpoints of highly credible evaluators–some 2,100 U.S. social science PhDs from 1995-1999 in 6 disciplines, surveyed in 2005 and 2006. We find that there are two distinct latent constructs of program quality held by roughly equal numbers of social science PhDs, one dominated by abstract academic qualities (academic rigor and critical thinking) and another where these qualities are much less important and less so than such program attributes as support in meeting requirements and creating a sense of belonging. Surprisingly, for both classes, respondents’ assessment of the quality of mentoring by faculty (a 6-item factor) was unrelated to their assessment of overall program excellence while assessment of excellence of preparation in “non-academic skills” (a 5-item factor) was inversely correlated with assessment of overall program excellence. Respondent placement into classes was found to be unrelated to gender, social science discipline, age or career goals at PhD but was related to current employment as a faculty member and strongly so to the scholarly quality rating of one’s PhD program.
BREAK (4:15 – 4:30)
Refreshments will be available throughout the afternoon
Final Session: Panel of Student Perspectives
Miller Hall Room 301 • 4:30pm – 5:00pm
Panelists: Jenee Myers Twitchell, Suzanne Reeves, Maria Zavala
About the College of Education at the University of Washington
The University of Washington College of Education is dedicated to making an excellent education a daily reality for every student in every community across the state and beyond. The College is ranked 7th in the nation among all Colleges of Education by U.S. News and World Report. At the College you’ll encounter a rigorous academic environment energized by a dedication to creating brighter futures for all – both learners and educators. We take pride in our innovative programs, world-class research centers, and strong community partnerships. Our internationally recognized faculty and researchers are working across campus, in local schools, and with other universities to explore and address issues affecting learning and education.
Click on an image below to watch video presentation
