Education

Ann Cunningham

Universally Designed Project-Centered Learning Environments

Awarded $80,125 for the period 6/1/00 to 5/30/03

Source: United States Education Department (ED)/Elon College

A Summer Planning Institute will provide intensive, technology-infused training so that higher education faculty and cooperating teachers will be prepared to model problem-based instruction and support the use of projects with teacher candidates. It extends the activities of a Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) capacity-building grant awarded to Elon College and the Alamance Area Education Consortium in August 1999 to include Wake Forest University, Barton College, and associated school districts. The consortium partnership, WEB-NC, will share resources, develop expertise, and train future teachers in the design of technology-enhanced, inquiry-based instructional modules that meet universal design specifications. The project will benefit teaching and learning throughout the consortium area and, as a model project, the nation.

Adam Friedman

Creating videos of exemplary social studies instruction

Awarded $12,996 for the period 8/17/13 to 4/30/14

Source: NC Ready for Success

WFU, UNC-Greensboro, and the Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools aim to develop 48 web-enabled videos (one per quarter per grade) rooted in the K-11 North Carolina Common Core and Essential Standards. They will demonstrate effective, research-based pedagogical approaches to teaching social studies in a variety of contexts; for example, using primary sources, technology, or problem-based learning and teaching struggling readers, English language learners, and classes with mixed ability levels.

What does this source mean? Beyond simply showing and telling using the broadsides and printed ephemera collection to facilitate historical inquiry in the standards-based classroom

Awarded $20,000 for the period 4/15/11 to 6/15/12

Source: Library of Congress/Waynesburg University

This project uses the American Memory Collection, An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Printed Ephemera, to demonstrate literature-based best practices for incorporating primary sources into K-12 social studies instruction. These relatively short documents span US history, take a variety of print and visual forms, reflect topics and themes commonly found in K-12 social studies content standards, and can be analyzed using a variety of pedagogical strategies. Workshop participants will learn three interrelated frames to lead visual, textual, and cultural analyses of the materials in their classrooms. They will also have opportunities to find items related to people, events, or time periods in this collection and to design effective, inquiry-based instruction rooted in state standards.

Leah McCoy

with Angela G. King, Chemistry

WINS = Wake Innovative Noyce Scholars

Awarded $893,753 for the period 7/1/09 to 6/30/14

Source: National Science Foundation (NSF)

Wake Forest University’s Noyce Scholars Phase 1 project will recruit, train, and mentor through induction 32 teachers highly qualified to lead grade 9-12 biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics classes. Undergraduate STEM majors and professionals will be aggressively recruited, seeking a diverse cohort in disciplinary and demographic terms. The 13-month program includes extensive study of the teaching and learning process based on best practice research, leading to licensure in a STEM field and a Master’s degree in Education. Graduates will be required to teach for two years in a high-need school while formally mentored through documented interactions with the Advisory Board and co-PIs. Postgraduation mentoring mechanisms include: (1) email, discussion boards, and blogs; (2) two annual on-campus seminars; and (3) financial support to attend professional conferences. A Project Evaluator will examine WINS operations, effectiveness, and impact from quantitative and qualitative data including surveys, teaching videos, teaching artifacts, and student achievement scores. As a result, annual cadres of committed, innovative, and effective STEM teachers will maximize the achievement of students in high-need schools. Project results, including analysis, conclusions, and reflections, will be disseminated in presentations and publications to develop a national model for improving teacher education and retention in STEM fields.

An Opportunity to Learn Advanced Mathematics in the Rural South: A Comparison of Curriculum and Instruction in High and Low Performing High Schools

Awarded $4,000 for the period 6/1/04 to 10/1/04

Source: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning

This project will investigate variations in opportunity for students to learn advanced mathematics in rural high schools in the South. It will examine the mathematics curricula offered and the instructional methodologies employed in schools defined by standardized assignments as high- or low-performing. The results will be valuable in identifying the variables that schools can modify to improve student achievement.

Teaching Math in the Delta: A Study of Mathematics Teachers in K-12 Public Schools in the Mississippi Delta

Awarded $6,700 for the period 8/1/00 to 8/1/01

Source: Spencer Foundation

K-12 public school mathematics teachers in six diverse school districts in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi will be interviewed and observed to gain insights into how to improve mathematics education in some of the nation’s most troubled schools. The Mississippi Delta presents unique opportunities to investigate how poverty and race affect K-12 education. The results will provide a better understanding of what happens in teachers’ lives and in their classrooms that impacts the learning environment. Analysis of this information will promote ideas for more effective mathematics education in the Mississippi Delta and elsewhere.