McREL Top Stories

The Balanced Leadership Program and leadership, practice and learning

8 Jan 2010 22:47:02 GMT

Texas A&M University

Researchers from Texas A&M University and the University of Michigan are currently evaluating the effectiveness of McREL's Balanced Leadership® program. The study will look for a connection between principals' participation in the Balanced Leadership Program and student achievement gains.

Autonomy for School Leaders

4 Jan 2010 23:38:04 GMT

The School Administrator
January 2010, Number 1, Vol. 67

In this article, Jim Eck, McREL's senior director of field services, and Bryan Goodwin, McREL's vice president of communications and marketing, discuss a key finding from McREL's research on district leadership, which suggests that effective districts intentionally create "defined autonomy" for school leaders: they set clear, non-negotiable goals for student achievement and classroom instruction district-wide, while offering the principals the autonomy and support necessary to achieve those goals.

Discovery and New Frontiers News

25 Nov 2009 20:09:04 GMT

Volume 10, Number 3, November 2009

The latest edition of NASA's Discovery and New Frontiers Program Newsletter highlights McREL's participation in NASA Week in Boaz, Alabama, to our ongoing education and public outreach work for several NASA missions.

Cosmic Chemistry Enriches Summer Learning

23 Nov 2009 16:27:24 -0700

Greater Tulsa Reporter (Tulsa, Okla.)

Cosmic Chemistry is a two-week summer science program being designed and studied by McREL. The curriculum will be based on new scientific findings from the NASA Genesis Mission, the fifth in a series of un-manned space missions focused on the solar system.

English Language Learning and Leadership: Putting It All Together

19 Nov 2009 16:28:37 -0700

Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 91, No. 3 (November 2009): pp. 38-43.

McREL Principal Consultants Anne Lundquist and Jane Hill discuss the implications the increasing linguistic diversity of student populations. Educators are increasingly challenged to provide ELLs with academically rigorous instructions. This article explores how incorporating higher-order thinking into the stages of language acquisition can improve the rigor of instruction.

McREL evaluation study informs Jefferson County (Ky.) Public Schools reform efforts

13 Nov 2009 22:37:35 GMT

Jefferson County Public Schools (Louisville, Ky.)

Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky has released a new report that describes the outcomes of a series of reviews it commissioned to guide its future reform efforts. One of those reviews is the Greater Louisville Education Project, which McREL completed in 2009. McREL's review focused on five areas: preparing students for college/careers/civic engagement, curricular reform, the district/community safety net for children, the district's competitiveness among comparable cities, and funding adequacy.

Native American student achievement gap closing in Wisconsin

25 Oct 2009 17:53:39 GMT

Fox 21 News (Duluth, Minn.)

A new study suggests that the achievement gap between Native American students and non-native students is closing in several states. McREL Senior Researcher Dawn Mackety points out that the gap still exists and there is no indication that Native American students in general are catching up with or surpassing other groups.

NASA reaches out to Boaz students

2 Nov 2009 18:35:42 -0700

The Gadsden Times (Gadsden, Ala.)

Students and teachers in the Boaz City School System are preparing for "NASA Week"—a week-long series of classroom visits and hands-on demonstrations led by a team of NASA scientists, educators, and specialists. McREL Principal Consultant John Ristvey and the other NASA affiliates will spend the week working with both students and teachers, discussing current missions and career opportunities at NASA.

McREL creating and studying "Cosmic Chemistry" space science summer learning program in Tulsa

12 Oct 2009 23:01:10 GMT

McREL

McREL has begun work on a three-year project to design and study the effects of "Cosmic Chemistry"—a two-week summer science program designed to encourage high school students to enroll in chemistry. Cosmic Chemistry will use the real-world context of space science to set high expectations, build background knowledge, and motivate students, with the ultimate goal of increasing their science achievement.

College technology "catching up" with students

7 Oct 2009 21:59:45 GMT

USA Today

Modern college classrooms are rapidly becoming high-tech wonderlands. New technology offers ways for schools to reach students who live in a connected world. "For kids, the technology is just the environment that they know," says McREL Senior Director Howard Pitler.

High School Drop-out Risk

27 Sep 2009 16:38:19 GMT

KNBN NewsCenter1 (Rapid City, S.D.)

Experts in Indian Education held a summit in Rapid City, S.D., to discuss concerns about the graduation rate of Native Americans. McREL Senior Researcher Dawn Mackety, who studies Native American education, emphasized the importance of ensuring all students are given the best chance possible.

McREL to present at National School Boards Association T+L Conference

24 Sep 2009 19:35:32 GMT

McREL Press Release

McREL to present at National School Boards Association T+L Conference in Denver, Colo.

September 24, 2009

Denver—McREL consultants Howard Pitler and Elizabeth Hubbell will present on the following current topics at the upcoming 2009 T+L Conference October 28–30 in Denver, Colo.:

Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works: Setting Objectives, Identifying Similarities and Differences, and Cues, Questions and Advance Organizers
(Pre-conference Workshop by Howard Pitler)
Tuesday, October 27, 9:00 a.m.–noon and 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.

Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works is a bestselling book that weds research-based teaching strategies with technology in a way that enhances pedagogy. This hands-on session will provide participants with concrete examples of resources and Web 2.0 tools they can use right away in the classroom.

The morning session will focus on Setting Objectives, Identifying Similariaties and Differences, and Cues, Questions and Advance Organizers.

The afternoon session will focus on Nonlinguistic Representation, Generating and Testing Hypothesis, and Homework and Practice.
Web 2.0 and McREL's Research-based Instructional Strategies
(Workshop by Elizabeth Hubbell)
Wednesday, October 28, 3:30–5:00 p.m.
Since the 2001 publication of Classroom Instruction that Works and the recent follow-up of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, teachers across the nation have learned how the nine categories of research-based instructional strategies give teachers clear intended outcomes for using technology with their students.

Now, with the advent and proliferation of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom, teachers have rich, powerful, and engaging means of helping their students to learn cooperatively, give and receive feedback from teachers and peers, summarize and take notes collaboratively, and access cues, questions, and advance organizers.

This 90-minute session briefly describes the research, then gives an introduction to the many Web 2.0 tools that help teachers and student implement these strategies. The session is a brief overview of McREL's 2-day workshop.

This year's conference addresses critical issues facing schools today including engagement, technology & the law, professional development, leadership, S.T.E.M., and IT management.

Attendees are invited to visit the McREL Exhibit Booth (Booth 722) for free McREL publications, to ask questions of McREL presenters, or to speak with us about working at McREL.

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McREL is a nationally recognized, private, nonprofit organization located in Denver, Colo., dedicated to improving education for all students through applied research, product development and service. In 2008, McREL provided research-based guidance to educators and policymakers in four countries and 47 states across the U.S.

Northeast Guilford High School Awarded Most Improved School

22 Sep 2009 20:29:24 GMT

Piedmont Triad (Greensboro, N.C.)

In 2007, Northeast Guilford High School (NEHS) was identified as one of the state's "turnaround schools." The next year, the school initiated McREL's Success in Sight approach to school improvement. After only one year of Success in Sight, NEHS has been named one of the most improved schools in the county.

Benefits of unstructured, imaginative play in older children

30 Jul 2009 23:38:47 GMT

Denver Stay-At-Home Moms Examiner

Today's children spend more time focusing on homework and extra-curricular activities than ever before. But according to McREL Principal Researcher Elena Bodrova, this might be hurting their development and preparation for life.

Teachers expected to offer deeper subject understanding with new K-12 curriculum

27 Jul 2009 23:15:54 GMT

The Daily Times (Maryville, Tenn)

Tennessee schools have implemented new graduation requirements in an attempt to improve student achievement statewide. The state's science curriculum will be revised this year following guidelines from a McREL study the state commissioned in 2006.

Miller's low grades for JCPS aren't supported by facts

21 Jul 2009 20:27:52 GMT

The Courier Journal (Louisville, Ky.)

David Karem argues that the low grades recently given to Louisville, Kentucky, schools fails to take into account several important findings from the Greater Louisville Education Project Report prepared by McREL Senior Researcher Carrie Harris.