Created as part of the Research Brief Series from the Center for Effective School Practices.
Districts often spend a sizeable amount of resources on programs for students that require additional supports due to learning difficulties or disabilities. However, in recent years, the literature has begun to emphasize the benefits of identifying “gifted” students and providing them with tailored learning opportunities. While there is no widely accepted definition for giftedness, many schools across the country are considering how they can implement such programs in their own districts. This brief explores current best-practices in determining students' eligibility for gifted programs and offers a discussion of current issues such as the limitations of the current system and issues of underrepresentation.
You may download a complimentary copy of this publication here.
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines social-emotional learning (SEL) as “the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions." CASEL further describes SEL by breaking it down into five core competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. These skills benefit students in school and beyond by improving learning outcomes and developing adults who are better equipped to enter the workforce and engage in meaningful personal and professional relationships.
This brief highlights best-practices that have been identified through educational research as key contributors to success.
You may download this publication here.
Response to Intervention (RTI) is a three-tiered model used to evaluate students’ learning needs, identify those that require academic and behavioral supports beyond core instruction, and determine eligibility for special education services. Originally developed for early literacy programs in elementary schools, RTI is now also used to evaluate students’ reading, math, and behavioral needs across all grade levels. Within an effective RTI model, schools utilize evidence-based programs aligned with state learning standards and all educators receive ongoing professional development. Universal screening measures along with ongoing assessments are used to establish academic and behavioral baselines as well as progress-tracking data. This process equips educators with the information needed to accurately identify learners that could benefit from additional support and coordinate differentiated instruction based on students’ specific learning needs. .
Published by the RPP for CS Organization, funded by CSforAll, as part of the RPP Spotlight Series.
The problem of practice that inspired the grant (funded in 2018) was the persistent underrepresentation and disparities in participation and performance of students from traditionally underrepresented populations in computer science education. While the project team continued hard work to better understand all facets of this issue and the central project goal remained the same, the work in 2020 shifted more towards engaging all students in remote computer science education as a response to the pandemic. The project operated on the idea that supporting the capacity of teachers through professional learning including participation in a research practice partnership (RPP) would enable them to better meet the needs of their diverse student bodies and ultimately address issues of equity, access, and rigor in computer science education.
Additionally, the project team understood that in order to enact consistent and sustainable change, school and district administrators must be at the table with teachers in order to understand and support the teachers and also to think about potential supports beyond an individual classroom.
A relatively new practice in education, Response to Intervention (RTI) is a means to evaluate students’ educational and behavioral needs, identify students needing supports beyond core instruction, and determine students’ eligibility for special education services. It operates in a tiered framework as a system of supports that aims to promote early identification, monitor student progress, and provide supplemental supports and services necessary for all students to succeed in school.
Experience report presented at The Annual Conference on Research in Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT) 2021.
This paper details our experience in planning and implementing our annual Summer Institute that provides educators with professional learning and strategic planning surrounding issues of equity and rigor in computer science education. We explore the ways our Institute was modified to a virtual experience and key takeaways that are relevant and replicable to the research and practitioner communities.
You may view this publication online here.
Whitepaper published through the 100k in 10 Grand Challenges Initiative.
This whitepaper explores the results of a national survey of school teachers and administrators in relation to providing and receiving professional learning in rural school districts. Ideas are explored along the axes of decision-making in professional learning, the job-embedded nature of professional learning, quality, and school culture.
Presented at SIGCSE '21: The 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education.
This presentation highlights strategies for improving recruitment and engagement of under-represented students into high school computer science classes. Operating within the collaborative structure of a researcher-practitioner partnership, the CS diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies were conceived by members of the Rutgers Computer Science Teaching & Learning Collaboratory (CS-TLC), an NSF-funded RPP specifically established to build the capacity of schools to provide rigorous, inclusive CS education. Through an audit and reflection on current practice coupled with a synthesis of major findings from the education literature, CS-TLC formulated a three-pronged strategy to address equitable student recruitment - (i) tailoring communication and outreach activities, (ii) revisiting and updating relevant institutional practices or policies that directly or indirectly impact recruitment and engagement, and (iii) enhancing existing instructional practices. The presentation will preview each of these approaches, share preliminary qualitative evidence regarding their efficacy, and highlight the benefits of working within an RPP to conduct such work.
You can the publication online here, or download a copy of the poster here.
Published in Extra from the National Network of Education Research-Practice Partnerships.
Evidence-informed policy and practice is often touted as a gold-standard in both scientific and popular discourse. For many people, the idea that decisions made by policymakers and practitioners should be guided by the best available science, whether to improve STEM education in schools or fight a global pandemic, is immediately intuitive. It is therefore only natural for producers and funders of scientific research, as well as for research intermediaries such as NNERPP, to explore diverse venues for connecting policymakers and practitioners with the most rigorous and relevant research evidence that is applicable to problems they confront. Often, a primary focus of such efforts is the efficient translation and dissemination of useful research evidence. However, with the recognition that users themselves play an active role in acquiring and interpreting research evidence, there is a growing interest in implementing effective user engagement strategies.
You view this publication online here.
Presented at the 2019 Pennsylvania Computer Science for All Summit.
How may a collaboration between researchers and K12 education practitioners improve engagement with computer science education for all learners? How do you make this partnership work? The Computer Science Teaching and Learning Collaboratory (CS-TLC) is a researcher-practitioner partnership (RPP) among school districts, schools, administrators, and teachers along with Rutgers University’s Center for Effective School Practices (RU-CESP) and Department of Computer Science (RU-CS). CS-TLC members collaborate to design, adapt, and implement professional learning opportunities; curate and organize resources and tools, and address district-wide processes, procedures, and organizational routines in order to deliver equity-driven, culturally-sensitive, rigorous, and engaging CS education to all students. This session presented the experiences, successes, and lessons learned from the CS-TLC and explain the impact of the project.
