The Canisius College Summer Science Camp is a successful and effective annual outreach program that specifically targets middle school students in an effort to increase their interest in science. Five broadly defined science topics are explored in a camp-like atmosphere filled with hands-on activities. A 2010 module focused on chemistry topics of…

As part of an outreach program, we integrated chemistry apps with blogging to enhance the learning experience of students in and outside the classroom. Our outreach program involved college mentors who participated in the development and implementation of chemistry lessons alongside the classroom teacher. Three technology-rich modules that focused…

This brief presents findings from a study on Urban Advantage (UA), a collaboration between the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), other New York City informal science institutions, and the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) to improve the science literacy of NYC public school students. The analysis draws on a rich longitudinal…

Only a quarter of the class of 2008 graduated from Alain Locke Senior High School in Los Angeles after four years. This was unsurprising since nearly 60 percent of the class had left Locke by the end of their sophomore year. A majority of Locke teachers--frustrated with the school's mediocrity--petitioned to allow charter management organization…

This essay describes a blended (hybrid) course collaboration used to facilitate policy dialogues between graduate students at two institutions (one in Canada and the other in the US) as a way to teach about policy. The course content and design is informed by three trends in research and practice: increased policy borrowing across boundaries and…

This article is a case study of how the provost and senior executive leadership of one large university system capitalized on a long-standing advisory group as a tool to support communication and collaboration across a broad constituency. These advisory efforts help guide both future directions and investment. It is the story of how this group has…

The researcher investigated teacher factors contributing to English language arts (ELA) achievement of English language learners (ELLs) over 2 consecutive years, in high and low performing elementary schools with a Hispanic/Latino student population greater than or equal to 30 percent. These factors included personal teacher efficacy, teacher…

In this digital world, being a "viewer" is passe. Web 2.0 tools--social networks, wikis, blogs, voicestream, YouTube, Google Docs--allow users to be participants. Instead of creating isolated users, such technologies foster community and collaboration. In this article, the author describes how schools in New York, Florida, New Jersey,…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") is a bimonthly report from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). This issue includes the following articles: (1) Strategies for Opening Up Content: Laying the Groundwork for an Open…

Instead of putting the entire achievement burden on schools, what would it look like to hold a whole community responsible for long-range student outcomes? This report explores the concept of "shared accountability" in education. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act ushered in a new era of accountability in American education: for the…

This article challenges 20th century ways of conceptualizing bilingualism, arguing that they are no longer applicable to the linguistic heterogeneity of the 21st century. Using case studies of two small high schools in New York City, this article re-imagines the possibilities of bilingual education to more accurately reflect the realities of…

Much has been written about the disconnect between education research produced in graduate schools of education and the practice of school leaders. In this article, the authors share one story of an external partnership that promotes the development of a principal's capacity for complex problem solving and the early research that suggests this…

Objective: The authors review the background and contemporary strengths of Dean's Committee Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in the collaborative academic training of psychiatrists and psychologists. Methods: The authors discuss the problems and prospects of the current health care environment as it impacts the behavioral health treatment of…

Improving the nutritional value of school meals is a growing priority among school systems across the United States. To assist in this effort, the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) funded a coalition, which developed a new program called "From Farm to School: Improving Small Farm Viability and School…

The Big Read evaluation included a series of 35 case studies designed to gather more in-depth information on the program's implementation and impact. The case studies gave readers a valuable first-hand look at The Big Read in context. Both formal and informal interviews, focus groups, attendance at a wide range of events--all showed how…