Interventions to Reduce Stereotype Threat in the Classroom

Stereotype threat arises from a fear among members of a group of reinforcing negative stereotypes about the intellectual ability of the group. The report identifies three randomized controlled trial studies that use classroom-based strategies to reduce stereotype threat and improve the academic performance of Black students, narrowing their achievement gap with White students.

NCSER Report on HS Exprience of Students with Mental Retardation

The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) within the Institute of Education Sciences has released "Facts from NLTS-2: Secondary School Experiences and Academic Performance of Students with Mental Retardation." The report uses data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) to provide a national picture of the secondary school experiences and academic achievements of students with mental retardation who received special education services. The NLTS2, initiated in 2001 and funded by NCSER, has a nationally representative sample of more than 11,000 students with disabilities.

REL West has new report on state implementation of RTI

The report provides descriptive information on state-level RTI policies and procedures in 9 states (including Nevada).

Great new K-12 teaching resources!

A grant funded project led by UNLV Libraries has created a new digital collection focused on Nevada history. They also brought in a consultant to create standards-based teaching activities which use these resources. Here is their announcement:

The UNLV University Libraries are pleased to announce the launch of a new digital collection with features designed for K-12 educators:

Southern Nevada: The Boomtown Years, 1900-1925
http://digital.library.unlv.edu/boomtown/

Southern Nevada: the Boomtown Years 1900-1925 is an online collection of over 1,600 primary source documents and over 30 standards-based activities that can be used in K-12 classrooms. The collection brings together digitized materials from the UNLV Libraries Special Collections, the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society in Las Vegas, and the Clark County Museum to document the history and development of Southern Nevada from 1900 to 1925. Photographs, selected newspapers, maps, mining reports and surveys, stock certificates, correspondence, and more give a detailed account of life in the Boomtown years of Southern Nevada and provide a unique opportunity to show students what life was like through the eyes of those who lived it. Teaching activities are available for all grade levels and eleven subject areas and are meant to engage students in higher-level thinking while directly interacting with the primary sources housed in this collection.

The Libraries welcome your feedback on this collection! You are invited to view the collection and respond to a quick survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Y5rxIAt9_2fMhIGT_2fipw9GvQ_3d_3d. Comments, questions, and feedback are always welcome. Bookmarks, flyers, and in-class demonstrations are available by contacting the Libraries. Please forward to other interested parties.

Stories for Change

I'm intrigued by this website I ran across that offers a forum for posting and hearing/watching digital stories about fostering change. The website is: http://storiesforchange.net/
and the home page describes their mission as an "online meeting place for community digital storytelling facilitators and advocates. Learn more about how we're using this unique medium for social change..." Some of the categories for their stories include Education, Family, Identity, Youth, and Immigration.

A Wealth of Data: The new Higher Ed Almanac is out

Even though prices are posted for print and online purchase, lots of data at the state and national level is available from the Chronicle's new edition of The Almanac of Higher Education. Basic demographics, students enrollments, faculty salaries and more.

U.S. Performance Across International Assessments of Student Achievement

This Special Supplement to The Condition of Education 2009, for the first time, pulls together the evidence from the most recent international assessments taken by nearly a million students from 85 countries worldwide. This includes three internationally benchmarked exams -- the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)--to reveal how the United States compares with other countries across all three core subjects (math, science, reading) at the elementary, middle and high school level in terms of students' average scores and the percentage of students reaching internationally benchmarked performance levels. It also examines trends in U.S. student performance and the range of performance for the highest- and lowest-scoring students in each country.
The executive summary with major findings as well as links to the full text of the report is available here: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2009/analysis/