Wisconsin Center for Education Research

About: Wisconsin Center for Education Research is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Higher education & Primary education. The organization has 188 authors who have published 226 publications receiving 8184 citations.

Measuring the Content of Instruction: Uses in Research and Practice

Abstract: This article describes tools for measuring the content of instruction, the content of instructional materials, and the alignment between these. Illustrative findings about the use of these tools are reported, and possible additional uses, both for research and practice, are discussed. The validity of data produced through use of these tools is found to be quite good. An agenda for future work is sketched—both for improvement of the quality and versatility of the tools and for use of the tools in research and practice.

Teachers' attributions and beliefs about girls, boys, and mathematics

Abstract: Thirty-eight first grade teachers were asked to identify their two most and least successful girls and boys in mathematics, to attribute causation of these students' successes and failures, and to describe their characteristics. Teachers' choices of most and least successful students were compared to mathematics test scores of their students. Teachers were most inaccurate when selecting most successful boys. Teachers tended to attribute causation of boys' successes and failures to ability and girls' successes and failures to effort. Teachers thought their best boy students when compared to their best girl students, were more competitive, more logical, more adventurous, volunteered answers more often to mathematics problems, enjoyed math more, and were more independent in mathematics.

Building school capacity through professional development: conceptual and empirical considerations

Abstract: Situates current research on professional development within an organizational perspective. Offers a framework for the study of professional development, and proposes that key factors that affect student achievement be conceptualized as school capacity. Argues that increases in school capacity will lead to gains in student achievement, and that professional development should, therefore, be designed to enhance the following three dimensions of capacity. First, school capacity includes the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of individual staff members. Second, the diverse human and technical resources of a school need to be put to use in an organized, collective enterprise termed school professional community. Finally, a school’s capacity is enhanced when its programs for student and staff learning are coherent, focused, and sustained. To illustrate comprehensive professional development that addresses all aspects of school capacity, describes one school from a current study.

A Longitudinal Study of Gender Differences in Young Children’s Mathematical Thinking

Abstract: One area in which gender differences in mathematics have been studied minimally deals with strategies used to solve mathematical problems. The limited evidence available suggests that there may be some gender differences in problem-solving strategies. Differences have been found in grades 1-3, with girls tending to use observable strategies (such as counting) and boys tending to use mental strategies (Carr & Jessup, 1997). Gallagher and DeLisi (1994) studied high-ability secondary school students and reported that while there were no overall differences in the number of selected SAT items answered

A Curriculum out of Balance The Case of Elementary School Mathematics

Abstract: Opportunity to learn is among the most important influences on student achievement, yet the empirical basis for knowing what is taught in schools is surprisingly weak. Elementary school mathematics is used as a context for considering what could be learned from careful descriptions of classroom content. Teacher logs and interviews show that large numbers of mathematics topics are taught for exposure with no expectation of student mastery, much of what is taught in one grade is taught again in the next, skills typically receive 10 times the emphasis given to either conceptual understanding or application, and, depending on the accidents of school and teacher assignment, the amount of mathematics instruction a student receives may be doubled or halved. These attributes of the curriculum are not in the best interests of students. Recommendations for change are offered.