Current Research Projects in the College of Education

This page is organized into sections representing the following departments, centers, and institutes. Select the desired page section by clicking on a name or scroll through the entire list to sense the scope of the College's sponsored activities.

Departments

• Curriculum & Instruction
• Education Outreach
• Education Policy Studies
• Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education
• Learning and Performance Systems

Centers and Institutes

• Center for Science and the Schools
• Center for the Study of Higher Education
• Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy
• Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy
• Professional Personnel Development Center

Center for Science and the Schools

Bug, L.
Tyco Electronics Foundation
TE Connectivity

The Pennsylvania Wind for Schools Program (WfS) at Penn State is a collaborative effort between engineering, cooperative extension, and education entities aimed at involving schools and communities in the advancement of wind energy education, technology, and awareness.  To ensure STEM energy education is coordinated and implemented in the school curriculum, research based professional development workshops and customized curriculum support will be provided to the teachers at the participating schools.  The TE Foundation's grant will help schools realize their desire to purchase and install a wind turbine, meeting their educational goals toward improvement of STEM education in their school.

Carlsen, W.
Shell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company

Carlsen, W.
The Boeing Company
Boeing-Penn State Research Sabbatical Fellowships for Teachers

Carlsen, W.
The Museum of Science
Research on the Impacts of Engineering is Elementary

This project will establish an online collaboration content/document management system to support reseach on the effects of implementation of Engineering Is Elementary educational programs and materials.

Peck, K.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA Aerospace Education Services Project (AESP)

NASA Aerospace Education Services Project (AESP) is part of a five-year cooperative agreement for Penn State to be NASA's face to K-12 education. The cooperative agreement for the Aerospace Education Services Program is funded for up to $27.3 million over the next five years. The program, one of the oldest in NASA, is in its 35th year. Penn State took over Sept. 1 from Oklahoma State University.

This is the only program in the U.S. that can put professional science educators on the ground in 50 states and territories.  More...

Ward, A.
Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
Integrating Engineering for Teacher Preparation

In response to the opportunity to work with the Pennsylvania Department of Education to integrate engineering curricular content into teacher preparation programs, the Science Education Department and the Center for Science and the Schools at Penn State University Park will be focusing on elementary science teacher preparation by developing engineering content courses specifically for preservice elementary teachers that can be disseminated to other locations or adapted for use in in-service professional development settings.

Center for the Study of Higher Education

Cheslock, J.
Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics
Following a Problematic, Yet Predictable, Path: The Unsustainable Nature of the Intercollegiate Athletics System

The most recent report by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, Restoring the Balance, provided further evidence that the athletics system is traveling down an unsustainable financial path.  This research project presents a theoretical model of the intercollegiate athletics system that emphasizes important processes driving expenditure growth that are often not recognized during policy deliberations.  The model will enhance the general case for reform within athletics as well as for reform components such as the revenue distribution changes proposed in Restoring the Balance.  It will also identify promising new directions for future reform efforts.

Heller, D., & Perez, D.
NASPA
Los Logradores: Understanding the Role of Resiliency and Community Cultural Wealth in the Experiences of Latino Male Achievers at Predominately White Institutions

Latino males are vanishing from the U.S. educational pipeline at an alarming rate. This phenomenological study seeks to address this emergent crisis by focusing on the lived experiences of logradores [Latino male achievers] at two predominantly White research universities. Utilizing resiliency theory and community cultural wealth, this study will explore the academic achievement patterns of Latino male collegians who maintain a cumulative grade point average above a 3.0. Emphasis will be placed on how logradores conceptualize their academic achievement and overcome social, cultural, and institutional barriers in college. The reports offered by logradores in this study are intended to support NASPA in the advancement of knowledge concerning students as well as to address issues facing the student personnel profession in meeting the needs of Latino male college students.

Oseguera, L.
University of California at Los Angeles; Gates Foundation (Prime)
Maximizing Opportunities & Minimizing Obstacles to PSE+

Penn State is assisting UCLA in analyzing large-scale, cross-sectional data sets to provide a current portrait of the characteristics of low-income young people in the target population, and will reveal the geographic distribution of the population, including their concentration, isolation from less vulnerable groups, and the extent to which they reside in severely distressed neighborhoods.  Analysis of existing longitudinal data sets will augment the snapshot by tracing young people's trajectories out of school [and] into postsecondary education, employment, family formation, and other Postsecondary Education (PSE+) related circumstances.  The results of these analyses will assist in the design of survey instruments and interview protocol for future analyses and other outcomes associated with the larger project.

Oseguera, L., Griffin, K.
Project GRAD USA
Evaluating PA College Access Center Grant Program (PA CACGP)

This study will focus on evaluating the PA College Access Center Grant Program (CACGP) to determine if the program improves academic outcomes for students utilizing the program, and what components of the program have been the most effective in facilitating academic engagement, college awareness, and transition to college.

Oseguera, L.
National Research Council of the National Academies
Ford Foundation Fellowship

There is extensive knowledge of what predicts college enrollment and completion, and there is economic data that measures the effects of degree attainment, specifically, but less research has focused on connecting broader social, economic, and political conditions that shape students' initial college destination choices.  This study aims to validate a conceptual model of college access and choice using Educational Longitudinal Survey (ELS) data and then apply the framework (or its refinements) to better understand college enrollment.

Rankin, S.
Campus Pride
National LGBT College Athlete Study and Report Completion

This study will examine, through a secondary analysis of the data collected in the NCAA sponsored 2011 Student-Athlete Climate project (http://www.ed.psu.edu/educ/student-athlete), the climate for LGBT student-athletes and how that climate influences their academic and athletic success.

Zhang, L.
American Educational Research Association
Do State Merit-Aid Programs Improve the Educational Attainment of the Workforce?

This study will examine the long-term effect of state merit-based financial aid programs on the educational attainment of the workforce, both in those states that have adopted such policies and for the U.S. as a whole.  In addition, this study attempts to understand the relationship between these merit-aid programs and the migration of college-educated labor.  Findings will be of substantial interest to federal and state policymakers. At state level, policymakers want to know whether their money has been well spent in terms of improved workforce quality in their states. At federal level, policymakers want to know the spin-off effect of these state-sponsored merit-based aid programs and whether merit-aid programs can be an effective policy in improving the educational attainment of the workforce in the U.S.

Zhang, L.
University of Georgia
Universities, Innovation, and Economic Growth

Zhang, L.
Florida State University
State Merit Aid Program and Student College Choice and Success:  Evaluating the Efficacy of Florida's Bright Futures Program

This study comes at a critical time for the nation.  State merit aid programs have grown to represent approximately 30 percent of the over $8 billion that states spend on financial aid for undergraduate students.  And yet, there has been very little research on the effectiveness of these programs in promoting college attendance and degree attainment.  As increasing the proportion of Americans with postsecondary credentials has been established as a critical national goal by President Obama, this research will help further our understanding of the role of state merit aid in helping achieve that goal.

Curriculum and Instruction

Knight, S., Lloyd, G., & Arbaugh, F.
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
Editorship of the Journal of Teacher Education

The JTE is in a unique position to shape how "teacher education" is viewed both within and outside the profession. The journal has a well-deserved reputation of publishing quality scholarship in teacher education. Penn State has consulted with previous editorial teams that they felt played a role in enhancing the quality and reputation of the journal and have incorporated their insights and experiences into the journal. As editors of the JTE, Penn State will build upon this previous work toward the ultimate goal of establishing teacher education as a distinct field with knowledge, histories, research methodologies, and practices that are recognized and recognizable. Ultimately, the JTE is in the position to represent a knowledge base to which decision makers inside and outside of the academy will look as they make decisions affecting teacher education.

Early Childhood Education:

Valente, J.
University of Georgia (Prime: Spencer Foundation)
Kindergartens for the Deaf in Three Countries: US, France, and Japan

The scope of the research project is to study how kindergartens in schools for the deaf function as sites for acculturation into both Deaf culture and national cultures. Our study will look at kindergarten classrooms in schools for the deaf in Japan, France, and the US that primarily use sign to understand how deaf children come to perceive themselves as members of Deaf culture, as well as of their wider culture, community, and society. Our project is in a sense doubly ethnographic, as we are studying enculturation into Deaf culture in Japan, France, and the US within the larger cultures and socio-political contexts in which these Deaf cultures and schools are embedded.

Language and Literacy Education:

Myers, J.
U.S. Department of Education
Consortium for Intercultural Reflective Teachers

The Consortium for Intercultural Reflective Teachers (CIRT) will establish a transatlantic teacher education program that defines teaching and learning as an international activity. CIRT program goals are as follows:

• To develop teachers as intercultural reflective practitioners for the international context.
• To examine different perspectives on key program themes of inclusion and differentiated instruction, multicultural and citizenship education, language learning, and educational pedagogy and didactics.
• To examine the program themes in terms of the educational theories, school practices, and socio-cultural contexts emphasized within the partner countries.

Reid-Walsh, J.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Learning as Playing: An Animated, Interactive Archive of 17th-19th Century Narrative Media For and By Children

“Learning as Playing” is a digital planning/discovery project proposed collaboratively by Penn State and Princeton University. The goal is to develop an animated, interactive, web-based archive of selected 17th -19th century movable books by and for children on the theme of transformation, with a start-up project on flap books. These rare, fragile, little documented artifacts combine aspects of book, print and toy, and contain movable parts. The digital innovation will enable a viewer to simulate the experience of playing with these texts by virtual touch, preserving the originals. This project will change how the history of children's literature is understood to move from instruction to delight by showing how texts “of play” have been produced since the earliest manufacture. It will be a scholarly site as well as a teaching resource: at the university level for children’s culture, at the high school level for media literacy, and at the primary level for art education.

Mathematics Education:

Arbaugh, F.
University of Pittsburgh
Cases of Reasoning and Proof (CORP) in Secondary Mathematics

The goal of the CORP project is to develop a practice-based curriculum for the professional education of secondary mathematics teachers that: 1) focuses on reasoning and proof; 2) has narrative cases as a central component; and 3) supports the development of knowledge of mathematics needed for teaching.

Heid, M. K., Blume, G., & Zbiek, R.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Journal for Research in Mathematics Education

The Journal for Research in Mathematics Education (JRME) promotes and disseminates disciplined scholarly inquiry into the teaching and learning of mathematics at all levels, including research reports, book reviews, and commentaries. Dr. M. Kathleen Heid has taken the position of Editor for the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, the premier journal in mathematics education. The operation of the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education is housed at Penn State, University Park.

Heid, M. K., Simon, M., Watanabe, T., Zbiek, R., & Monk, D.
University of Maryland (NSF Prime)
Mid-Atlantic Center for Mathematics Teaching and Learning

The project will address the shortage of mathematics education professionals by creating a Center for Mathematics Teaching and Learning (CMTL) with two principal aims:

1. To design, operate, and evaluate an innovative prototype for doctoral and postdoctoral education of specialists in mathematics teacher education, curriculum development, policy leadership, and mathematics education research.
2. To develop, evaluate, and disseminate models for mathematics education of pre-service teachers and professional development of in-service teachers in elementary, middle, and high schools.

The Center will be a collaborative effort led by mathematics and education faculty of three research universities and three school-system partners—the University of Delaware, the University of Maryland, The Pennsylvania State University, the Delaware State Department of Education, the Prince George's county (MD) Public Schools, and the Pittsburgh (PA) Public Schools. These institutions have long records of important contributions to mathematics education through research, development, and implementation projects. Furthermore, they have compatible values, complementary expertise, and experience working on collaborative projects.

Social Studies Education:

Saxe, D.
Apgar Foundation, Inc.
Penn State Heritage Education Initiative Project

A fifteen-credit "Heritage Education" option was established to enhance the teaching credentials of our students as well as provide additional training and experiences that will qualify graduates for interpretative-educational employment at heritage-historical educational programs.  In order to immerse undergraduates in Heritage Education and Interpretation, funds will be used to enhance classroom and field instruction. Given Pennsylvania's rich cultural colonial-Early Nation resources, the program will focus on interpreting the development of America's Founding Principles as illustrated in such documents as the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Federalist Papers, US Constitution and Bill of Rights, and other seminal founding documents and works.

Education Outreach

Baker, R., Clausen, R.
PA Department of Education
Pennsylvania Title IID Evaluation Project - Enhancing Education through Technology (EETT)

The EETT evaluations are designed to address a series of research questions by collecting and analyzing data from administrator/coach interviews, teacher and student surveys, and data provided by schools and the PA Department of Education.

Bradaschia, L.
Humphrey Fellowship Program Office
The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program

The Humphrey Fellowship Program is a one-year non-degree program of combined academic and professional development opportunities. It brings accomplished mid-career professionals from designated countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East to selected universities in the United States for public service, advanced study, professional training, and work-related experiences.

Education Policy Studies

Educational Leadership:

Faircloth, S.
U.S. Department of Education
American Indian Leadership Program: Principals for Student Success (PSS)

The primary goal of this project is to prepare cohort of 8 AI/ANs to be effective leaders in schools that serve significant numbers of AI/AN students. Project Objectives are: 1) To conduct a national recruitment effort to identify, select and admit 8 highly qualified AI/ANs into the Educational Leadership/American Indian Leadership Programs. 2) Each of the 8 Fellows will complete the required courses, write a Master's paper, and complete a principal's internship. 3) Fellows will be provided assistance in obtaining employment as a principal or in another leadership position that leads toward a principalship in schools with large numbers of AI/AN students, and 4) Induction services will be provided to help ensure a successful and effective transition from Penn State's academic program to a principal in a school.

Educational Theory and Policy:

Bodovski, K.
American Educational Research Association
New Destinations, New Destinies? Latinos' College Attendance in New and Traditional Destinations

The purposes of this study are to examine the role of schools in immigrant students’ adaptation in the United States and to address the effects of this adaptation on postsecondary activities, such as college attendance and type of college attended. The study will increase our understanding of how formal structures of schools (policies, programs, and curriculum offered) and informal social relationships fostered by schools (both student-teacher and peer relations) work together or in opposition to create a school environment conducive to transitions to postsecondary education. Policymakers can use the results of this study as they develop school policies and practices that lead to enrollment in higher education for Latino and immigrant youth.

Bodovski, K.
American Educational Research Association
Students' Mathematics Achievement and Course-Taking in 8th Grade: The Role of School Readiness

The study aims to investigate how school readiness (measured at the beginning of kindergarten) affects students’ mathematics learning through the end of 8th grade. Specifically, the study has two main objectives: a) to estimate a growth of students’ mathematics achievement between spring of kindergarten and spring of 8th grade; and b) to examine mathematics courses taken in the 8th grade as a function of school readiness net of other student- and school-related factors. Furthermore, for both outcomes--mathematics growth trajectory and likelihood of taking an advanced mathematics course in 8th grade--the interaction effects will be estimated to examine the differential effects of school readiness on the outcomes of various groups of students, defined by their gender, race/ethnicity and family socio-economic status. To address these objectives, the study will employ a large nationally representative data set for elementary school students, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), including the most recently available 8th-grade wave of data.

Frankenberg, E.
University of Massachusetts-Amherst; Spencer Foundation (Prime)
Diversity, Politics, and Educational Opportunity:  Lessons from a Federal Technical Assistance Grant

Fuller, E.
Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation
Community College Remedial Students and Loan Defaults

Community Colleges serve a vital role in higher education, however, only 38% of students are retained from one year to the next.  Community College students who withdraw from school are three times more likely to default on student loans than a student who completes a degree or certificate.  This study will conduct an in-depth analysis of student data to determine factors that may hinder student success and retention.

Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education

Counseling and Rehabilitation:

Herbert, J.
U.S. Department of Education
Assessing the Impact of Clinical Supervision Training Among State Vocational Rehabilitation Supervisors

Within state vocational rehabilitation (SVR) practice, there are two forms of supervision provided to counselors – administrative and clinical supervision.  Although available research exists within clinical supervision and rehabilitation practice, almost all of this information is based on beginning counselors-in-training (i.e., master’s students).  In contrast, this project represents the first study to develop, implement, and evaluate a training program specifically designed for practicing SVR supervisors to improve clinical supervision practices. The research study will use a multiple analysis of variance repeated measures, within-between interaction design to examine the effectiveness of a training program to increase supervisory knowledge, self-efficacy, supervisory working alliance and helpful supervisory behavior. The importance of this research is that if an effective supervisory training program can be developed, it offers potential to impact rehabilitation counselor performance and ultimately improve vocational rehabilitation outcomes for persons with disabilities. The first step in this process, however, requires evidence that an effective clinical supervision training program can, in fact, be developed.

Herbert, J., Rusch, F., Hunt, B., Conyers, L., Mpofu, E., & Wilson, K.
U.S. Department of Education
Increasing Training Capacity and Number of State Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors Serving High School Youth with Disabilities

This grant will provide both on-site training of 20 new master's students who will work specifically as State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) counselors as well as develop a new distance learning course that will support 50 State VR counselors across the nation interested in receiving further training on facilitating job development and job placement of high school youth with disabilities. Recognizing the shortage of state VR personnel that exists nationwide (Chan, 2003) and the expertise needed to serve these consumers, as the third highest rated Rehabilitation Counseling Program [RCP] in the nation, Penn State University has maintained a strong record of preparing qualified persons to work as state VR counselors.

Skowron, E., Stifter, C., Lawrence, F., Pincus, A., Azar, S., Teti, D., & Woodhouse, S.
National Institutes of Health
Parent-Child Processes: Negative Self-Regulatory and Behavioral Outcomes

The project aims to improve identification of child risk for negative self-regulatory and behavioral outcomes, through better understanding of parenting processes in at-risk families. This research is expected to lead to the development of more effective treatments designed to reduce the incidence of child abuse/neglect, strengthen and support families, and improve healthy child outcomes.

Educational Psychology:

Knight, S.
Texas A&M University
National Science Foundation (Prime)
Virtual Ecological Inquiry (VEI) - A Virtual Environment for Inquiry-Based Learning and Education

The primary objective of this study is to directly address the Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) components of Creating Learning Materials and Teachings Strategies as well as Implementing Educational Innovations and Conducting Research on Undergraduate Education. This will be accomplished by 1) developing instructional materials to supplement a virtual learning environment or Virtual Ecological Inquiry (VEI) e-learning tool that will allow undergraduate students in large biology/ecology courses to design and conduct field investigations using a virtual vegetation sampling model of Wolong Nature Reserve in China; 2) conducting electronic student surveys in order to provide feedback on how to improve the VEI learning module and supplementary instructional materials; and 3) conducting an experiential study to assess the effectiveness of VEI on student learning outcomes by evaluating student scientific writing and through navigation tracking as students interact with the VEI module to enable innovative research on learning behavior in an online virtual learning environment.

Kulikowich, J.
University of California at Berkeley
The Role of Educative Curriculum Materials in Supporting Science Teaching Practices with English Language Learners

Curriculum developers and researchers from the University of California, Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, in collaboration with English language development researchers from San Francisco State University and quantitative researchers from Penn State University will be working on a 4-year, full research and development project, focused on Frontier Challenge A: How can all students be assured the opportunity to learn significant STEM content?

The DRK12 project aims to: (1) determine whether curriculum materials that are designed to support teacher learning, as well as student learning (known as educative curriculum materials) have positive impacts on teacher knowledge, attitudes, and instructional practices, and if so, which educative elements teachers value and use most; (2) determine to what degree educative curriculum materials help teachers who have more and less experience teaching English language learners and how level of teaching experience relates to teacher knowledge, attitudes, and instructional practices; (3) determine the effects of the educative curriculum elements in high implementation settings on ELL students' knowledge and attitudes in science, and developing English proficiency; and (4) create and disseminate a technical report that characterizes the profile of educative features that were demonstrated to be most powerful in assisting teachers in meeting the needs of English language learners.

Kulikowich, J.
University of Connecticut
Institute of Education Sciences (Prime)
Assessing Online Reading Comprehension: The ORCA Project

Penn State will assist in building a initial group of multiple-choice items to measures location, evaluation, synthesis, and communication for online reading comprehension. This also involves designing the tables of specification for the proposed Heart and Lungs/Eyes and Ears online reading comprehension performance measures along with assisting in the analysis of cognitive labs based on think-aloud protocols, and select NAEP items to measure Reading Comprehension. A pilot of the online reading comprehension Multiple-choice test for Location, Evaluation, Synthesis, Communication will be conducted. Exploratory and confirmatory Factor Analyses will be used to establish the validity of scores. Data-collection and management plans will be created for the ORCA project.

School Psychology:

DiPerna, J., & Lei, P.
U.S. Department of Education
Institute of Education Sciences
The Social Skills Improvement System Classwide Intervention Program: Social, Behavioral, and Academic Outcomes in the Intermediate Grades

The Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) is a comprehensive program that integrates multiple levels of assessment and intervention to improve children's social skills and reduce behaviors that interfere with learning. The Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS-CIP) is the universal component of the SSIS. The goal of the SSIS-CIP is to help students learn the 10 social skills that teachers have identified as most critical to classroom success (Elliott & Gresham, 2007). This is accomplished through the implementation of a 12-week structured curriculum that includes teacher lesson plans, video vignettes, student workbook activities, and progress monitoring of student behavior. Although the SSIS-CIP is based on empirical evidence from the social skills assessment and intervention literature and is available commerically, its efficacy in school settings has yet to be determined.

DiPerna, J., Schaefer, B., Vandiver, B., & Espinosa-Dulanto, M.
U.S. Department of Education
Specialization in Culture and Language Education (SCALE)

This program will prepare eight doctoral-level school psychologists to provide services to at-risk English Language Learners (ELL). Graduates of the program will provide empirically-supported practices to ELL students in both special and regular education, consult with teachers and parents of ELL students, and train other professionals to use best practices in service provision for ELL students and families. To accomplish these objectives, program scholars will complete an interdisciplinary leadership program that employs a scientist-practitioner model of training.

Mellin, E.
State College Area School District
State College S.U.M.M.I.T. Project

The Psychological Services Clinic (a training clinic at Penn State University) will lead the facilitation of professional development opportunities for project partners. Directors of the training clinic, who are licensed psychologists and current providers of school-based services within the district, will utilize needs assessment data to identify and secure trainers for regularly offered training modules. Penn State University will also assist in the development of web-based training modules to promote larger dissemination of resources.

Special Education:

Farmer, T., Lee, D., Smith, E., Petrin, R., Hoover, T., & Hall, C.
U.S. Department of Education
Institute of Education Sciences
Supporting Early Adolescent Learning and Social Success (SEALS)

The SEALS program is a universal intervention approach. SEALS involves training teachers in strategies to enhance students’ (1) instructional preparation, organization, and engagement skills (Academic Engagement Enhancement); (2) productive classroom interpersonal behaviors (Competence Enhancement Behavior Management); and (3) engagement in productive and positive social relationships (Classroom Social Dynamics and Bullying Prevention Training).

The purpose of this efficacy and replication study is to evaluate the impact of the SEALS model with metropolitan students during the transition to middle school. Teachers in intervention schools will be trained in the intervention components immediately prior to the transition to 6th grade for participating students. In the control schools, teachers will continue to use traditional practices to address academic, behavioral, and social issues. The participating schools serve a diverse population of students. Data collection will involve multiple informants including teacher-, peer-, and self-reports in both intervention and control schools. Constructs will include: (1) students’ academic, behavioral, and social adjustment, (2) classroom social networks and perceptions of the school environment, and (3) school record data. Observations will also be conducted on teacher practices in both intervention and control schools. In addition, teachers will keep logs on their use of academic, behavioral, and social strategies. Hierarchical Linear Models and related multilevel models will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.

Farmer, T., Bierman, K., Diperna, J., Stevens, R., Smith, E., Farmer, E., Petrin, R., Smith, Emilie, & Suen, H.
U.S. Department of Education
Institute of Education Sciences
Training Interdisciplinary Educational Scientists (TIES) Program

The goal of this project is to establish an interdisciplinary training program to prepare educational scientists with expertise in literacy and social/emotional competence and with proficient skills in statistics and research methods necessary to conduct cluster randomized trials.  For more information, go to:  www.ties.psu.edu.

Lee, D. & Ruhl, K.
U.S. Department of Education
Institute of Education Sciences
Preparing Professor/Researchers of Evidence-based Practices (PPREP)

The grave shortage of PhD level persons in special education (SPED), higher education programs continues. Research provides reasons for the shortage and outlines activities to recruit minority and non-minority persons into academic careers. This program, Preparing Professor/Researchers for Evidence-based Practices in SpEd (PPREP), incorporates these activities and adds to resources of an existing, strong doctoral program; extending its impact through recruitment, preparation, and retention activities designed to help PhD students graduate in a timely manner while preparing them for success as leaders in academe.  PPREP’s goal is to graduate eight new professor/researchers who are able to communicate evidence-based practices (EBP) to preservice and inservice teachers of individuals with disabilities and contribute to the evidence base in special education.

Mason, L., Kubina, R., Ruhl, K., & Kulikowich, J.
U.S. Department of Education
Institute of Education Sciences
Writing Instruction for Adolescents with Behavior Disorders: Scaffolding Procedural Learning to Extended Discourse (SPLED)

The project will investigate the effectiveness of writing strategy and fluency instruction on the written expression and writing fluency performance of 7th - and 8th - grade students with behavior disorders (BD) in general education and alternative settings who are struggling with writing. Concomitantly, the purpose is to improve student on-task behavior, as well as student and teacher attitudes. Also, the project will reduce absence from instruction (absent, tardy, time-outs, disciplinary referrals), and negative teacher statements.

McKinnon, K.
U.S. Department of Education
Early Childhood Intervention Professionals for the 21st Century

The personnel preparation program is designed to produce a cadre of 48 graduates to fulfill employment roles related to working with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities and their families. Participants trained in this program will earn a Master's of Science (M.S.) Degree in special education with specialization in early intervention (EI; birth of two) and early childhood special education (ECSE; three to six). More than 70% of the total annual funding for the project is allocated to directly supporting graduate student participants. Core faculty at Penn State offer research based coursework in combination with a variety of hands-on field experiences in collaboration with community partners. Future EI/ECSE personnel will be equipped to serve diverse groups of young children with disabilities and their families.

Ruhl, K.
U.S. Department of Education
Preparing Outstanding Scholars for Special Education (POSSE)

The grave shortage of PhD level persons to fill numerous vacancies in special education (SPED), higher education programs continues. Research provides reasons for the shortage and outlines activities to recruit minority and non-minority persons into academic careers. Preparing Outstanding Scholars for Special Education (POSSEE), incorporates these activities and adds to resources of an existing, strong doctoral program; extending its impact through recruitment, preparation, and retention activities designed to help PhD students graduate in a timely manner while preparing them for success as leaders in academe.

Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy

Prins, E.
The Spencer Foundation
Women's Involvement in Community-based Adult Education: Consequences for Social Networks, Social Support, and Mental Health

Research suggests that poor women with low educational attainment tend to have smaller, less supportive social networks and, concomitantly, to experience depression and other forms of psychological distress. The purpose of this study is to examine how poor women with limited educational attainment use community-based adult education program (specifically, family literacy) to construct supportive social networks, and, in turn, how these networks influence women's mental health. The study will investigate the types of emotional and material resources women exchange with each other; whether intensity of participation increases the number and quality of women's social ties; and whether women who establish more and higher quality social ties experience improved mental health (i.e., depression, anxiety, and sense of control).

Prins, E.
Center for Rural Pennsylvania
Characteristics of Pennsylvania Students Pursuing Postsecondary Education: A Rural-Urban Analysis of Data from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

Access to higher education - especially for low-income, minority, and rural students - is a persistent concern among policy makers, education professionals, and the US public.  Prohibitive costs, limited knowledge of financial aid options, and the complexity of aid application procedures are among the many barriers to enrollment in, and completion of, postsecondary education.  This project will use data from the FAFSA to paint a comprehensive portrait of rural and urban PA postsecondary students' socio-demographic, familial, and financial characteristics.  This information can aid policy makers, education administrators, academic counselors, and other professionals in opening pathways to higher education, particularly for students from rural areas.

Van Horn, B.
U.S. Department of Education
William F. Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy

The William F. Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy will provide national leadership in the field of family literacy. The Institute will focus on developing a sound conceptual, interdisciplinary research base for guiding practice and policy in family literacy. Based on research findings, the Institute also will build the capacity of the field to provide high quality, research-based instruction and program development in family literacy through this research.

Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy

Hamilton, K., Van Horn, B., McDowell, W., Forlizzi, L., Hunter, M., Love-Schooley, R., Long, K., Yeager, J.
PA Department of Education (PDE) - Bureau of Adult Basic & Literacy Education (ABLE)
Career Pathways Direct Service Model

Based on research that indicates that students learn better when instruction connects to authentic work situations and problems, this program will provide students with an integrated curriculum that will prepare them for further education, job training, employment, and careers.  Career exploration or specific industry sectors, careers, and occupations will provide the context for instruction, so students can prepare for employment and careers while acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue postsecondary education and/or training.  Learning objectives and instructional strategies will combine academic and vocational content, which will strengthen the acquisition of basic skills in the context of work.  The integrated curriculum will enable students to prepare not just for their next job, but also for further education that can help them advance in a career.

Hamilton, K., Van Horn, B., Long, K.
PA Department of Education (PDE) - Bureau of Adult Basic & Literacy Education (ABLE)
Workforce Development System Liaison

This project will provide workforce development and workforce education support and assistance to the ABLE Director and staff.  It will support the collaboration and coordination of ABLE with workforce development partners at the national, state, and local level.  Additionally, this project will provide training and technical assistance opportunities to ABLE administrators, case managers, teachers, tutors, and support staff in ABLE-designated Workforce Investment Areas (WIAs) targeted for focused career pathways programming.  Project staff will also coordinate and collaborate with the ABLE Professional Development System (PDS) team, the Distance Learning Project, and other ABLE initiatives to create and maintain a transparent PDS capable of providing the agility and flexibility of programming that will maximize the impact of professional development training and technical assistance to help adult learners reach their goals.

Sherow, S., Van Horn, B., Long, K., Forlizzi, L.
PA Department of Education (PDE) - Bureau of Adult Basic & Literacy Education (ABLE)
PDE Statewide Content Area Experts

This project will provide high-quality professional development that is committed to continuous program improvement and ongoing professional inquiry, and will direct efforts toward the professional development of ABLE teachers, including the professional development needs of teachers implementing instruction in alignment with the Career Pathways Initiative. The ultimate goal is to create changes in teacher practices that will result in increases/improvements in student outcomes through the design, development, and support of professional development that is collaborative, continuous, research-based, standards-aligned, and intellectually rigorous.

Sherow, S., Van Horn, B., Long, K., Webster, S., Grumm, M., Weirauch, D.
PA Department of Education (PDE) - Bureau of Adult Basic & Literacy Education (ABLE)
Adult Education Professional Development System Course Management

This project will focus on the design, development, content, and delivery of high-quality professional development activities for all ABLE practitioners; however, emphasis will be placed on improving teacher effectiveness.  Using current research on high-quality professional development as a framework, existing professional development activities, currently included in the ABLE taxonomy, will be evaluated and improved or enhanced, as needed.

Sherow, S., Van Horn, B., Long, K.
PA Department of Education (PDE) - Bureau of Adult Basic & Literacy Education (ABLE)
Adult Education and Family Literacy Interagency Coordinating Council (AEFL ICC) Coordination Project

This project will work with the AEFL ICC Chair and Director and the staff of ABLE to coordinate, support, and help plan and conduct ICC meetings and activities.

Van Horn, B., Grumm, M., Yeager, J., Marvin, M.
PA Department of Education (PDE) - Bureau of Adult Basic & Literacy Education (ABLE)
Management Information System Support

This project will provide technical support and professional development to PDE ABLE staff and its statewide network of adult and family literacy providers in order to: 1) build the capacity of adult educators to collect and enter data accurately, and 2) use those data to inform efforts to improve the quality of adult education instruction.  Project staff also will work cooperatively with other state leadership initiatives (e.g., Regional Professional Development Facilitation and Consultation Services) and Bureau staff to maximize the impact of professional development and related support to that end.

Learning and Performance Systems

Baker, R. & Passmore, D.
Centre County Industrial Development Corporation
Social Networks Supporting Business Development in Centre County

The Penn State Workforce Education & Development (WED) Initiative project to the Centre County Industrial Development Corporation (CCIDC) will identify and report the nature of social networks supporting business development in Centre County, Pennsylvania. The structure of these networks remain largely unknown. Information about social connections that facilitate business development in Centre County can provide a basis for improving prosperity in the County.

The project will apply the resources and expertise of the Penn State WED Initiative, which has been a research alliance between Penn State's College of Education and Penn State Outreach since 2003. The mission of the WED Initiative is to support the development of the economy and workforce in Pennsylvania and beyond primarily by conducting business, economic, and workforce analyses for employers, industry partnerships, nonprofit organizations, and government entities. For additional information about the accomplishments of the WED Initiative, view the web site at http://wedi. psu.edu.

Baker, R. & Passmore, D.
Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association
National & Regional Economic Impacts of General Aviation Airport Operations

Demonstration of the economic impact of general aviation airport operations is needed so that communities and their leaders can understand the role of general aviation in the economic and social fabric of the nation and in regional economies.  This study will develop information about the national economic impact of general aviation airport operations and the regional impact of three regional general aviation airports using the REMI Policy Insight economic and demographic modeling and forecasting model.  Analyses of regional airports will include detailed community impact analyses.  In addition, a procedure will be developed alongside the regional airport analyses that will allow airports to conduct their own impact analyses to support development and funding initiatives.

Hooper, S.
U.S. Department of Education
Research on the Effectiveness of a Tool to Improve Literacy Assessment

This project addresses the priorities identified in the Stepping Stones Phase 2 by subjecting "technology-based approaches to rigorous field-based research to determine their effectiveness".  This includes innovative technology, materials and methodologies using multilevel modeling and design-based research.  Several studies will be conducted to evaluate the effects of using a web-based monitoring system to improve Response to Intervention (RTI) assessment and educational results for children.

Professional Personnel Development Center

Walter, R.
Pennsylvania Bureau of Career and Technological Education
Professional Personnel Development Center for Career & Technical Education

The on-going successful partnership between the Department of Education's Bureau of Career and Technical Education and the universities charged with responsibility for preparing career and technical teachers through establishment of the Professional Personnel Development Centers (PPDC). The Penn State PPDC was established, and continues to function, as an integral component of the university's CTE teacher preparation units rather than as a separate entity. Penn State is committed to the operation of an effective, efficient, comprehensive program of professional development for CTE. That commitment is fulfilled throught the delivery of services that produce knowledgeable, skilled, engaged, and flexible CTE educators who are engaged in preparing Pennsylvania's workforce with the knowledge and skills needed by business and industry.