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This page is organized into sections representing the following departments and centers. 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
| Office of the Dean |
| Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology, & Rehab Services |
| Curriculum & Instruction |
|Education Outreach |
| Education Policy Studies |
| Educational and School Psychology and Special Ed |
| Learning & Performance Systems |
Centers and Institutes
| Center for Science and the Schools |
| Center for the Study of Higher Education |
| Center for the Study of Free Institutions and Civic Education |
| Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy |
| Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy |
| Professional Personnel Development Center |
OFFICE OF THE DEAN
CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND THE SCHOOLS
Carlsen, W.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA Aerospace Education Services Project (AESP)
"NASA Aerospace Education Services Project (AESP)" is a 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.
The Penn State program will shift the existing emphasis from one-time school visits and short teacher seminars to university-based space-oriented summer courses for teachers. School visits will continue, but rather than emphasizing auditorium presentations, NASA education specialists will work closely with teachers and school administrators to infuse cutting-edge science content into extended instructional units. Education specialists will also collect data on how summer course experiences translate to the classroom and how teachers adapt materials to the various states and schools.
NASA Aerospace Education Services Project will use many new instructional technologies, developing continuing education content for delivery through NASA's Digital Learning Network. Education specialists will get in on the ground floor of new NASA projects to aid them in their continuing education components as well.
Another aspect of the program will be to update orphaned instructional materials created by NASA since the Apollo program. NASA Aerospace Education Services Project will also work closely with NASA Explorer Schools, a program that works with schools in underserved areas and aim to bring exciting science and technology to the students and the students to the technological workforce.
Carlsen, W.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
NSF GK-12 GREATT Project - Year 4
This five-year NSF-funded Graduate K-12 project (GK12) is directed by Prof. Daniel Haworth (Mechanical Engineering) and places graduate science Fellows in precollege settings to provide hands-on instruction related to hybrid vehicles, fuel cells, crash testing, and other issues related to advanced transportation engineering. CSATS is providing Fellow training and curriculum alignment consultation, and is contributing to external program evaluation.
Carlsen, W.
Shell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company
Carlsen, W.
The Boeing Company
Boeing-Penn State Research Sabbatical Fellowships for Teachers
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
Evensen, D .
University of Wisconsin-Madison (NSF Prime)
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL)
The long-range goal of CIRTL is to develop a national STEM faculty with the knowledge, experience, and inclination to forge successful professional careers that include implementing and advancing effective teaching and learning practice for diverse audiences.
Evensen, D.
Law School Admission Council
Law Students' Critical Case Reading and Reasoning Ability: Follow-up Study in Developing An Assessment Tool (Test Implementation Phase), Phase 2b.
This grant shall carry out research on developing a test of case reading and reasoning skills among law students, and a follow-up study in developing an assessment tool.
Geiger, R.
Ben Franklin Technology Center of Central and Northern Pennsylvania, Inc.
A Research Proposal to the Thematic Initiative Fund
This project seeks Level II TIF support to extend previous research on industry-sponsored research at Penn State by interviewing the responsible corporate representatives to discover links with economic development and factors that might enhance these research relationships. Findings are expected to improve understanding of economic benefits of industry-sponsored research and identify strategies for increasing participation of PA companies in Penn State research.
Harper, S. & Museus, S.
National Academic Advising Association, Indiana University Purdue University
The Role of Academic Advising in Fostering Racial/Ethnic Minority Student Persistance: A Collective-Cross Case Study of High-Performing
The aim of the proposed collective-case study is to examine institutions that exhibit considerably high and equitable six-year graduation rates across all racial/ethnic student subpopulations to identify and delineate how academic advising helps foster success among minority students on those campuses.
Lattuca, L. & Terenzini, P.
National Science Foundation
Prototype to Production: Processes and Conditions for Preparing the Engineer of 2020
The study seeks to contribute to the national dialogue surrounding the recent report of the National Academy of Engineering. The study will assess the current capacity of undergraduate engineering programs to prepare the Engineer of 2020. A national survey of engineering students, graduates, faculty, and administrators from 30 randomly-selected institutions will map the landscape of undergraduate engineering education to reveal current levels of alignment between engineering program goals and the attributes associated with the Engineer of 2020. The study will also scan an understudied sector of the engineering pipeline, surveying students in two-year colleges that prepare students for transfer to bachelor's programs. The study will also develop survey instruments that will establish a national baseline and that can be used to assess national and institutional capacity and track improvements over time in readiness to prepare the Engineer of 2020.
Lattuca L., Terenzini P., & Kremer G.
National Science Foundation
Prototyping the Engineer of 2020: A 360-degree Study of Effective Education
This study will assess the extent of engineering faculty members' and administrators' understanding of the unprecedented global competition the U.S. faces today and the extent to which they are designing and delivering educational experiences that effectively prepare engineering graduates for the world of 2020. The study is designed to produce empirically based guidance for engineering education by accomplishing two goals: 1) identifying for case studies engineering schools and programs that are currently producing graduates who (compared to those from other programs) most closely resemble the engineer of 2020, and 2) identifying and analyzing in detail the curricular, pedagogical, cultural, and organizational features of those programs that support high-quality and innovative engineering education that is well-aligned with the goals of the Engineer of 2020.
Post, D.
Council for International Exchange of Scholars
New Century Scholar
The New Century Scholar, a new initiative of the Fulbright Scholar Program, supports multidisciplinary, international research on topics of global significance.
Post, D.
Spencer Foundation
The Social Consequences of Hong Kong Education: Family Welfare, Mobility, Gender Equity and Civil Society
This grant will consolidate, temporally extend, and refine the Hong Kong research supported by the Spencer Foundation. Building on the previous study to complete a monograph describing a range of social and political consequences of education since 1971. The policy ramifications from this study would be especially germane to a new debate about public support to higher education today, not only in Hong Kong but elsewhere. The further use of the 2006 Hong Kong census to apply improved techniques to gauge the impact on each child their siblings' educational attainments. More broadly as a contribution to political sociology, the documentation of the changing rationale for education, and the emergence of civil society through a transformed conception of the role of public investment in schooling.
Reason, R. & Terenzini, P.
Wabash College
Wabash Assessments of Faculty Data Collection and Analysis
Terenzini, P. & Reason, R.
The Spencer Foundation
Parsing the First-Year of College
This proposal will identify and map the salient individual, environmental, programmatic, and organizational factors that shape student success during the critical first year of college.
CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF FREE INSTITUTIONS AND CIVIC EDUCATION
COUNSELOR EDUCATION, COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY, & REHAB SERVICES
Counselor Education & Rehabilitation Services
Herbert J., Conyers L., Hunt B., Mpofu E., Niles S., & Wilson K.
U.S. Department of Education
Increasing the Number of Qualified Rehabilitation Counselors to Work in the State Vocational Rehabilitation Program and the Number of Rehabilitation Counselor Educators
This grant will be supporting 25 master's level rehabilitation counselors to work in the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation [POVR] or other similar state VR agencies across the nation. As the fifth highest rated rehabilitation counseling program in the nation, the Rehabilitation Counseling Program [RCP] at The Pennsylvania State University has maintained a strong record of preparing qualified persons to work as state VR counselors.
Mpofu, E.
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation
Can Church Schools Reduce the Risk of HIV Infection for Orphan Girls in Zimbabwe?
Specific aims for this study:
1) To test experimentally whether modest assistance can help orphan girls stay in school through the transition to high school, and whether attending a church-run high school is more protective against HIV risk behaviors than attending secular school.
2) To compare the content and consistency of sex and HIV-related messages taught through church-sponsored versus secular secondary schools.
3) To examine how female orphans preceive HIV messages from church-sponsored compared to secular secondary schools, and to explore the context in which they make decisions about sexual behavior.
Wilson K., Conyers L., Herbert J., Hunt B., & Mpofu E.
U.S. Department of Education
Improving the Quality of Job Development and Job Placement Services for People with Severe Disabilities
The purpose of this grant is to increase the number of qualified rehabilitation personnel available to State and other public or nonprofit agencies involved in the provision of job development and job placement services to individuals with severe disabilities. Specifically, with the intent to provide master's level training to counselors affiliated with the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) and consumers of rehabilitation services trained at the bachelor's level who wish to pursue master's level training, as well as other qualified people.
Counseling Psychology
Skowron E., Stifter C., Lawrence F., Pincus A., Azar S., Teti D., & Woodhouse S.
National Institutes of Health
Child Maltreatment, Parenting Processes and Emotion Regulation
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.
CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
Curriculum & Supervision
Early Childhood Education
Johnson, J.
Foundation for Child Development
P-3 Pre-Service Components and Configurations Study
The Pennsylvania State University's College of Education in collaboration with the College of Health and Human Development will be examining 40 universities and colleges across the nation to describe and analyze types of certification and degree programs that exist or are planned for teacher preparation serving PK-3 education. Findings will be discussed in relation to state regulatory structures for the preparation of early childhood education (ECE) teachers, as well as with respect to the literature on ECE teacher preparation in general, and the literature on personnel preparation for aligned PK-3 education in particular. This project will provide useful information at a national level to inform the ECE professional community and to assist educational leaders and policy makers in program planning within institutions of higher learning and in state agencies.
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:
- 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.
Mathematics Education
Heid M. K., Blume G., & Zbiek R.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Journal for Research in Mathematics Education
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 will be housed here at Penn State.
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:
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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.
- 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.
Science Education
Zembal-Saul, C.
National Science Foundation
CAREER: Teaching Elementary School Science as Argument (TESSA)
An integrated program of teaching and research is proposed to investigate how beginning elementary teachers learn to teach science in ways that emphasize evidence and argument. The project targets prospective teachers in their science content and methods courses, and tracks their development into the first years of teaching. To support this initiative, a coherent collection of electronic resources (the Teaching Elementary School Science as Argument [TESSA] learning environment) will be developed and incorporated into opportunities for prospective teachers to learn science and how to teach it. The two major components of the TESSA learning environment include resources for argument articulation and resources for teaching science as argument. A parallel research emphasis is the investigation of the ways in which beginning elementary teachers use the TESSA resources, and which features of the TESSA learning environment contribute to their learning.
Social Studies Education
EDUCATION OUTREACH
Peck, K.
Capital Area Intermediate Unit
Classrooms for the Future Initiative (CFF)
The Penn State University will implement the existing research design, which answers a series of research questions by implementing and analyzing data from classrooms observations, surveys, and interviews, as well as data provided by schools. Specifically, Penn State will create and lead a research team that will perform the following tasks: interviews, classroom observations, teacher and student surveys, PA Technology Inventory data, school-based data analysis, achievement data analysis, high-order skills analysis, reporting, and professional development and public relations.
Peck, K.
Quaker Valley School District
Quaker Valley 1-to-1
This research will investigate how students in the Quaker Valley School District might be different from students in otherwise similar schools that do not provide one-to-one computer access to its students. It is designed to provide decision makers in the district the information they will need to estimate the effects and value of a one-to-one computer access program.
Peck K., Nolan J., & Popp J.
Montgomery County Intermediate Unit #23
Ensuring the Technological Preparation of Future Teachers in Pennsylvania
The program, Creating Technology Leadership in Pre-Service Teacher Programs at Colleges and Universities throughout PA will be developed in collaboration with The Pennsylvania State University.
Penn State is designing and implementing a "21st Century Integration Summit for Teacher Educators" for the leaders of teacher certification programs; developing "Performance-Oriented Educator's Toolkit (POET) to support up to 20 teacher education programs in PA as they transform their curriculum to require that students demonstrate skills and knowledge reflected in relevant standards; developing and/or acquiring curriculm resources that will assist PA's institutions of higher education in accomplishing the goal of preparing their graduates to use technologies effectively.
Peck K., Van Horn B., Prins E., Boyd W., Hartman W., Heid M.K., Hughes C., Le Tendre G., Meyer B., Schafft K., & Van Meter P.
U.S. Department of Education
Mid-Atlantic Collaborative for Applied Research in Education (M-CARE)
Penn State, in collaboration with Rutgers University and three consulting entities, recently entered into a $34 million contract with the U.S. Department of Education to establish the new Mid-Atlantic Regional Education Laboratory. The Regional Lab, housed in Penn State's College of Education, will help educators answer their very real questions about how to improve student learning.
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Lab enlists laboratory extension specialists living throughout a four-state region to gather questions directly from teachers and administrators. These specialists will relay the schools' priorities and needs to the Lab's researchers. The needs felt in the schools will drive the research. The focus will be on providing quick, high quality responses, when the questions can be answered through existing research. Lab researchers will review existing research on a need expressed by schools in the region and give them a summary of findings fairly quickly. The lab also will be conducting experimental research to answer important questions for which research does not exist.
This project allows us to use new technologies in innovative ways, producing new products such as podcasts, video briefs, and other forms of media that can be used by teachers and principals in meetings, or even while driving to and from work.
Rahman, S.
Institute for International Education
Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program (2007-2008)
EDUCATION POLICY STUDIES
Educational Leadership
Begley, P .
Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
Educational Leadership Project
In 2005, The Penn State Educational Leadership Program was accredited through the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) based on the newly approved standards of the Education Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC). These seven standards are closely aligned with the nine standards of the Pennsylvania Inspired Leadership program. Similarly, some of the best practices outlined as a characteristic of the Pennsylvania Inspired Leadership program are also recommendations of the NCATE accreditation process. The Penn State Educational Leadership program continues to refine practices to better meet these objectives. A set of core courses has been established for principal certification and a student portfolio system is being implemented that allows students to store evidence of achievement according to the standards.
Faircloth, S.
University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center
American Indian Alaska Native Head Start Research Center
This project will provide specialized new investigator seminars and training sessions in order to increase the number of doctoral level PhD Native Investigators capable of conducting high quality studies in early childhood development and intervention in AI/AN communities. Secondary analysis of existing data, pilot new data collection, and development of an independent program of research.
The Native Investigators, will conduct a secondary data analysis of existing data analysis of existing data at the AIANP Programs, prepare a manuscript based upon the secondary data analysis, and develop and implement an independent, primary data collection of sufficient rigor to serve as a preliminary study for a full-scale research grant application.
Educational Theory and Policy
Baker, D. & Gamson, D.
Spencer Foundation
The Increasing Cognitive Demand of the American Mathematics Curriculum, 1890-2005
The project will document and analyze how the cognitive demand of the American mathematics curriculum has changed over the course of the past century. By "cognitive demand," we mean the cognitive skills that are demanded for mastery of specific mathematical tasks and problem types that make up curriculum. The project will offer a much needed intellectual contribution to the study of education in the American society.
Gamson, D.
Spencer Foundation
Rereading Our Past: The Cognitive Demands of Reading and Reading Comprehension, 1890-2005
In recent decades, a great deal of scholarly and policy attention has focused - with good reason - on the development of early literacy skills. Yet as researchers have pointed out, ensuring that all children are proficient readers by grade 3 is only a first step in promoting proficient reading; unless our knowledge about reading comprehension develops to keep apace with our growing understanding of early literacy, our investment in early literacy might well be lost.
This project offers a multi-disciplinary contribution to the ongoing efforts to make research on reading comprehension more systematic and interconnected. The study is composed of several intersecting phases that constitute a blend of historical, psychological, linguistic, and sociological methods.
Pong, S.
Spencer Foundation
Neighborhood Effects on Immigrant Children's Schooling
This is a Spencer Resident Fellowship which the efforts intend to promote cross-disciplinary collaboration and interaction between researchers, policy analyst and practitioners. The bringing together of scholars and practitioners over defined periods of time to work on issues of common interest will generate a collaborative community that is greater than the sum of its parts, supporting both the strategic directions of the Foundation and the scholarship of the fellows.
Tippeconnic, J. & Faircloth, S.
U.S. Department of Education
American Indian Leadership Program: Master's in Educational Administration to Prepare School Principals
The primary purpose of this project is to prepare a cohort of eight American Indian and Alaska Natives, over a three-year period, to be effective school principals in schools that serve significant numbers of Indian students. Students will be recruited nationally and take principalship jobs throughout the country. The three-year project will include two years on the campus of Penn State University completing the requirements for a master's degree in Educational Administration with principalship certification followed by a year of induction services in the field.
Higher Education
Heller, D. & Li, D.
Association for Institutional Research
Should Transfer or Not: The Effects of Academic Match on Student Decision to Transfer
This project will examine how students decide to transfer, where they choose to transfer, and how the transfer affects the degree completion for students. The study primarily relies on the "match" hypothesis. The "match" hypothesis is originally derived from the college choice model. It hypothesizes that students search and apply to colleges matching their characteristics. The project highlights only the match of student academic capability and selectivity of the institution. The assumption of the study is that students tend to attend institutions that match student academic capability. Accordingly, entering an institution that does not, or no longer, match student academic capability may motivate students to transfer to another institution.
Volkwein, J.F.
Association for Institutional Research
2006-2007 Planning Grant for a Post-Master's Certificate Program in Institutional Research
The faculty and staff of Penn State's Program in Higher Education welcome the opportunity (with support from AIR) to continue the development of a post-master's certificate program specifically designed to prepare professional institutional researchers. This proposal identifies and describes the curricular, instructional, organizational, and financial issues we believe must be tackled by any institution planning to develop an IR preparation program. We also outline what we propose to do in addressing the questions and problems in each area.
EDUCATIONAL AND SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY AND SPECIAL ED
Educational Psychology
Meyer B., Sperling R., Lei P., Popp J., & Van Horn B.
U.S. Department of Education
Intelligent Tutoring Using the Structure Strategy to Improve Reading Comprehension of Middle School Students
Some students fail to succeed in identifying main ideas from expository text and giving cohesive and complete accounts of what they read because of how they read. We will address this reading comprehension problem through web-based intelligent tutoring using the structure strategy. The proposed project extends the research on text structures and the structure strategy to aid comprehension and recall of text, addresses use of technology in teaching reading, provides valid and reliable assessments of reading comprehension, and evaluates the effectiveness of an intelligent tutoring system in improving reading comprehension.
School Psychology
DiPerna J., Morgan P., & Lei, P.
U.S. Department of Education
Development of Early Arithmetic, Reading, and Learning Indicators for Head Start Populations
Despite increased interest in promoting the development of early skills to prevent academic difficulty at school entry, few measures exist for monitoring growth in specific early academic skills during the preschool years. The purpose of this project is to develop a set of progress-monitoring measures to assess key early literacy and mathematics skills for 3- and 4- year old children enrolled in Head Start. Specifically developing four skill probes in the early literacy domain (alphabet recitation, letter identification, letter-sound correspondence, and phonemic awareness) and four skill probes in the early mathematics domain (number recitation, number identification, counting, and subitizing). These measures will facilitate the goal of promoting the development of early academic skilss for children in Head Start.
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.
DiPerna, J. & Reid, E.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
NumberFun: Promoting Early Numeracy Skill Growth in Head Start Children
The purpose of the NumberFun project is to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of an early numeracy skill promotion program designed specifically for use in Head Start classrooms. Two-hundred forty children across eight Head Start classrooms (four treatment and four wait-list control) will participate in the study, and repeated measures will be collected to evaluate child outcomes, implementation fidelity, and practicality of the program. It is predicted that NumberFun will promote greater gains in early numeracy skills than existing instructional programs. In addition, it is anticipated that NumberFun will be viewed as a feasible and effective early numeracy skill promotion program that is appropriate for dissemination to local and national Head Start centers.
Special Education
Farmer, T.
National Research Center on Rural Education Support
Research and Dissemination Support for the National Research Center for Rural Education Support (NRCRES)
The goal of this project is to provide support for ongoing projects of the National Research Center on Rural Education Support (NRCRES) that include the Rural Early Adolescent Learning Program, The Distance Learning and Technology Program, and complimentary studies on teacher retention, special education services and needs in rural school districts, and other related research and community outreach activities.
Farmer, T. & Lei, P.
National Research Center on Rural Education Support
The Rural Distance Learning and Technology Project
The goal of this project is to support the measurement, data analyses, dissemination, and project management activities of the Facilitator Preparation Program of the National Research Center on Rural Education Support. This work will be conducted across the three years of the study including pilot activities and measurement development, scaling and data reduction activities, and contributing to and interpreting data analyses for dissemination.
Farmer, T. & Gest, S.
University of North Carolina
Rural High School Aspirations: Parent Survey
The purpose of this project is to support the Rural High School Aspirations Study that is being conducted by the National Research Center on Rural Education Support (NRCRES) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This will involve assisting in the survey design, providing assistance in the direction and administration of all aspects of this project, conducting the parent surveys, data collection, analyses of data, and preparation of reports and manuscripts for dissemination.
Mason L., Kulikowich J., Murphy K., & Sperling R.
U.S. Department of Education
TWA & PLAN
The project examines the effectiveness of the TWA (Think Before Reading, Think While Reading, Think After Reading) reading comprehension strategy and PLANS (Pick goals, List ways to meet goals, And make Notes, Sequence notes), an informative essay writing strategy, with SRSD instruction on students' expository reading comprehension and writing with authentic classroom expository text. This project increases knowledge and practice by directly examining the impact of a multi-component teacher-implemented research-based instructional approach on students' performance across near and far transfer measures immediately after and months following instruction.
Mason L., Kubina R., Ruhl K., & Kulikowich J.
U.S. Department of Education
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.
Neisworth, J., & Wolfe, P.
U.S. Department of Education
The Penn State Autism Project: A Master's-Level Preservice Interdisciplinary Training Program for Special Educators and Speech-Language Pathologists to Improve Services and Results for Children with Autism/PDD
Children with Autism require interdisciplinary specialists, especially in special education and speech-language pathology (SLP). Significant increases in the number of such children have aggravated acute shortages of well prepared professionals, especially in rural areas. The proposed 2-year master's program will prepare 33 students (21 special educators and 12 SLPs) who will share evidence-based course work (29 credits) and experiences. Students will develop competencies in autism through academic courses, family and school practica, guest lecture series, and the PA Autism Institute. Four collaborative seminars developed for this project focus on Issues and Concerns (medical, legal, ethical, treatment), Family and Cultural Factors, Augmentative and Alternative Communication, and Applied Behavior Analysis. SPLED students will exit with an M.Ed., be qualified for PA certification, and be eligible to sit for the Behavior Analyst Certification Board credential. Students completing the CMDIS program will exit with an M.S., be eligible for American Speech-Language and Hearing Association certification (ASHA), and for licensing to work in PA schools. This proposal was developed in collaboration with the PA Department of Education and technical assistance networks, consultation with departments of education in neighboring states, and parent organizations. An Advisory Board and external evaluator will assist in monitoring and improving the project, as well as preparing dissemination materials.
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.
Ruhl, K.
U.S. Department of Education
Program to Help Doctoral Students Succeed (PHDSS)
A critical shortage of doctoral level persons to fill the many vacancies in special education (SPED) teacher-preparation programs exists. Research delineates reasons for the shortage and outlines activities needed to recruit minority and non-minority individuals into academic careers. The program described here incorporates these activities and adds to the financial and human resources of an existing, strong doctoral program; extending its impact through a variety of recruitment, preparation, and retention activities designed to help PhD students graduate in a timely manner while preparing them for success in subsequent faculty careers. Thus, this proposal solicits funding for a new, doctoral training and support effort, Program to Help Doctoral Students Succeed at Penn State.
GOODLING INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH IN FAMILY LITERACY
Van Horn B., Grumm M., Marvin M. & Grinder E.
Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Early Reading First Professional Development
The Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy will design, develop, coordinate, and manage all aspects of professional development for the Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit's Early Reading First project.
INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF ADULT LITERACY
Hamilton K., Van Horn B., Carman P., Wilson A., & Webster S.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Workforce Education Research Center (WERC)
The WERC will provide leadership for the improvement of work-based foundation skills services through the identification, coordination, development, and communication of a variety of professional development opportunities and program support based on research and best practices in workplace/workforce adult education. Project staff will continue to recruit and support ABLE agencies interested in becoming affiliated with the Center, either under PA WIN or with a focus on serving pre-employed adults.
Sherow, S. & McDowell, W.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Adult Diploma Program: Training, Technical Assistance, and Evaluation Project
Project Purpose:
1. Coordinate all current ADP sites.
2. Provide current ADP sites with training and technical assistance to align with the Bureau of ABLE ADP policy.
3. To monitor and evaluate the progress of ADP learners and the effectiveness of ADP services.
4. To involve PDCs in ADP activites and train PDC trainers in ADP instructional and assessment practices.
5. To work with the Bureau of ABLE to update the ADP policy.
6. To guide ADP sites in developing a program improvement plan for 2008-09.
7. To share ADP instructional and assessment methods with ABLE programs through practitioner publications.
Sherow, S. & McDowell, W.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
PA Literacy Corps: Training, Technical Assistance, and Evaluation Project, 2007-2008
Project Purpose:
1. Provide targeted training in program planning, implementation, and evaluation; tutor training, including the Lit Corps college-level course; and maintaining and strengthening the Lit Corps-higher education partnership.
2. Provide ongoing, individualized technical assistance.
3. Encourage & coordinate networking and sharing of ideas and resources.
4. Develop and make available research-based tutoring training materials and methods, along with strategies and materials for a wide range of adult learning needs.
5. Share tutor training/tutoring materials with other ABLE programs through the PDCs and TLC.
6. Engage tutors in literacy-based activities beyond their 40-hour tutoring requirement, including volunteering at the PAACE Midwinter Conference.
7. Monitor and evaluate the program effectiveness and impact.
8. Use the higher education partnership as a bridge to transition adult learners into post-secondary education.
Van Horn B., Hamilton K., & Prins E.
National Institute for Literacy
National Institute for Literacy LINCS Workforce Competiveness Resource Collection
The overall goal of the Workforce Competitiveness (WFC) Resource Collection is to provide practitioners with a "one-stop electronic gateway to the highest quality" research and evidence-based instructional materials and strategies, and other resources that will improve delivery of services and instruction to adults as they prepare for and participate in the workforce. Although the Collection will address workforce education, in general, we also will target effective work-focused instruction tailored to the needs of English language learners (ELLs). Also, we will articulate connections between high quality resources for workforce education and English language acquisition, and on the effective use of technology to maximize both.
Van Horn B., Weirauch D., & Prins E.
Ohio Literacy Resource Center
National Institute for Literacy LINCS Basic Skills Resource Collection
The overall goal of this grant is to provide the collection of the highest quality information for effective integration in teaching and professional development. The grant will also provide content area professional development technical assistance and informational materials to adult education and literacy program administrators, project directors, professional development staff and practitioners via the collection and conduct presentation workshops and training sessions.
Van Horn B., Grumm M., Movit M., & Yeager J.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
ABLE Tech
The overall goal of ABLE Tech is to provide data use and analysis support as well as training and technical assistance (TA) to Pennsylvania's adult education system, including Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) personnel; professional development staff; and agency administrators and data management staff.
Van Horn B., Weirauch D., Grumm M., Webster S., & Grinder E.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Statewide Evaluation of Act 143 Family Literacy Programs (2007-2008)
The goal of the evaluation is to determine the effectiveness of Pennsylvania's Act 143 FLPs in providing family-centered instructional and related support services that integrate high quality adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) and early childhood and elementary education to meet the educational needs of eligible families. Evaluation questions address participant characteristics; intensity and duration of participation; participant outcomes; participant, staff and partner perceptions of services and collaboration; staff qualifications; and program processes. Comprehensive data sets allow comparison of findings across years to document outcomes and identify trends and best practices. Also, multiyear analyses will assist in refining performance standards and provide programs with reliable benchmarks with which they can measure local effectiveness. Multiyear analyses also will assist in tracking the progress that each FLP has made in terms of program improvement. The addition of case studies will help determine characteristics of and instructional practices within programs that lead to successful outcomes for learners.
Van Horn B., Weirauch D., Baptiste I., Grumm M., Wilson A., Jones R., & Grinder E.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Statewide Evaluation of Even Start Family Literacy Programs (2007-2008)
The goal of the evaluation is to determine the effectiveness of Pennsylvania's Even Start FLPs in providing family-centered instructional and related support services that integrate high quality adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) and early childhood and elementary education to meet the educational needs of eligible families. Evaluation questions address participant characteristics; intensity and duration of participation; participant outcomes; participant, staff and partner perceptions of services and collaboration; staff qualifications; and program processes. Comprehensive data sets allow comparison of findings across years to document outcomes and identify trends and best practices. Also, multiyear analyses will assist in refining performance standards and provide programs with reliable benchmarks with which they can measure local effectiveness. Multiyear analyses also will assist in tracking the progress that each FLP has made in terms of program improvement. The addition of case studies will help determine characteristics of and instructional practices within programs that lead to successful outcomes for learners.
Van Horn, B. & Askov, E. N.
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.
LEARNING & PERFORMANCE SYSTEMS
Adult Education
Instructional Systems
Hooper, S.
University of Minnesota
Creating an ASL Curriculum Based Assessment Portfolio: A Capture, Management, Evaluation and Self-Assessment System
Penn State University in collaboration with the University of Minnesota will work to create an environment for students to capture, submit, and archive ASL performances. The development of support materials to facilitate installation and replication, thus creating a system for students to self-assess performance by finishing the design and development of the student progress monitoring interactive visualization.
Land, S.
Young Scholars of Central PA Charter School
Technology Coordinator Job Description-Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania
The Technology Coordinator will develop a system with the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania to improve education, develop a leadership plan, develop and implement plans for the acquisition and maintenance of hardware and software, and disseminate technology-related information throughout the school via newsletter, electronic mail, and presentations.
Workforce Education and Development
Hoadley, C.
University of California at Berkeley
The Education Accelerator: Technology-Enhanced Learning in Science (TELS) (Prime Sponsor-NSF)
The ultimate goal of this project is to increase the numbers of teachers whose students are learning more important science concepts through the use of proven, technology-enhanced secondary science curricula. To accomplish these goals, the project has set the following objectives: Develop an efficient research infrastructure: the Education Accelerator; Launch a series of seven related applied research projects; Develop a comprehensive graduate program; Provide extensive project-based teacher professional development; Collaborate and disseminate project materials broadly; Develop strategies for post-funding continuation.
PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT CENTER
Walter, R.
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
Field-Based Certification of Vocational Instructors at the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
This project will provide services delivered to a maximum of twelve (12) instructors employed by the Bureau of Corrections. The services provided by the Professional Personnel Development Center will enable those instructors to fulfill the requirements for receiving an endorsement for Vocational Instructional I Certifications.
Walter, R.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Establishing Cut-Scores for NOCTI HVAC and Electrical Construction Experienced Worker Written Examinations for Use in Pennsylvania's Certification of Career and Technical Teachers
This project is designed to establish reliability and validity, as well as cut-off scores instruments for several new and revised examinations that cannot be placed in service until these instruments are established.
Objectives:
- Assembling two expert panels composed of incumbent workers and teachers.
- Establishing the synthetic validity of the HVAC and Electrical Construction experienced worker written tests via the Nedelsky methodology.
- Compiling and summarizing the data supplied by the committees, calculate cut-off scores for the written tests, and prepare the final report for submission to PDE.
Walter, R.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Pennsylvania Governor's Institute for Career and Technical Educators - Integrating Mathematics Standards into Your CTE Program
This institute will assist instructors with implementing the Pennsylvania Academic Standards and Assessments Anchors within their Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.
The goal of the institute to provide participants with the opportunity to learn:
a. A research proven process to link CTE lesson content to mathematics standards and concepts as they appear on standardized tests such as the PSSA.
b. Strategies to improve student achievement in mathematics.
c. Instructional and assessment techniques to accommodate students with special needs.
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.
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