Darden/Curry Partnership

While poverty and lack of educational resources are certainly factors in poor student performance, mismanaged districts and poor leadership also impact a student's ability to learn and achieve. The University of Virginia Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education (PLE)'s mission is to restructure the way that education is managed by the state and by the district so that students have better access to talented teachers and improved resources. The program uses a four-lever model to help school districts improve school performance. It addresses improvement in the following areas: organizational leadership, talent management, support and accountability, and data-driven instruction. As recently reported in this article, the PLE worked with districts in Oklahoma and Louisiana and the participating districts saw significant gains in student performance.

Back to school and ready to learn social and emotional skills

Sara Rimm-Kaufmann, UVa Curry School of Education researcher

Creating a classroom environment where learning goes beyond the three "r's" to include social and emotional development has a reciprocal affect on student academic achievement. In the study, "Efficacy of the Responsive Classroom Approach: Results from a Three Year, Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Trial," researchers Sara Rimm-Kaufman (University of Virginia), Ross A. Larsen (University of Virginia), Alison A. Baroody (University of Virginia), Timothy Curby (George Mason University), Michelle Ko (University of Virginia), Julia B. Thomas (University of Virginia), Eileen G.Merritt (University of Virginia), Tashia Abry (Arizona State University), and Jamie DeCoster (University of Virginia), looked specifically at Responsive Classroom (RC), a widely-used social and emotional learning intervention. Rimm-Kaufmann reported in this article posted to the Science Daily website that academic gains were found among all socio-economic groups. "The success of many curricula, including those that map onto the Common Core expectations, require that teachers use effective classroom management and develop student confidence and autonomy," said Rimm-Kaufman. "Our trial of the Responsive Classroom approach suggests that teachers who take the time to foster relationships in the classroom and support children's self-control actually enhance student achievement."
"In a time of intense academic demands, many critics question the value of spending time on teaching social skills, building classroom relationships and supporting student autonomy," said Rimm-Kaufman. "Our research shows that time spent supporting children's social and emotional abilities can be a very wise investment." 

Mental Maps

Andrew Mondschein, new faculty member in the
University of Virginia School of Architecture.

What are you missing every day on your daily commute? It may be more than you think if you take public transportation or rely on Google Maps to get you there. Andrew Mondschein, faculty member in the UVa School of Architecture, led a team of researchers who discovered that "cognitively active" travelers (i.e. those driving a car, walking, or riding a bike) are more aware of their surroundings as they navigate than "cognitively passive" travelers (i.e. car or bus passengers) who are simply moved from one location to another. Having gaps in your mental map, Mondschein theorized, can be more significant than just missing a billboard advertisement. Cognitively passive travelers may be missing job opportunities, goods and services available, and/or recreation activities that they might otherwise have noticed if they were navigating the streets on their own. “I think transportation planners need to consider the experience of travel in addition to simply establishing links between ‘A’ and ‘B’,” Mondschein said.  ”Travel is exploration, and there’s long-term value in this kind of learning." For more information, check out this article in UVa Today.

Marcia A. Invernizzi, 2013 Edlich-Henderson Innovator of the Year

The IRB-SBS would like to congratulate Marcia Invernizzi; she was recently and appropriately awared the 2013 Edlich-Henderson Innovator of the Year for her Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening, or PALS, assessments and teaching tools; they used in six countries and all 50 states to identify and provide customized learning experiences for young children at risk of becoming poor readers. She is the first researcher from the Curry School to receive this award. For more information about her award, check out this article on NBC 29's site.

Often our researchers only hear from our office about the things they need to do to correct their studies but please know that we are so proud of our UVa researchers and the contributions that they make to their fields and to the world. We look forward to seeing more recognition for your work!

U.Va. Employees Legally Obligated to Report Child Abuse

Susan A. Carkeek, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, sent the following in an email to staff on July 7th, 2012:

"In the 2012 legislative session, the General Assembly passed legislation on reporting suspected child abuse and neglect.  Specifically, the law requires "any person employed by a public or private institution of higher education" to report suspected instances of child abuse and neglect.  All University employees are now required to contact local or state Social Services if they see or suspect child abuse or neglect.  This law went into effect July 1, 2012.

University Human Resources has developed a web page at http://www.hr.virginia.edu/go/abuse-reporting with the legal definition of a neglected or abused child, instructions on where and how to report suspected child abuse or neglect, and other resources.  I ask that you familiarize yourself with the basic definitions and requirements so that you know how to proceed if you encounter or suspect child abuse or neglect. 

All employees need to be aware of this new legislation, particularly those of you who come in contact with children as part of your teaching, research, or other operations.  I appreciate your support in helping us comply with this law, and encourage you to share it with your colleagues. If you have questions, please contact the HR Service Center at 982.0123 or email AskHR@virginia.edu."

In the past, researchers were not obligated to report abuse (though they were highly encouraged!) but the new legistlation changes their status. If you or anyone on your research team interact with children, please be aware of the signs of abuse and how to report. For more information about working with this population, please see Child Abuse on our website.

Is Pretend Play Crucial for a Child's Development?

The answer, according to UV.a. psychologist Angeline Lillard, is that the research in the past was not done very well and pretend play may not play a significant role in creative and intellectual development. Lillard and her team concluded after reviewing over 150 studies on the subject that better designed studies need to be done and previous researchers may have been biased in their approach. For more details, see the article on UVa Today.

Research at Curry Makes an Impact

Robert Pianta, dean of U.Va.'s Curry School of Education, recently reported to the Board of Visitors' Educational Policy Committee that Curry is making an impact in the education reform movement. Considered one of the top three institutions influencing education policy, behind Stanford and Harvard universities, (as reported in the annual rankings of education scholars reported by Rick Hess of Education Week and the American Enterprise Institute), Curry also continues to demonstrate excellence in both undergraduate and graduate programs. Research is playing a major role in providing Curry with the tools that it needs to enact change in education policy and in the classroom. Pianta cited teaching assessment tools developed by Curry faculty and researchers that are now used in more than 50,000 classrooms nationwide, including every Head Start classroom in the U.S., and early reading assessments being used in Virginia and other states. For more information about this report, please see UVA Today's article.

Preschoolers' Reading Skills Benefit from One Modest Change by Teachers

"A small change in how teachers and parents read aloud to preschoolers may provide a big boost to their reading skills later on, a new study found.

That small change involves making specific references to print in books while reading to children – such as pointing out letters and words on the pages, showing capital letters, and showing how you read from left to right and top to bottom on the page.

Preschool children whose teachers used print references during storybook reading showed more advanced reading skills one and even two years later when compared to children whose teachers did not use such references. This is the first study to show causal links between referencing print and later literacy achievement."

For the rest of this article, please see the post on ScienceBlog.

Research Finds Autonomy Plays Pivotal Role in Adolescents’ School Engagement

The signs of students’ disengagement run the gamut, from daydreaming, doodling and covert texting to ignoring assignments, acting out and skipping classes. By the time they reach high school, about half are chronically disengaged from school, and this correlates with lower school grades and higher dropout rates, according to a recent study by researchers in the University of Virginia’s Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning.

Increasing students’ opportunities for autonomy in the classroom may be a key factor in reversing the trend of disengagement, the study finds.

For more information about the study and it's lead author, Chris Hafen, check out this article.