Reasearch That Matters from the UW College of Education
Research That Matters is an annual publication highlighting faculty research at the University of Washington College of Education. This special online edition, Follow the Leaders: New Directions in Educational Policy, focuses on leadership.

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Follow the Leaders

Educational leaders are looking at the hard numbers behind educational inequities and achievement gaps in urban classrooms and, with their jobs on the line and their students' futures at stake, they are devising new leadership strategies for 21st-century education. All eyes are on the classroom, on instruction, on the quality of instruction that happens there. Is every child, regardless of background, getting what he or she needs to succeed?

Learning-Focused Leadership: Keeping the Eye on the Ball
When the district superintendent showed up at a school at 7:30 a.m., everyone knew what to expect. First she picked five students at random, then spent an hour talking with them about their work, their life in school and what it meant for them to be learners. This was serious work, and through her actions she let everyone know it. More...

Data: a New Leadership Tool
Data-savvy district leaders made sure information was accessible and understandable to every educator in their districts. They brought in data specialists and assessment coordinators to help teachers and administrators interpret and use incoming streams of data. How can teachers apply what they learn to evaluate their own practice and target areas that need improvement? More...

When Equal Is Not Equitable
Students may cry "unfair!" when a principal cuts a popular music program and invests the resources in special English language learning classes. Parents are likely to protest when the district reduces class size for struggling students in low-performing schools and increases them for everyone else. More...

One for the Team
With an iron fist and heart of gold, the great leader takes over a struggling school, confronts dysfunctional staff and non-performing students, fires up everyone's motivation and turns the school around for a perfect Hollywood ending. So why does this ideal come up short in an era where school leadership has grown increasingly multi-faceted and demanding? More...

Moving Beyond Business as Usual
For decades, educational research has shown that school district central offices can get in the way of efforts to improve teaching and learning in schools, even efforts initiated by district central office leaders themselves. But in recent decades, policymakers have called on school district central offices to play central leadership roles in producing demonstrable improvements in teaching and learning district-wide. More...

Connecting Outside the Classroom
By the year 2025, nearly 25 percent of school-age children in America will be English language learners. Hard questions and often contentious debate surround the topic of how best to educate them. Should these students be taught simultaneously in their native language and English? Should they be taught first in their native language, then eased into English? More...

Fast Facts on Teacher Education

The College of Education’s hiring rate for the 2010-11 group of first year teachers is 88% in Secondary and 66% in Elementary. These numbers are particularly significant given the limited hiring that has occurred this past year due to the economic downturn.

Community News

Donnajean Carroll-Barton, ‘59, ’67, of Yakima, Wash., is the author of Earthwalk and Earthwalk Two, novels based on a real-life account about a young man trying to settle estate matters. More...

Kareen Borders, participated in the NASA Education Stakeholders’ Summit in September, joining five other NASA Student Ambassadors in sharing their personal stories on how they were inspired to pursue STEM careers. More...

Elementary teacher education alum Danielle "Dani" Gowen has been selected to attend the sixth annual Worldwide Innovative Education Forum in Cape Town, South Africa, representing the UW at this forum sponsored by Microsoft Partners in Learning.

The National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning has been awarded by Head Start to the UW Haring Center. Dr. Susan Sandall (PI) and Dr. Gail Joseph (Co-PI) will oversee the five-year grant to Head Start Center. More...

Georgie Bright Kunkel, '68, writes to say that because "I was a so-called Rosie the Riveter during WWII, I was interviewed for a special video presentation at the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the B-17 Flying Fortress sponsored by the Museum of Flight. During WWII, I drilled holes in wing panels for this plane in a little plant in my hometown of Chehalis."

Rocio Mendoza, '08, GO-MAP and Bonderman Travel Fellow, reflects on how these two awards have enriched her life as a first-generation Chicana. More...

Methow Valley Elementary School is moving toward an all-natural playground. Brian Patrick, '87, Danforth educational leadership program graduate and new principal at Methow Valley Elementary, is quoted. More...

College of Education in the News

How Handwriting Trains the Brain
Research highlights the hand's unique relationship with the brain when it comes to composing thoughts and ideas. Virginia Berninger, UW professor of educational psychology, says handwriting differs from typing because it requires executing sequential strokes to form a letter, whereas keyboarding involves selecting a whole letter by touching a key. More...

Urgent Education Needs Demand Bold New Thinking
A Seattle Times editorial by Dean Tom Stritikus argues that "Waiting for Superman" discussions should focus on training and hiring quality teachers for all classrooms. More...

Teachers Embrace Technology Boom in the Classroom
How can new technology benefit students and teachers? Steve Kerr talks video game activities. More...

Share Your News

Share your professional activities/accomplishments, or information about an award, a new job or other news with the College of Education community in the next issue of our E-newsletter. Please e-mail: ecoe@uw.edu.