A new life, a new language
Cindy Brantmeier, professor of applied linguistics and education, has designed a social reading program that employs online games to help adolescent refugees and immigrants. The results are promising — test scores have improved along with student confidence.
How color barrier fell at South’s elite private schools
While many historians have explored the bitter court-ordered desegregation of public schools following the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, the equally dramatic story of the voluntary desegregation of prestigious, traditionally white, private schools remains largely untold. A new book, “Transforming The Elite,” sets out to fill that void by telling the firsthand stories of the young black students who broke the color barrier at the South’s most prestigious private schools in the fall of 1967.
WashU Expert: Students at every grade need to learn climate science
Even the youngest students are ready to learn about climate science, according to Michael Wysession, professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences and executive director of the Teaching Center at Washington University in St. Louis.
Initiative to improve college readiness for low-income students launched
In response to the Ferguson Commission’s call to improve college access, Washington University in St. Louis has launched the College Readiness and Pipeline Initiative. Leah Merrifield, in her newly appointed role as associate vice chancellor for community engagement and St. Louis college readiness initiatives, will lead the university’s efforts.
Washington People: Odis Johnson
Odis Johnson, PhD, joined the Department of Education in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis this semester. Here, he talks about the future of education research and policy, and how education, race and urban policy intersect.
A victory for education
Washington University in St. Louis leaders joined with local and state officials, educators and students to dedicate KIPP Victory Academy last month. The university serves as a sponsor of the KIPP charter school organization. This is its second school in St. Louis.
Building on success
The inaugural Health and Engineeering Careers Summer Camp took place in late July at West Side Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis. Numerous Washington University in St. Louis groups co-sponsored the event, which aimed to encourage underrepresented children to focus on science and math subjects. Here, 10-year-old Deja Stallworth proudly shows off the robot she made.
Unintended consequences: More high school math, science linked to more dropouts
Washington University researchers have found that courses intended to better prepare high school graduates for college also drive some students to drop out. They report that policies increasing the number of required math and science courses are linked to a higher dropout rate.
Science of learning book offers tips to ‘Make it Stick’
“Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning” offers students of all ages a clear and
compelling primer on the best and worst ways to store and retrieve new
knowledge. The book is co-authored by psychologists Henry L. “Roddy” Roediger III and Mark A. McDaniel, leading experts on human learning and memory at Washington University in St. Louis, along with nonfiction writer and novelist Peter C. Brown.
Institute for School Partnership’s Darwin Day celebration to highlight evolution education
WUSTL’s Institute for School Partnership is committed to evolution education as part of a sound K-12 science curriculum, and it kicks off its second annual Darwin Day celebration Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7 and 8, with workshops for teachers and students. Darwin Day is celebrated internationally on or around Feb. 12, Darwin’s birthday, as a celebration of science and humanity. Highlighting the weekend on the WUSTL campus: a visit from alum Sean B. Carroll, PhD, vice president for science education at Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
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