A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Mission

To strengthen and support schools and communities so that all students achieve standards of educational excellence. NCREL accomplishes its mission through policy analysis, professional development, and technical assistance, and by leveraging the power of partnerships and networks.

Key Initiatives

Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum Center. The Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum Center engages in research and the identification of best practices, develops new resources for educators, and provides training and technical assistance. Examples of such efforts include technology and education research papers that study the relationship between student learning and technology use in schools and exemplary curriculum and instructional materials that offer the greatest potential for use in training and professional development.

Center for Scaling Up. The Center for Scaling Up has four fundamental initiatives, each building on the others to form a system to support effective schoolwide change and the research and development innovation process. The initiatives are: (1) contributing to the science of scaling up by building a knowledge base; (2) moving research-based school improvement information to the field; (3) disseminating and providing training and professional development products and services for educators in technology applications for teaching and learning; and (4) building regional, state, and local networks to facilitate the scaling up of educational innovation.

Evaluation and Policy Information Center. The work of the Evaluation and Policy Information Center is to assist educational practitioners and leaders in making program and policy decisions based upon empirical data. Additionally, the Center provides timely and useful information to guide NCREL's planning and decisionmaking and supports research and development efforts.

Signature Programs

Resources for Curriculum Development. This program lies at the heart of teaching and learning and encompasses two separate but closely interrelated strands: (1) engaged learning and (2) effective teaching. Through the development of tools and information resources with a particular focus on reading, writing, mathematics, and science, NCREL helps teachers and students access, organize, and analyze research-based information. Specific works related to this signature area focus on Web-based, CD-ROM, and software resources, including the Pathways to School Improvement Web site, which addresses critical issues dealing with curriculum, instruction, and technology use in reading; the Engaged Learning Safari, Mathematics and Science, Literacy, and Learning With Technology Web sites; Gateway Concepts modules in the areas of science, mathematics, writing, and inquiry; problem-based learning resources and strategies that help teachers and students successfully use interdisciplinary approaches; and the establishment of literacy research and development projects across NCREL's seven states.

Technology Applications for Learning and Scaling Up. This program directly reflects NCREL's responsibility to provide national leadership in the use of technology for education as part of its specialty area. Having determined that technology application is a central component of any discussion of school improvement, NCREL believes that its niche is creating new visions and resources for the kinds of professional development that will empower teachers and school leaders to make effective use of the massive technology infrastructure. In partnership with educators, NCREL develops professional development tools, products, and services that reflect the needs of educators in the field. Examples of works related to this signature area include the Learning With Technology course, the Pathways to School Improvement Web site components on technology and related issues, and the Captured Wisdom CD-ROM library.

Creating an Infrastructure for School Improvement. By creating and participating in a variety of networks that span both a range of educational agencies and the levels of personnel within them, NCREL and its partners build a broad outreach mechanism and a systematic infrastructure for identifying and reaching its constituencies. Through these networks, NCREL is able to share information, field test resources, disseminate products and services, and provide policymakers with a mutual forum for discussion. Examples of work related to this area are a variety of Comprehensive School Reform resources (print, video, and Web-based), the Learning With Technology course, and professional development efforts that ensure a critical link among research, policy, and practice.

Design Support for School Improvement. "Turning schools around" through comprehensive school improvement strategies reflects and extends the work of many NCREL projects. In partnership with a site, NCREL designs support that is integrated into the school's organizational structure and culture and then provides technical assistance and training that helps the site sustain change and build capacity for ongoing improvement after the partnership ends. NCREL works with districts and schools through a four-stage decision model of change that includes setting goals and assessing gaps, designing and evaluating an action plan, implementing and maintaining change, and evaluating and renewing efforts. Specific activity in this area includes work with 11 Chicago Public Schools; intensive site work in Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin; and research and development pertaining to the Strategic Teaching and Reading Project.

Specialty Area

As the Technology specialty laboratory, NCREL has taken the lead in identifying critical questions about technology utilization that are being raised by educators at every level — school and district administrators, school board members, community members, and policymakers. NCREL's work in this specialty area concentrates on three strands: (1) developing a national research agenda around research and best practice on how technologies work to enhance learning, (2) designing and developing a curriculum for training and professional development pertaining to the effective use of technology to enhance learning, and (3) developing strategies for scaling up efforts to provide information resources and training and professional development resources to constituents throughout the region and across the nation. NCREL's National Forum on Applications of Technology Research attracted some of the country's top names in educational technology. Forum participants identified the essential research on technology utilization that should be built into a curriculum for preparing teachers to use technology as well as some of the quality professional development efforts around the country in this area.

Selected Recent Products

The Pathways to School Improvement Internet server provides school improvement teams and individual educators with comprehensive information and resources, including in-depth discussions of 19 key issues in school improvement, an array of multimedia resources, a self-assessment "Trip Planner," lists of important contacts, and links to other Web sites. The site also includes a discussion center where visitors can share strategies for school improvement and using the Pathways site (http://www.ncrel.org/pathways.htm).

NCREL's Learning Point is a quarterly magazine for school and district personnel that promotes the value of research-based, practice-proven reform efforts and professional development. Each issue offers tips on implementing the latest teacher-tested instructional strategies, advice on integrating technology into the curriculum toward the goal of engaged learning for all students, and research news and recommended print and electronic resources.

The Comprehensive School Reform Series includes a variety of print, audio, and video resources to help educators and state policymakers understand the principles of comprehensive school reform, make informed decisions regarding school improvement, and raise their awareness of the federal Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program. Products in this series include a set of overview videotapes that describe the reform models listed in the CSRD legislation; a booklet, entitled Making Good Choices, to help schools and districts select a reform strategy appropriate to their situation; and a combined print/audio package, entitled Changing by Design.

The Captured Wisdom^TM Series is a collection of videotapes that takes viewers inside real classrooms where teachers are making meaningful and creative uses of technology in subjects that range from reading to geography and history to science.

Charters in Our Midst, a set of three audiotapes, a guide to frequently asked questions, and a policy booklet of current issues, is intended for policymakers involved with or considering charter schools. It also is intended for schools and districts so that they may learn from others and make solid school reform decisions.

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[ The SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) ]

[ Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) ]

This page last modified 19 October 1999. (lvb)