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OPPORTUNITIES
1. NREA Mini-Grant Applications
The National Rural Education Association is seeking applicants for its 2004
NREA Mini-Grant Program. Ten $500 mini-grants will be awarded to rural K-12
teachers whose school or community is served by a local Rural Electric
Cooperative, or whose students' homes are served by a local Rural Electric
Cooperative. Projects should feature an investigation of the science of
energy or electricity. Project ideas could include a study of the local
geology, the history of hydroelectric generation in your community, or
alternative sources of energy for the next generation. The application
deadline is May 1, 2004. For more information about the program, go to
http://www.nrea.net/awards%20&%20other/Mini-Grant%202004.pdf.
2. Stanley A. Brzezinski Memorial Rural Education
Research Award Applications
In order to promote high quality research in the field of rural education,
the National Rural Education Association sponsors the Stanley A. Brzezinski
Memorial Rural Education Research Award. This $500.00 award, funded by the
Brzezinski Family, will be given for completed research that makes a
significant contribution to the knowledge base of rural education and
addresses issues of current interest. A body of research completed over
several years may also be submitted. The award winner will be recognized at
the 96th Annual NREA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, on October 19-22,
2004. The application deadline is June 15, 2004. For more information about
the award go to
http://www.nrea.net/awards%20&%20other/2004%20Awards.pdf.
3. Edward W. Chance Memorial Rural Education
Dissertation Award Applications
The Edward W. Chance Memorial Rural Education Dissertation Award recognizes
doctoral research that makes a significant contribution to rural education
and addresses issues of current concern. Topics could include, but are not
limited to, issues of rural school leadership; rural school finance;
student/rural community expectations; rural educators; recognizing diversity
in rural schools; alternative organizational and instructional patterns for
rural schools, including the use of technology; and rural education policy
issues. The dissertation judged most meritorious will receive the award and
the winner will be invited to present the results at the 96th Annual NREA
Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, on October 19-22, 2004. The deadline
for application is June 15, 2004. For more information go to
http://www.nrea.net/awards%20&%20other/2004%20Awards.pdf.
4. School Leadership that Works Summer Academy
McREL will offer two School Leadership that Works workshops this summer. The
basic workshop will be held on July 12-13, 2004. The advanced workshop will
be held July 14-15, 2004. In this two-day workshop, school leaders will
learn useful strategies that will help them focus immediately on improving
learning in their schools. Participants will learn about the McREL
leadership framework, which centers on the idea that in order to effectively
lead school improvement efforts, leaders need to know not only the right
improvements to make, but also understand their staff and community members'
disposition toward those changes. Using powerful findings from extensive
research into leadership, participants will learn how to tailor their
leadership practices accordingly and explore aspects of distributed
leadership that contribute to large scale change. For more information about
this and other McREL Summer Academies, go to
http://www.mcrel.org/topics/academies.asp.
RESEARCH & REPORTS
5. Issues in Evaluating AYP for Rural
Schools
An article in the most recent Journal of Research in
Rural Education examines the issue of calculating Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
in rural schools. Based on analysis of eighth grade mathematics data,
researcher Jaekyung Lee concludes that current AYP measures are highly
unreliable for small, rural schools, and that using a uniform averaging
procedure with multiple years of data has only limited effects on
stabilizing the measures. For information on how to obtain a copy of
"Evaluating Rural Progress in Mathematics Achievement: Threats to the
Validity of 'Adequate Yearly Progress'," go to
http://www.ume.maine.edu/%7Ecofed/research/jrre/.
6. Positive Effects of Small Class Size and Full-Day Kindergarten on
Student Achievement
A study reported in the Education Policy Analysis
Archives finds a slight positive relationship between small kindergarten
class size (less than 17) and achievement gain, as well as a positive
relationship between full-day kindergarten programs and test score gains.
Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class
of 1998-99, researchers Wenfan Yan and Qiuyun Lin also found that these
effects are more pronounced for children from minority, low-income
backgrounds. In addition, they found that children in large classes (more
than 24) made the least gains. For an online copy of "The Effect of
Kindergarten Program Types and Class Size on Early Academic Performance," go
to http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v12n7/.
7. Transcript of Online Chat on Scientifically-Based Education Research
On Thursday, February 26, 2004, Education Week hosted
an online chat on scientifically-based education research. Featured guests
were Grover J. (Russ) Whitehurst, director, Institute of Education Sciences,
and Lisa Towne, senior program officer, National Research Council, National
Academy of Sciences, and study director for the Council's report entitled
Scientific Research in Education. Whitehurst and Towne responded to
questions from moderator Debbie Viadero and from the audience. A transcript
of the online chat is available at
http://www.edweek.org/ew/tb/tblive/transcript_02-26-2004.htm.
PEOPLE, INFORMATION & RESOURCES
8. New Science Education Module for
Classrooms
NASA's Genesis project has released its newest education module for students
and teachers. "Data Analysis and Generalizations"
http://www.genesismission.org/educate/scimodule/data/index_data.html is
an advanced high school or post-secondary module that engages students in
studying real solar wind information collected from the Genesis spacecraft
and posted on the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Genesis Science Data
Web site http://genesis.lanl.gov/.
Although the module is designed to be an open-inquiry investigation,
teachers are provided some suggestions for guiding students who want or need
assistance in designing and conducting the investigation.
9. Integrating Technology into Classroom Instruction
Integrating technology with instructional strategies that have been shown to
improve student achievement is the topic of the feature article in the
February issue of "Learning and Leading with Technology." Authors Kathy
Brabec, Kim Fisher, and Howard Pitler from McREL's Technology Team, describe
ways in which technology can be used with the instructional strategies
identified in Robert J. Marzano's book "Classroom Instruction that Works"
http://www.mcrel.org/topics/productDetail.asp?productID=19. To
access an online version of the article, go to
http://www.iste.org/LL/31/5/06b/index.cfm.
10. NREA 2004 Election Results
The National Rural Education Association has announced the results of its
2004 elections. The President Elect is Robert Newhouse, Kansas State
University. The State Education Agency representative is Cindy McIntee of
SERVE and the South Carolina Department of Education. The Higher Education
representative is Clark Gardener, Chadron State College in Nebraska. For
more information about the election results, go to
http://www.nrea.net/NREA%20Elections.htm.
11. NICHD Launches Milk Matters Web Games for Kids
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), one of
the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is introducing a new series of Web
games for children on its Milk Matters Web site. The new games site
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/milk/kidsteens.cfm features children's animated
action games, puzzles, and mazes that are designed to be fun while teaching
them about the importance of calcium. "Most girls and boys between the ages
of 12-19 don't get the daily calcium they need," said NICHD Director Duane
Alexander, M.D. "Lack of calcium during these important bone growth years
puts children and young adults at risk for osteoporosis later in life and
may increase their risk for childhood bone fractures." For more information
on the Milk Matters campaign, visit the campaign Web site at
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/milk/milk.cfm.
12. For Parents - Math and Science: Preparing for the
Future
The March installment of "Education News Parents Can Use" examines what
students should be learning about math and science in schools and how
parents can help their children learn more outside of school. The one hour
program will also discuss how the No Child Left Behind Act helps to improve
teacher qualifications, and what high-quality mathematics and science
instruction looks like. The program can be viewed via satellite downlink or
web cast. "Math and Science: Preparing for the Future" will be broadcast on
Tuesday, March 16, 2004 at 8:00 p.m. ET. For more information about the
program or series, go to
http://www.ed.gov/news/av/video/edtv/index.html.
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