Expertise: Research

UDL in ESSA

With the new Every Student Succeeds Act, federal K-12 education law now defines and endorses Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a scientifically-based approach for personalizing learning. What does ESSA say about UDL? What are the implications for education practitioners and researchers? Join CAST for a presentation and discussion. The webinar will be held May… Read More ›

How Cross District Collaboration is Driving Personalized Learning in Rhode Island

  Over the past two decades, schools across the country have joined a national movement to integrate digital and face-to-face personalized learning — also known as blended instruction–into their curriculums. At the Highlander Institute in Rhode Island, we help schools and districts make these transformations and provide learners with the support they need to thrive… Read More ›

Can an Increase in Empathy Lead to a Drop in Suspensions?

This article by EdWeek, takes an in-depth look at the findings of a study by Stanford University researchers published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The researchers worked with 31 math teachers in five diverse middle schools spread over three California districts, administering two online professional-development exercises… Read More ›

Scholars: Better Gauges Needed for ‘Mindset,’ ‘Grit’

This article, explores the concepts of “growth mindset” and ‘grit,” the reasons why these concepts are vital to modern education, and the potential errors in research methods when identifying these qualities in students. Growth mindset—the belief that intelligence and other skills are not fixed, but can be improved through effort— and grit—the ability to sustain interest over a long period… Read More ›

Student-Centered Learning Opportunities for Adolescent English Learners in Flipped Classrooms

This study from the University of Massachusetts-Boston and the Nellie Mae Education Foundation examines how flipped learning can be utilized to improve the language and content acquisition of adolescent English language learners. As schools look to raise standards and close achievement gaps, they need effective strategies for serving English language learners, the fastest-growing segment of… Read More ›

Better Math Teaching Network

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation has partnered with the American Institutes for Research to create the Better Math Teaching Network for Algebra I teachers in New England. The NIC (Networked Improvement Community) will work together with researchers and practitioners to use tested best practices to continually improve their craft around teaching student-centered math. They are… Read More ›

Financing Personalized Learning: What Can We Learn From First-Generation Adopters?

This paper takes the first systematic look at costs associated with implementing personalized learning schools, how leaders of these schools choose to allocate their funds, and what it might take to make personalized learning financially sustainable on public dollars. Researchers at the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), in partnership with Afton Partners, studied 16… Read More ›

New England Secondary School Consortium

This organization, the New England Secondary School Consortium (NESSC), is a regional partnership that promotes innovations in the design and delivery of secondary education across New England. Five states—Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont—come together to promote equity and opportunity for all students. NESSC is coordinated by the Great Schools Partnership. The organization… Read More ›

Coalition of Essential Schools

This organization is a diverse network of schools committed to creating and sustaining personalized, equitable, and intellectually challenging schools. Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) provides opportunities for professional development and networking amongst member schools. CES Affiliate Centers provide technical assistance to schools committed to the CES vision. CES also advocates for local, state, and national conditions… Read More ›