Research / Grants

College research supported by external grant awards and designated gifts. Listed projects are currently active or have been within the past 12 months. Identifies principal investigators, funding source, project start and end dates, brief project summaries, and links to project web sites, where available.

Qatari students' Interest in, and Attitudes toward, Science (QIAS)

Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
College of the North Atlantic-Qatar

Aug 2010 - Aug 2013
$301,463

Drawing on a national probability sample of precollege students, science teachers, and schools in Qatar, QIAS aims to; (1) assess students’ interest in, and attitudes toward, science, and the ways in which these variables change during the school years; (2) identify factors that impact students’ interest and attitudes, including their dispositions toward pursuing college science and scientifically-based careers; (3) characterize the prevailing modalities of science teaching in the various types of precollege Qatari schools; and, (4) examine the relationship between students’ interest and attitudes and their science learning experiences. QIAS will make significant contributions to Qatar research, policy, and practice.

Fostering Fluency with Basic Addition & Subtraction Facts

Arthur Baroody, Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Institute of Education Sciences

Jul 2008 - Jun 2013
$3,099,995
http://ies.ed.gov/funding/grantsearch/details.asp?ID=636

This project evaluates the efficacy of computer-based programs to foster primary-grade children’s fluency with single-digit addition and subtraction facts. The PI’s theory- and research-based programs incorporate features that may promote fact fluency, including relatively novel efforts to promote discovery of patterns and relations underlying whole fact families. Systematic comparisons of experimental and control conditions involve at least 60 children at risk for academic failure (e.g., pupils from low-income families or a minority group). Training experiments evaluate programs with different fact families and include gauging retention and transfer of fluency and effects of age and risk factors.

Stord Professorship

Liora Bresler, Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Hogskoken Stord/Haugesund

Sep 2007 - Aug 2013
$106,047

Dr. Bresler counsels and teaches on research and development issues for Hogskoken/Stord/Haugesund (HSH) staff and students, in particular the different research projects and programmes connected to different profiles in the Master Programme ICT in learning. The field of work engaged is related to the different profiles of the Master degree program on ICT in Learning at HSH; national, international and local seminars and conferences; and research and development guidance and advice. The work is performed as physical visits to Stord/Haugesund, online seminars, and on-demand consultations via internet.

Assessing Complex Performance: A Postdoctoral Training Program Researching Students Writing and Assessment in Digital Workspaces

William Cope, Principal Investigator
Educational Policy Studies
Hua-Hua Chang, Co-Principal Investigator
Educational Psychology
Sarah McCarthey, Co-Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Katherine Ryan, Co-Principal Investigator
Educational Psychology
Institute of Education Sciences

Mar 2011 - Feb 2014
$659,375

The Postdoctoral Fellows Program provides a breadth and depth of research-related experiences to prepare fellows for full engagement in academic professional life. Senior faculty/project members will provide mentoring. Researchers will train four Postdoctoral Fellows for 2 years in this program. The research opportunities offered include: (1) innovations in formative and summative assessment; (2) development of methods for assessment of complex performance; (3) disciplinary practices of discipline areas captured in written reports and essays; and (4) exploration of the affordances of social media for peer-to-peer learning. Fellows will select a research project for concentrated involvement.

Research in the Teaching of English

Mark Dressman, Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Sarah McCarthey, Co-Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Paul Prior, Co-Principal Investigator

National Council of Teachers of English

Jul 2007 - Jun 2013
$90,931

A Comprehensive Approach to Improve the Preparation of University Faculty, Pre-service and In-service Teachers to Effectively Teach Limited English Proficient Students

Georgia Garcia, Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Eurydice Bauer, Co-Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Christina DeNicolo, Co-Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
U.S. Department of Education

Jul 2007 - Aug 2013
$1,275,754

This project trains pre-service teachers, in-service mainstream teachers, and bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers at the elementary and middle-school levels. The first goal is to comprehensively improve teacher education program at UIUC for pre-service teachers so that the latter can provide instruction to accelerate Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students’ language acquisition, literacy, and content knowledge. The second goal provides professional staff development over the academic year. The third goal addresses the state and local shortage in bilingual and ESL teachers by increasing the number of teachers (pre-service and in-service) who take courses for their bilingual/ESL approvals.

Noyce: Preparing Excellence and Diversity in Secondary Mathematics Teachers for Illinois' High Needs Schools [STIMULUS FUNDING]

Rochelle Gutierrez, Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Joseph Miles, Co-Principal Investigator
Mathematics
National Science Foundation

Jun 2009 - May 2014
$900,000
http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0934901

This project trains preservice mathematics teachers committed to teaching in high needs schools. In Phase I, students learn and apply the latest theories and practices for supporting marginalized students to learn mathematics. The program provides summer internships for recruitment of diverse and qualified preservice teachers, the Noyce Seminar, ongoing mentoring with an experienced Chicago Public School teacher, and access to the particularly rich and diverse array of summer enrichment programs operated by the University of Illinois. Results will improve STEM education among marginalized populations across the nation and successfully increase teacher placements in high needs Illinois schools.

Mathematics Science Partnership: Sense-Making in Science and Mathematics

Barbara Hug, Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Sarah Lubienski, Co-Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Illinois State Board of Education

May 2007 - Aug 2012
$955,515

This masters’ degree program deepens elementary school teachers’ knowledge, integrating science, mathematics, and pedagogy with an inquiry-oriented approach. Emphasizing “sense-making” while learning, it brings together faculty and teacher interests from geometry, astronomy, probability, and entomology. Principal partners include Curriculum and Instruction; Educational Organization and Leadership; Educational Psychology; Office of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education; Mathematics; Entomology; Atmospheric Sciences; Illinois Natural History Survey; School of Earth Systems, Environment and Society; College of Engineering, and Decatur Public schools. World-renowned researchers, featured Illinois campus scholars are also inspirational instructors, engaging young people, providing content expertise, and powerful experiences for science and mathematics teachers.

Project NEURON (Novel Education for Understanding Research On Neuroscience)

Barbara Hug, Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
National Institutes of Health

Aug 2009 - Jun 2014
$1,334,226
http://projectneuron.illinois.edu/

Project NEURON brings together the University of Illinois’s Neuroscience Program, the College of Education's Department of Curriculum and Instruction, the Office for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education and local teachers to develop and disseminate curriculum materials linking cutting-edge science with national and state science standards. This project creates professional development opportunities for teachers and graduate students, includes a formative and summative evaluation and a dissemination mechanism. Project goals include: (1) developing and disseminating curriculum modules for use in secondary science classrooms; (2) improving instructional practices of secondary science teachers; and, (3) improving student engagement in and learning of science.

FIND Orphy

Barbara Hug, Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Office of Public Engagement

Dec 2011 - Dec 2012
$8,500

UIUC Postdoctoral Research Training Program in Mathematics Education

Sarah Lubienski, Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Arthur Baroody, Co-Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Joseph Robinson, Co-Principal Investigator
Educational Psychology
Institute of Education Sciences

Mar 2010 - Feb 2015
$655,000

This program prepares researchers to conduct rigorous research that is relevant to mathematics education. The program provides fellows with a rich set of experiences and skills needed to conduct mixed-method and quantitative research that will improve U.S. mathematics teaching and learning with diverse populations. Fellows work with a range of faculty who conduct classroom-based research and analyze large-scale mathematics data (including ECLS-K and NAEP). The postdoctoral program at UIUC helps fill the national need for scholars who have a blend of expertise in mathematics education, research design and data analysis.

U-learn.net, Phases 1 & 2

Sarah McCarthey, Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
U.S. Department of Education
Common Ground Publishing LLC (contractor)

Jul 2010 - Dec 2012
$97,325

This project will develop a ‘Web 2.0’ environment which provides feedback for learners and supports formative assessment. It supports the capture of text, image, table, diagram, video and audio, thus allowing the construction of a wide range of multimodal texts such as scientific reports, writing in language arts, and social studies projects. There are three formative assessment processes and learner feedback mechanisms: 1) a commenting and editing module; 2) a review and rating module; and 3) a semantic tagging module. Classroom-based research and development involve overlapping and iterative processes of feasibility analysis, technical specification, software development and beta testing.

Partnership for Enhancing Modeling in Mathematics (PEMM)

George Reese, Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Illinois State Board of Education
Champaign School District Unit 4 (contractor)

Jan 2012 - Sep 2013
$126,000

This program provides professional development workshops for teachers in the Champaign Unit 4 Public School District. The focus of these workshops is to provide teachers with the understanding necessary to develop the secondary math curriculum based on Common Core State Standards. Twenty secondary teachers will participate in a two-week summer workshop each summer for two years, in addition to follow-up activities including eight sessions with the partners. This project will have significant impact on teacher-participants to move from learners and leaders in their own classrooms to leaders for their mathematics colleagues in the district and in the state.

Entrepreneurial Leadership in STEM Teaching & Learning (EnLiST)

Mats Selen, Principal Investigator
Physics
Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, Co-Principal Investigator
Curriculum & Instruction
Patricia Shapley, Co-Principal Investigator
Chemistry
National Science Foundation

Jan 2009 - Dec 2013
$5,000,000
http://enlist.mspnet.org/index.cfm/

Scholarship in social and entrepreneurial leadership and distributed leadership frame EnLiST’s efforts to build and sustain a state-wide Illinois community of highly qualified science teacher leaders, transforming K-12 science teaching and learning through intensive professional development and innovative school projects. Teacher leaders gain cutting-edge scientific knowledge, research experiences in University laboratories, and effective pedagogical repertoires, as well as entrepreneurial leadership and transformative skills. They return to their districts empowered to energize and transform STEM teaching and learning. Core partners include Education, Physics, Chemistry, Business, Champaign Unit 4 District, Urbana School District #116, and Thornton High School District #205.