High-quality afterschool and summer learning programs are effective ways to support children and teens and accelerate their academic growth. In fact, the American Rescue Plan prioritized a significant amount of funding for out-of-school time programs because of the evidence of their effectiveness. Over the past few years, state educational…

From its inception, the Center for Gifted Education at William & Mary has been committed to the education of gifted students. Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska, founder of the CFGE, created a learning environment to work directly with gifted students and parents by providing diverse university-based pre-collegiate programs in both residential and…

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the Virginia Cooperative Extension internship program from the perspective of student participants and their supervisors. Three focus groups were conducted with internship supervisors from the summer of 2019. Student survey data was used to identify concerns from the student perspective to inform the…

Background: In response to the effort to increase minority enrollment in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors, STEM summer bridge programs were created to help minorities with the transition from high school to college with the long-term goal of increasing the diversity of professionals in STEM. The goal of this…

User experience (UX) internships generate ideas for usability projects, improve the design of existing and new services, investigate users' motivations and behavior, and build transferable skills for interns. This case study proposes a micro-internship model, grounded in the design cycle, that institutions can adapt to address their libraries and…

In response to urgent student mental health needs across Virginia's college campuses, the 2022 Virginia General Assembly appropriated funds to support a two-year mental health workforce pilot program at public institutions of higher education. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), in consultation with the Virginia Health Care…

A significant teacher shortage exists across the United States due to factors ranging from accountability policies for the performance growth of students, the overwhelming workload due to teacher shortages, and the lack of competitive salaries that other professions offer. Consequently, state officials have introduced and implemented changes to…

Background: Despite the overwhelming benefits of vaccinations, suboptimal public confidence in vaccines keeps immunization rates in the U.S far from ideal levels. Purpose: To assess the efficacy of a high school video set curriculum, on vaccine history, science, and safety, in improving vaccine knowledge. Methods: Sample included high school…

Although phonics knowledge and decoding skill are important for academic and life success, there is little research that examines the effects of home-based, family-implemented instruction on the development of these early literacy skills. The purpose of this multiple baseline across participants single case experimental design study was to…

Great Expectations is a Virginia Community College System program for youth who were in foster care after the age of 13. Foster youth enter college with multiple disadvantages, including being less academically prepared compared to their peers and often lacking social support for their education. A program evaluation was conducted at a specific…

Effective instructional coaching won't happen across a district without a well-specified coaching program and a reliable way to guide coaches. Fortunately, there are innovations from research and development efforts that can help districts put into practice the best ideas about instructional coaching. Andrew Wayne and Jane Coggshall describe how…

The job of the school principal has become much more complex and demanding over the past several decades. Many university-based principal preparation programs--which prepare the majority of school principals--have struggled with how to make the fundamental changes needed to prepare principals for today's schools. To test a path forward, The…

The William & Mary Center for Gifted Education (CFGE) serves high-ability students and those with gifts and talents directly and indirectly through curriculum development, precollegiate learner programs, professional development for teachers and administrators, research, and doctoral programs. With an added focus on psychological needs, in…

Assessment practitioners are well aware that evidence of learning improvement in higher education is scarce. A Learning Improvement Community has been created to promote learning improvement. Recently, this group created a "Readiness for Learning Improvement Tool." Given learning improvement projects are resource intensive, this tool was…

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the Virginia Cooperative Extension internship program from the perspective of student participants and their supervisors. Three focus groups were conducted with internship supervisors from the summer of 2019. Student survey data was used to identify concerns from the student perspective to inform the…