Category: Department of Curriculum and Instruction

‘Multilingualism is a superpower’: 10 years of the WIDA Annual Conference

By WIDA Communications The WIDA Annual Conference is always a special time because it’s a conference by teachers, for teachers.  But this year, it was extra special. It was the 10th WIDA Annual Conference and WIDA’s 20th birthday. More than 1,300 people joined us in Milwaukee to celebrate. WIDA is housed in the School of Education’s …

UW–Madison School of Education to honor Rockwell and Gadd Nemec award winners

The UW–Madison School of Education is recognizing recipients of its 2023 Rockwell Awards and the winner of this year’s Lois Gadd Nemec Elementary Education Award on Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Education Building. The Rockwell Awards honor outstanding teachers and other school professionals who have chosen to pass on their expertise by providing high-quality field …

Global Engagement Office celebrates five years building worldwide connection

By Kari Dickinson This fall, the UW–Madison School of Education’s Global Engagement Office (GEO) is celebrating its fifth anniversary.  The GEO supports the School of Education in thinking, working, innovating, and partnering with individuals, communities, and groups around the globe. It is the only office of its kind on the UW–Madison campus that is dedicated to serving a …

School of Education study abroad programs expand students’ global awareness

By Kari Dickinson This past summer, the UW–Madison School of Education launched four short-term, faculty-led study abroad programs tied to School of Education majors. These programs offered students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand their worldview and build cultural awareness, all while learning valuable course content and earning credit towards their degrees.  Nearly one hundred students …

UW–Madison alum, first-year teacher highlighted as ‘Everyday Hero’ on Spectrum News

Sofia Vandersluis graduated from UW–Madison last spring with a degree in elementary education and a certificate in educational policy studies. Now, she is a first-year fourth grade teacher at Heritage Elementary School in Waunakee, Wisconsin. In August, Spectrum News celebrated Vanderslis as an “Everyday Hero” in a story about first-year teachers heading into classrooms amid …

Educational games developed at UW–Madison School of Education featured at national showcase

By Laurel White Two educational games developed in the UW–Madison School of Education were featured at a national showcase of innovative education technology in Washington, DC, in September.  The simulation-based games PurpleState and iPlan were both featured as “game changing” technology for students and teachers at the 2023 ED Games Expo, an annual event hosted by the …

Vox cites paper by UW–Madison researchers in meditation article

In their story, “Meditation is more than either stress relief or enlightenment,” Vox references a study by UW–Madison researchers including lead author Simon Goldberg, an assistant professor in the School of Education’s Department of Counseling Psychology and a core faculty member at the Center for Healthy Minds. The Vox article states that “…as the research …

UW–Madison’s Hess, Stoddard write annual story on teaching about 9/11

Every year, on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, UW–Madison’s Diana Hess and Jeremy Stoddard write a new story examining how teaching about 9/11 is changing with the times. This year, Hess and Stoddard co-wrote a piece for Bay City News titled, “Twenty-two years since 9/11: What schools teach about that day …

New project addresses need for diverse school materials for Jewish children of color

By WCER Communications Education experts at UW–Madison are working to ensure that Jewish children of color will be able to see themselves in the school materials they use to help them learn. The Shalom Curriculum Project (SCP) is a skilled coalition of researchers, educators, and community members coming together to address a need in Jewish …

UW–Madison students win game design challenge

Figure it Sprout, a video game designed by a group of UW–Madison students working out of the School of Education’s Game Lab, housed in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, won the Jennifer Ann’s Group 2023 Critical Thinking Game Design Challenge. The game, designed by students David Li (design), Quang Nguyen (programming), Gaby Sanchez (writing …