Research

All young children possess gifts and talents, Nancy Hertzog says, and a new book by the University of Washington College of Education professor offers insights into how parents, teachers and administrators can help early learners develop their talents.

Sustaining ongoing improvement in instruction is a persistent challenge for schools and districts, but Washington state’s adoption of a new teacher and principal evaluation system earlier this decade is contributing to more collaborative improvement efforts, a new study by University of Washington College of Education researchers finds.

Wade Washington was just 15 years old when he got a phone call that changed his life: He was going to receive a kidney transplant. At birth, Washington was diagnosed with bilateral cystic kidney disease, a genetic disorder that caused one kidney not to function properly and prevented the other one from growing.

While schools have too often reproduced inequalities in society, Django Paris believes in their potential to create a more equal and pluralist society.

This January, Paris will join the University of Washington College of Education as the inaugural holder of the James A. and Cherry A. Banks Professorship in Multicultural Education and incoming director of the Banks Center for Educational Justice, which will formally launch in fall 2018.

The University of Washington College of Education will deepen research-practice partnerships that are expanding access to high-quality educational opportunities for underserved students and communities in Washington state with a $1.7 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Over the next two years, the grant will build on the College’s extensive partnerships with more than 300 schools, districts, educational organizations and communities across the state and identify key areas of opportunity along the cradle-to-career education continuum.

This academic year, Shelley Stromholt (PhD '15), a University of Washington College of Education postdoctoral scholar and alumna, has received a prestigious Fulbright Research Award to study community-centered science learning alongside educational researchers in Norway.

Soon after starting her doctoral dissertation fieldwork at the University of Washington, Deborah Silvis (PhD ‘18) visited a family to observe their use of digital media.

The family's 12-year-old daughter had her heart set on getting a dog, and her mother suggested she research which breed she wanted. Her daughter jumped into the task, spending hours on her laptop, watching videos to learn more about various breeds.

After growing up alongside a family member with autism, Katy Bateman (PhD ‘17) was inspired to become a champion for inclusion in education.

Throughout her life, Bateman was intrigued by the therapies and education services that were used to help her cousin learn.

“She had limited language when she was younger and we worked a lot on her language,” Bateman said. “As I got older, I saw her language progress into speaking full sentences. She now has a part-time job and she loves it. Seeing her language start to click made me think, ‘How can I do this for other kids, too?’”

The University of Washington College of Education’s work to expand access to high-quality early learning opportunities across the country is being strengthened with a $10 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Over the next four years, the grant will support the College in generating tools and methods needed to launch sustainable high-quality practices in pre-kindergarten programs, particularly among low-income communities.

Children who read and write at home — whether for assignments or just for fun — are building long-term study and executive function skills, according to a paper from the University of Washington.

And while home literacy activities have already been associated with higher test scores, the new study shows these activities also provide students with tools for lifetime success.