Clewiston Challenger never intended to be a researcher. When he was young, Challenger wanted to be a police officer. As an undergraduate at the University of Connecticut, he originally majored in biology with the aim of becoming a scientist.

“While I genuinely appreciate and value that edTPA is a way of making certain that teacher candidates demonstrate the knowledge and skills required to help all students learn in real classrooms, I am deeply concerned at the impact I see it having on aspiring educators,” says Patel-Lye.

Jason Gilmore, a Guilford resident and art teacher at McDonough Middle School in Hartford, was named the recipient of the 2020 Rogers Educational Innovation Fund, a $5,000 annual award for an innovative project for elementary- or middle-school level classrooms.

“Without edTPA, I believe my colleagues and I could better focus on attracting and supporting teachers into the shortage areas that already exacerbate the issues faced by many of our districts, especially those with high concentrations of students of color and students living in poverty,” says Violet Jiménez Sims, an assistant clinical professor at the Neag School of Education.

WILI Radio holds an interview regarding a partnership between UConn and E.O. Smith High School in Mansfield, Conn., known as the STAAR (Students Transitioning to Age-Appropriate Routes) Program.

Gifted students, similar to other students, can be at risk for academic failure, and the seeming lack of motivation of many academically gifted students is an area of frustration and concern for many parents and teachers. The underachievement of some of America’s most talented students represents a loss of valuable human resources for the nation, as well as unrealized fulfillment for the individual.

CSCH Program Manager Helene Marcy interviews CSCH Co-Director Sandra Chafouleas and CSCH Steering Committee Member Marlene Schwartz about their work developing the WellSAT WSCC Tool

Despite being identified as a priority district in 2001, funding for the Open Choice program in New London was eliminated. Open Choice is credited with helping to integrate suburban schools, and for providing educational opportunities to urban students unavailable in their home districts.

Sandra Chafouleas, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Connecticut, says seclusion and restraint can cause increased post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and start a cycle of escalation and learned helplessness.

Professors Joseph Renzulli and Sally Reis from the Neag School of Education developed an interactive online system that provides a personalized learning environment for students. The tool helps to increase engagement and support higher academic performance. The Renzulli Learning System is the culmination of years of research centered on how personalized instruction can inspire learning and improve educational outcomes.