Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (MCREL)
www.mcrel.org
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Links to Learn More About MCREL
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Detailed Site Map

Standards

Standards focuses on the standards and benchmarks developed by McREL, information is separated by —K-12 education and Career education. The K-12 section is divided into three sections:
http://www.mcrel.org/standards

  • Interactive-provides a list of standards & benchmarks, activities, databases and unit designs.
  • Resources-provides lesson plans, standards products and training services, and consulting services.
  • Background- provides the purpose, history, process, acknowledgements, references and McREL’s contributions.
  • The Career section provides a summary of standard for six different subjects:
    • Agriculture Education
    • Arts & Communication
      Business Education
    • Engineering Education
    • Family/Consumer Sciences
    • Health Education

Resources

This section provides online documents, information for purchasing products and services, and links to other pertinent educator resources. Categories include:
http://www.mcrel.org/resources/index.asp

  • Products- products, publications, reports and articles created by McREL and categorized by topics.
  • Services- service programs provided by McREL.
  • Lesson Plans-lesson plans, activities, and educational resources by content areas.
  • Education Publishers - links to other education publishers by keywords and grade levels.
  • Hot Topics- browse articles, conference information, reference materials, and other miscellaneous resources organized by key education topics and issues.
  • State Resources-link to resources and information about federal and state service providers.
  • Rural Education Resources- resources for rural communities interested in sustaining and improving their schools, it includes publications that address the challenges confronting rural schools; data on rural schools; and links to other sites devoted to rural education and community development.
  • Asking the Right Questions: A School Change Toolkit- based on McREL's publication, “Asking the Right Questions”, provides information about systems theory and describes a way to view school systems that helps simplify the complexity of school systems and the interconnectivity of their parts. It also identifies factors McREL research has found to be associated school success and offers resources related to each of these factors.

Programs

Links to the various programs offered by McREL, including:
http://www.mcrel.org/programs/index.asp

  • Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) - This is a congressional initiative focusing on reorganizing and revitalizing entire schools, rather than on isolated piecemeal reforms. This link connects to The National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform (NCCSR) and a Guide to Working with Model Providers. The site also presents information on CSRD funded sites, state contacts, examples of CSRD models, resources, model selection process, and McREL contacts.
  • The Early Literacy Advisor (ELA) –ELA is a computerized system that assists classroom teachers in assessing and promoting early literacy development in children ages 4-6. The ELA helps teachers make informed decisions about the pace and direction of classroom practices for those areas of literacy development that can be affected by instruction.
  • Mid-Continent Eisenhower Regional Consortium for Mathematics & Science(ERC) –This organization seeks to promote and support systemic reform in mathematics and science education in a seven-state region. ERC tries to align curriculum and assessment with standards, improve learning and instruction, and facilitate strategic planning. It provides technical assistance, professional development, and information services to national, regional, state and local education agencies, organizations, and associations in both the public and private sectors.
  • Genesis Mission – This site prepared for science educators, provides educational strategies for teachers and learning opportunities for students.

Products

McREL’s products are broken down into nine categories; each category provides some reading material on the following subject areas:
http://www.mcrel.org/products/index.asp

  • Diversity
  • Curriculum, Learning, & Instruction
  • Literacy
  • Math/Science
  • Professional Development
  • School Improvement
  • Standards
  • Technology
  • McREL also offers periodicals and reports that overlap with the categories listed above. The majority of the products may be purchased from the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Assessment. Some materials are free of charge.

Services

Scheduled learning opportunities as well as specially designed and customized programs.
http://www.mcrel.org/resources/services/index.asp

There are three different types of services:

  • Teaching and Learning Academies
    The Academies are intended to give participants a solid introduction to or extended training in McREL's products and services. Session included in this series include:
    http://www.mcrel.org/resources/services/academies/index.asp
    • Dimensions of Learning (Basic)
    • Dimensions of Learning (Advanced)
    • Assessment, Grading, and Record Keeping in a Standards-based System
    • Scaffolding Early Literacy
    • Teaching Reading in the Content Areas
    • Classroom Instruction that Works
    • Making Technology Work in Classrooms
    • K-5 Mathematics Institute

  • Customized Training and Services
    These services are customized to meet specific needs and goals of state and local education agencies. Services range from research-based models of instruction to using technology in classrooms, these services can help implement school improvement at all levels. Customized training and services include:
    http://www.mcrel.org/resources/services/custom_training.asp
    • Dimensions of Learning- professional development designed to train teachers in the Dimensions of Learning framework.
    • Education and Public Outreach- materials and services that incorporate development, delivery, communications, and evaluation.
    • Instructional Materials Development- education modules and customized lesson plans and activities.
    • Mathematics and Science- research-based professional development designed specifically for mathematics and science staff that addresses curriculum, standards, instruction, and assessment.
    • Research into Practice- program to help groups implement school improvement and apply more effective educational practices.
    • Scaffolding Early Literacy- tools and strategies for early childhood educators for reading and writing.
    • School Technology-technology to help school districts develop, implement, and refine effective school technology programs.
    • Standards- services on writing standards, developing curriculum and assessments that align with standards, and using assessment data to inform instruction.
    • Teaching Reading in the Content Areas- teaching tools to help grade 4 - 12 teachers use instructional strategies that improve students' understanding when reading for content.

  • Consortia
    This service focuses on helping schools, districts, and local education agencies study and implement a comprehensive approach to improving student learning. Research provided by McREL includes:
    http://www.mcrel.org/resources/services/consortium.asp
    • A New Era of School Reform: Where Does the Research Lead Us?
      Examines Robert Marzano's meta-analysis on school level, teacher level, and student level variables that impact student achievement.
    • An Introduction to Standards
      Examines the changes in the technical aspect of curriculum and what teachers need to know in order to plan for instruction that supports the learning of standards.
    • Aligning Instructional Practices to Standards
      Provides an opportunity for educators to acquire knowledge on the nine categories of instructional strategies that have the highest probability of impacting student performance, and to become more scientific in nature when planning for teaching and learning.
    • Monitoring and Assessing Student Progress on Standards
      Examines the research on assessment, grading, and reporting systems and how this research impacts curriculum, instruction, and policy decisions.