The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) are teaming up in a national effort: improve student outcomes through research and development. Yesterday (May 8, 2018), the two nonprofits announced that they are extending a public Request for Information (RFI) about innovative ways to facilitate, accelerate, and improve the academic and non-academic outcomes that are most critical for student success in school and life, including:
The foundations have included concept descriptions for each of the topics listed above.
A helpful RFI submission will provide insights to innovative strategies to address challenge in the named areas above. It will include evidence- or strong-theory-grounded ideas, teaching practices, and research that can be harnessed into scalable practices, solutions, programs, and tools to support teachers and students.
According to the CZI and BMGF, “this approach would bring together interdisciplinary teams from education research, human development research, learning measurement, evidence-based technology-enhanced practice, professional development, neuroscience, and other fields.” They add, “The teams would produce models, practices, tools and other resources that are designed to achieve specific, measurable improvements in student outcomes (both academic and non-academic) across a large range of education contexts.”
The deadline to submit your response is June 8th, 5:00 pm PST. Click here to learn more or to submit your response.
National Effort: Improve Student Outcomes through Measuring and Improving Executive Function
Founded by scientists at the University of Minnesota, Reflection Sciences provides professional development, training, and tools for assessing and improving executive function skills. Our Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFSTM App) is the first objective, scientifically-based, and normed direct assessment that validly and reliably measures EF skills in children from age 2 years and up. The MEFS App is a quick (5 minute), fun game for students, but it provides vital data for educators and parents on a student’s functioning. Executive function data can help educators examine developmental trends, explore correlations between EF and other variables (e.g., academic performance or outcomes, such as reading and math levels), make comparisons among individuals and groups, and determine the impact of curricular changes or interventions, ultimately better meeting the needs of their students.
Click here to learn more about executive function and Reflection Sciences.