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The SUN approach to biological energy transfer education is fundamentally different from past practices that trace chemical and energy inputs and outputs. The SUN approach uses a hydrogen fuel cell to convince learners that electrons can move from one substance to another based on differential attraction. With a hydrogen fuel cell, learners can see a propeller turning when only hydrogen and oxygen gases are present. The movement of electrons from the hydrogen fuel to the oxygen acceptor is supported with an animation of the invisible electron transfer and resultant products made. Living things run on microscopic fuel cells called mitochondria where the electron donor is food and the ultimate acceptor is oxygen. The SUN Project scaffolds understanding of this process with physical and digital manipulatives. Students configure nested trays with movable components so as to enact the salient processes that transfer matter and energy in the mitochondrion. Energy is harvested not in the turning of propellers, but in the eventual rotation of a nanomachine that produces a chemical essential for life called ATP. SUN scaffolds include a mechanically manipulated replica with supporting animations. Food making in chloroplasts depends upon light to initiate electron movement. The materials show that many of the intervening processes mimic those in the mitochondrion. The purpose of this cluster, randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to determine the long-term efficacy of the SUN Project intervention on student understanding regarding why and how CR and PS occur. Students participated in regular biology classes within schools randomly assigned to either the treatment (T) or control (C) condition. At the same time the achievement of a small group of AP biology students who did not use the SUN materials provided another meaningful context for interpreting outcomes. The research questions (RQ) of this project asked during the first year were: (1) Does the SUN Project significantly impact long-term student learning; (2) Does the SUN Project significantly impact student confidence in their understanding; (3) What variables moderate student outcomes; (4) How much do SUN vs. Control students value their instructional materials; and (5) How do the outcomes of treatment students compare to that of a small group of AP biology students who are not using the SUN materials? Tables and figures are appended.

In "Redefining the School District in America," Nelson Smith reexamines existing recovery school districts (RSDs)--entities in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Michigan charged with running and turning around their state's worst schools--and assembles the most comprehensive catalog of similar initiatives underway and under consideration elsewhere. Among more than twenty recommendations gleaned from both failed and successful attempts to create and implement RSDs, Smith recommends that those who go down the turnaround path should: (1) Call your lawyer. A close reading of the state constitution is essential. Some states are so wedded to traditional forms of "local control" that setting up a state district will require fancy legal footwork, if not a constitutional amendment; (2) Decide the endgame--for both schools and the turnaround district. Apart from setting goals for school performance, other decisions must be addressed--and the earlier the better; (3) Expect course corrections. Running a statewide district is a huge, complex undertaking full of political, financial, and logistical challenges--not to mention the myriad crises and complications that always arise in institutions serving real children. Sometimes even turnaround efforts need to turn around; and (4) Give the locals a chance. After taking over failing schools, reformers sent by the state may want to clean house and start fresh with a whole new cast of characters. Yet incumbent staff should be given the opportunity to apply for work under the new arrangement and prove that, under different circumstances, they can shine. As with everything in education reform, when it comes to the design of turnaround districts, details truly matter. [For "Redefining the School District in Tennessee. Part One of a Three-Part Series," see ED560000; and for "Redefining the School District in Michigan. Part Two of a Three-Part Series," see ED559995.]

Focusing on student proficiency in reading and math from 2003-04 to 2006-07, this report compares gaps in performance on state achievement tests between grade 8 American Indian and Alaska Native students and all other grade 8 students in 26 states serving large populations of American Indian and Alaska Native students. In response to a request by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), this study reports on the gap between American Indian and Alaska Native students and all other students on state achievement tests beginning in 2003/04, shortly after implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). It describes achievement patterns for grade 8 American Indian and Alaska Native students and all other grade 8 students between 2003/04 and 2006/07, focusing on student proficiency in reading and math on state assessments in 26 states serving large populations of American Indian and Alaska Native students. Staff at eight regional educational laboratories collected data on statewide assessment results, number of students tested, and annual measurable objectives for states with grade 8 state assessment data for 2003/04 (20 CCSSO network states and 6 other states that served at least 4,000 American Indian and Alaska Native students). Using annual measurable objectives, the researchers analyzed proficiency rates in each subject against NCLB goals by state. Proficiency rates were graphically arrayed for each state and subject across the four years to show patterns in the achievement gaps between American Indian and Alaska Native students and other students. This revealed changes in the performance of these students relative to all other students and to the annual measurable objective. Results indicate that in most states both American Indian and Alaska Native students and all other students experienced achievement gains across the study period. Although achievement gaps were generally found to persist, the American Indian and Alaska Native students were at least keeping pace by increasing in achievement along with all other students. The majority of states with three or four years of continuous data saw an increase in the proficiency rates of American Indian and Alaska Native students in both reading and math, with either a decrease in their performance deficit or, in states where their performance was above that of other groups, an increase in their performance lead over other students. Five appendices are included: (1) Results from the National Indian Education Study and Trend Analyses; (2) Methods and Data Limitations; (3) Table of State Assessment Program Web Addresses; (4) Reading Proficiency Rates by State: 2003/04 to 2006/07; and (5) Math Proficiency Rates by State: 2003/04 to 2006/07. (Contains 2 notes, 52 figures, 2 boxes and 6 tables.) [For the associated summary report, see ED505876.]

An action research study was initiated involving school psychologists among various Minnesota and Wisconsin school settings. A single ten-item questionnaire was used. This questionnaire included several Likert scale items designed to measure the emphasis and importance school psychologists of various backgrounds and work settings place on student resiliency during the special education eligibility assessment process. Several research questions were examined involving different school psychologist variables which were determined by a demographics information sheet completed by each participating psychologist. While three school psychologist factors showed no relationship to resiliency practices, one variable showed a statistically significant relationship. The results of this study suggested that as a school's socioeconomic status decreases (represented by the percentage of free and reduced lunch), resiliency assessment practices among school psychologists increase. Two appendixes are included: (1) Demographic Information Sheet; and (2) Resiliency Survey.

A project was conducted in Wisconsin to identify the competencies needed by youth apprenticeship program coordinators. The descriptive research study used a two-stage survey process to identify the competencies and determine their importance. In the first round of the survey process, all youth apprenticeship coordinators in the state were asked to identify the competencies they had to develop in order to design, implement, and maintain the youth apprenticeship program, and a similar survey was distributed to teachers who taught youth apprentices. Input from the first round was used to develop a rating scale for the second part of the process. Responses from the coordinators were used to identify competencies that were used in the survey instruments sent to coordinators in the second round, with the same process being used to develop a second round survey for the teachers. The study found that the following competencies were regarded as the most important by the coordinators: (1) recruit employers; (2) promote program to students; (3) promote program to teachers, counselors, and administrators; (4) promote program to parents; (5) time management; and (6) apply child labor laws. (Nineteen tables and the survey forms are included in the report.) (Author/KC)

This study examined how closely 11 accepted principles for managing budgets were followed at 98 public college campuses during the first half of the 1990s, a period of budget problems. The colleges reviewed were in six states: California, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin. The study found that (1) planning was not inclusive, since faculty and students were underrepresented; (2) few institutions had both long- and short-term budget plans; (3) most campuses relied primarily on selective cuts, although a strong minority allocated cuts across the board; (4) criteria for cuts reflected ease and availability rather than quality or priority; (5) expenditure reductions exceeded revenue increases on most campuses, but tuition and fee increases restricted access in several states; (6) although most institutions favored short-term personnel strategies, a strong minority included layoffs and retrenchments; (7) most campuses acted to raise productivity and performance in administration and management but avoided academic areas; (8) most campuses did not eliminate academic programs to improve quality and efficiency; (9) most campuses limited restructuring of offices and activities to administrative functions; (10) few campuses refocused their missions based on institutional strengths and student demands; and (11) most campuses did protect quality and access in undergraduate education, but a large minority conceded that both had declined. Detailed tables are appended. (DB)

The Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) Phase III Equity Staff Development project was conducted to determine strategies to eliminate sex bias and sex role stereotyping throughout the WTCS. The following project activities were conducted: (1) the WTCS sex equity advisory committee was formed to provide continuity and direction for state staff development activities; (2) sex equity training and career exploration was taught in conferences and workshops; and (3) career challenge activities were incorporated in the activities of single-parent and displaced homemaker projects in order to encourage more women to go into nontraditional occupations. (The bulk of this report consists of five appendixes that contain the materials from the following activities: a gender and ethnic expectations and student achievement workshop; WTCS sex equity advisory committee meetings; the Wisconsin Sex Equity Conference; the career challenge workshop for displaced homemakers and single parents; and a career challenge facilitators' workshop. (KC)

The research project described in this paper was conducted for three purposes: (1) to identify the program evaluation needs of secondary vocational educators in Wisconsin; (2) to identify those components of the state's previous evaluation system that educators wanted to keep; and (3) to develop a conceptual framework for revising Wisconsin's secondary vocational education program evaluation system. Input sessions with Wisconsin vocational educators were held in Menomonie, Madison, Appleton, and Wausau. A total of 34 educators participated. The suggestions from each input session were incorporated into a survey form that was mailed to everyone who signed up for a session. The survey respondents recommended that the self-evaluation, onsite review, and evaluator training components of Wisconsin's previous vocational education evaluation system be retained. They also indicated a need for more flexibility in the evaluation process, additional emphasis on evaluating local plans, and expansion of the evaluation process to include the school-to-work transition program. The conceptual framework developed incorporated systems and total quality management concepts and gave local school districts greater flexibility in selecting evaluation team members and evaluation techniques. (Appended are summaries of the four input sessions, a sample survey form, and lists of the input session and project advisory committee members.) (MN)

The Phase II Equity Staff Development project was revised in response to a need to develop an equity strategic planning model with a vision statement, goals, and objectives. The Equity Strategic Planning Model was presented to administrators of Wisconsin Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education (VTAE) colleges for their use in district strategic planning. One staff development workshop, featuring the best sex equity practices in the VTAE colleges, was conducted for 27 participants. This working conference was intended to assist colleges in identifying successful programs that promote gender equity issues within colleges and curriculum. Another revision consisted of two Career Challenge train-the-trainer workshops. This experiential training was conducted for 29 persons who directed programs that focused on recruiting women into nontraditional, technical and trade occupations. The course included the following: trust building activities, goal setting, problem solving, peak experiences, and environmental and ropes course challenge activities. Participants incorporated activities into existing programs for single parents, welfare recipients, displaced homemakers, and reentry programs. (The seven-page report is followed by these appendixes: materials from the best practices showcase, Equity Strategic Planning Model, Sex Equity Advisory Committee meetings agendas and minutes, information on the Gender/Ethnic Expectations and Student Achievement program, and workshop materials.) (YLB)

The Center for Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education (VTAE) Staff Development Workshops and Services project was designed to provide technical support and training to selected VTAE personnel in techniques for implementing equity programs, establish a statewide advisory committee to develop a long-range plan for infusing sex equity concepts into existing strategic planning and curriculum development activities throughout Wisconsin, and provide information on equity and diversity at a statewide sex equity conference. The project was conducted over a 7-month period. Two highly successful training sessions were conducted with 50 participants at each meeting. Eighteen persons took the project workshops for credit and submitted district action plans based on information gained during training. The action plans included sex equity issues, nontraditional training, counseling techniques, and minority equity issues. Many have already been implemented, and others are slated for implementation. Recommendations were made concerning development of a comprehensive equity strategic planning model. (Appended are as follows: a vocational equity planning strategies action plan, materials from the meeting of the sex equity advisory committee, and materials from workshops on the following topics: making friends with change, equity issues and strategies, and meeting the challenges of change. A list of proactive strategies for change agents is included.) (MN)

Service integration attempts to provide coordinated service delivery systems for the uncoordinated mix of programs such as income support programs (food stamps, Medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and employment, child care, child welfare, and training programs that exist at the local level throughout the United States by simplifying and streamlining client processes. In an effort to understand where service integration has occurred, what it looks like in the real world, and how much progress has been made developing a coherent system, field research was conducted in local offices in 12 states. More than 200 interviews and 60 site visits were conducted with sites in California, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Conclusions of the research are as follows: (1) service integration is, for the most part, local; (2) integrating service takes sustained effort; (3) though the concept of service integration may seem simple, it is not, and the best examples occur where a combination of multiple administrative and operational strategies have been implemented; (4) regardless of the strategies implemented, achieving results requires a focus on improving client services; (5) the effects of service integration are not well documented or assessed; (6) staff and managers at service integration sites are energized and enthusiastic supporters of the concept; and (7) since the major challenges to achieving integrated services are managerial, rather than programmatic, strong leadership and sound management are essential. Appendices include materials prepared by individual sites, a chart of human service systems, a list of websites, and contact information. (MO)

A study identified the vocational needs of Winnebago adults. To identify these needs, researchers interviewed 340 of the approximately 3,174 Winnebago adults living in the Central Wisconsin area, administrators of 15 area secondary and postsecondary schools, and 103 Winnebago students attending area high schools. While job placement and vocational education services were of the most interest to the adults responding to the survey, a moderately high degree of interest in career counseling existed. Also considered important by the respondents was information on training requirements, financial requirements, jobs, and special training. Those with only a grade school education were extremely interested in career planning information. According to the administrators surveyed, Winnebago students have slightly more difficulty in finding a job than do members of the general population. All of the school districts responding to the survey provided career counseling services and 12 of the 15 offered job placement services. The vocational areas in which the student respondents were most frequently enrolled were business education, home economics, industrial arts, and trade and industrial education. College or postsecondary vocational and technical education was the most frequently identified type of educational preparation needed to obtain the respondents' career choices. (MN)

This fact sheet is provided by the 4-C Worker Outreach Project in an effort to increase awareness of day care working conditions in Dane County, Wisconsin. Areas covered in the fact sheet are (1) staff wages and benefits; (2) educational background of day care staff; and (3) staff retention and turnover. Data were obtained from 58 full-day and 37 part-day centers, representing approximately 600 child care workers in the county. The information about wages and benefits may be useful in decision making and career planning, and may serve as a basis for continued discussion of the role staff wages and benefits play in the pursuit of quality child care and in the upgrading of the profession of the early childhood educator. (RH)

This report lists 11 budgetary principles for higher education institutions, and presents the results of a survey which examined whether the practices of four-year public higher education institutions in California, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin followed these precepts during the fiscal problems of the early 1990s. The 11 principles address the following areas: (1) collaborative planning process; (2) long- and short-term budget plans; (3) selective versus across-the-board cuts; (4) expenditure reductions versus revenue increases; (5) criteria for budget cuts; (6) long- not short-term personnel strategies; (7) raising productivity and performance in all areas; (8) reducing degree programs; (9) restructuring offices and activities; (10) refocusing campus missions; and (11) quality and access in undergraduate education. The survey found that institutions often failed to follow the budget principles. Respondents, when asked to cite three actions best characterizing their budget strategies, reported restricting expenditures (67 percent), restructuring organization and operations (66 percent), and raising revenues (49 percent). The report questions the heavy use of such strategies as tuition increases, encouragement of early retirement, and vacancy and salary freezes. (DB)

This report presents a summary and synthesis of data from 169 Wisconsin schools, all of which conducted extensive vocational program self-evaluations in 1987-91. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the evaluation project process, including the survey instruments used and a list of participating schools. The next eight chapters review selected data from the aggregate data for these groups: students 1 year and 5 years after graduation and noncompleters; employers of students 1 year and 5 years after graduation; current high school and middle/junior high school students; staff; advisory committees; parents; secondary/postsecondary institutions; and boards of education. Each chapter also provides tables and graphs that display selected information from the composite tables. Chapter 10 provides tables that address each of the six vocational program areas as well as the special needs populations, including handicapped, limited English proficient, and disadvantaged. A concluding chapter summarizes selected data from each of the groups surveyed. Appendixes, amounting to over three-fifths of the report, include the survey instruments used, the aggregate computer tables, a glossary of terms, and a list of acronyms. (YLB)

This report presents a summaay and synthesis of data from 43 Wisconsin schools, each of which conducted an extensive vocational program self-evaluation in 1990-91. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the evaluation project process, including the survey instruments used and a list of participating schools. The next eight chapters provide a review of selected data from the aggregate data for these groups: students 1 year and 5 years after graduation and noncompleters; employers of students 1 year and 5 years after graduation; current high school and middle/junior high school students; staff; advisory committees; parents; secondary/postsecondary institutions; and boards of education. Each chapter also provides tables and graphs that display selected information from the composite tables. Chapter 10 provides tables that address each of the six vocational program areas as well as the special needs populations, including handicapped, limited English proficient, and disadvantaged. A concluding chapter summarizes selected data from each of the groups surveyed. Appendixes, amounting to over three-fifths of the report, include the survey instruments used, the aggregate computer tables, a glossary of terms, and a list of acronyms. (YLB)

A project examined technology transfer programs and developed a model for use by Wisconsin's Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education (VTAE) system that would involve cooperative efforts with the University of Wisconsin and other agencies. Staff reviewed literature on technology transfer and visited six technology transfer organizations. The literature suggested that the successful transfer of new technology required the receiving company to have a perceived need. The receiving company needed assistance in selecting the appropriate technology and preparing employees to use it and follow-up help with any problems. A variety of activities were reported as being involved in technology transfer, ranging from basic research to the application of off-the-shelf technology to common problems in business and industry. Using this information, an advisory committee recommended that the Wisconsin VTAE Model focus on technology deployment and education activities and services; be based on an active approach to technology transfer; and involve a variety of partners in delivering services to companies. A state-level coordinating center and regional technology transfer centers were proposed. (Eight references are listed. Appendixes, amounting to approximately one-half of the report, include advisory committee members, agendas, and meeting minutes; site visit reports; and a literature review on technology transfer.) (YLB)

Physical education majors have become interested in career opportunities that have developed from companies offering employee fitness programs. This study assesses the extent to which corporate fitness programs are offered in Wisconsin. Qualities necessary for employment in corporate fitness programs are identified. (DF)

Third-party evaluation of the Wisconsin Career Education Consortium (WCEC) was conducted over two years, utilizing a time series evaluation design established in 1975. On-site interviews, surveys, and tests were used to collect data from students, teachers, counselors, parents, and administrators. The WCEC was effective in disseminating career education information, assistance, and products. Recipients of the newsletter, demonstration kits, and the assessment/evaluation (AE) kit gave them a positive evaluation. The seven consortium members had specific objectives which were primarily achieved. For instance, Eau Claire funded mini-projects that significantly impacted on the staff/students, and Kimberly extensively used resource centers and worked to improve community involvement in their program. Madison, Oregon, Shawano, Sheboygan, and Watertown also had effective program elements. Learner outcomes assessment revealed significantly higher attitudes toward work scores formed in the ninth grade and some significant increases in occupational knowledge. The third-party evaluators recommend that WCEC formalize a planned in-service program transportable to various school systems. (CSS)

A two-day workshop was held in Wisconsin to identify secondary-postsecondary vocational teacher and vocational teacher trainer needs as they relate to bilingual/bicultural vocational education and to design a delivery system for meeting these pre- and inservice needs. The conference agenda was designed to provide information on the latest developments and concepts in bilingual/bicultural education and to generate methods and plans for its improvement. Following the presentations, two discussion groups generated lists of needs which were synthesized and prioritized as follows: (1) needs assessment, (2) planning and coordination, (3) educational needs (social and cultural), (4) development of special programs, (5) supportive services, (6) mass communication, (7) employment development, and (8) monitoring of program effectiveness. The groups then developed action plans for each and concluded that three measures were required to implement them: conducting regional inservice seminars for administrators, teachers, counselors, and paraprofessionals; conducting a needs assessment for bilingual/bicultural education in Wisconsin; and establishing target dates for vocational education to meet the needs of bilingual/bicultural students. As a result of these meetings, two projects were proposed for federal and state funding, and provisions were made to offer a course in the principles of vocational, technical, and adult education to bilingual/bicultural educators. (ELG)

Site visits to five correctional institutions in Wisconsin were conducted as part of the development of an evaluation model for the competency-based vocational education (CBVE) project for the Wisconsin Correctional System. The evaluators' perceptions of the CBVE system are presented with recommendations for improvement. Site visits were conducted at Waupun, Fox Lake, Kettle Moraine, Taycheedah, and Black River Falls prisons. Evaluators reported these impressions of the CBVE program: (1) the competency based system was being implemented in the institutions, but the use of the system was still fragmented; (2) correctional education teachers appreciated opportunities to work with staff of the Center for Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in developing curriculum guides and other materials; (3) teachers and staff at the prisons were dedicated and concerned about their work; (4) meeting security requirements of a prison system often causes disruptions in education that are minimized by competency-based and articulated programs; and (5) teachers used the competency-based materials when available and thought they were useful. Recommendations for continuation of the CBVE system are based on these observations and emphasize the importance of regular evaluation. (SLD)

This document describes a project that developed this K-12 generic Work Experience Handbook to help Wisconsin high schools implement work experience programs. The first 13 pages describe the purpose and objectives of the project and the need for the handbook; the methods used to develop it, including the use of steering and work committees and survey research; the handbook's dissemination at workshops in the state; and project recommendations. The recommendations are that: (1) school-supervised work experiences be made available for students at all grade levels; (2) the state education department provide inservice workshops to all key school personnel on the school-supervised work experience methodology; (3) the state education department compile and disseminate a list of currently approved work-experience programs; (4) colleges and universities continue an active role in teaching the principles of work experience component of the Education for Employment standard to education students; (5) the state education department set the parameters for the intent and use of the handbook; and (6) the state education department conduct follow-up research on the impact of school-supervised work experience on students. The remaining 255 pages of the document consist of support materials, including correspondence, workshop materials, survey instruments, respondent data, graphic displays of data, and resource material received from other states. (CML)