Equity part of the Education Reform Network

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Middle School Teachers

• Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)
  CAST is a not-for-profit organization that uses technology to expand opportunities for all people, especially those with disabilities. Information about universal design and accessible curriculum.
• Equity and Diversity
  Resources for educators to learn about equity. Includes assessment instrument, case stories, journal articles and additional resources.
• 4000 Years of Women in Science
  This site lists over 125 names of women from our scientific and technical past.This site grew out of the public talks given by Dr. Sethanne Howard, currently with the National Science Foundation.
• A Critical Bibliography on North American Indians
  This bibliography, compiled by the Anthropology Outreach Office of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, is a response to teachers' concerns about choosing culturally sensitive and historically accurate books for children about American Indians and Alaska Natives.
• A Guide to Gender Fair Education in Science and Math
  A guide that can be downloaded of information and activities, including assessment exercises, intervention and teaching strategies, and actual classroom activities to increase gender equity in science and math education.
• A Specialized Knowledge Base for Teaching American Indian and Alaska Native Students
  This paper outlines a knowledge base that can be adopted by beginning teachers of American Indian and Alaska Native students. This knowledge base is above and beyond what is now in most mainstream teacher education programs.
• Ableza: Tips for Teachers
  Tips for Teachers: A list of things for teachers to remember when they are teaching about Native Americans.
• Achieving Gender Equity in Science Classrooms
  This handbook describes the aspects of culture that researchers believe contribute to attrition from science, engineering and math majors, and there are suggestions to address each of these issues. If implemented, these changes may prevent very capable students from leaving the sciences and may also attract students initially not involved in the sciences.
• Advocates for Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics
  AWSEM is an after-school project designed to link middle school girls with role models. Girls meet for hands-on science activities, presentations and field trips.
• Afro-American Almanac
  The AFRO-American Almanac is an on-line presentation of the African in America with a historical perspective of a nation, its people, and its cultural evolution. Various media are used for information presentation.
• Alaska Native Knowledge Network
  The curriculum resources on this website are intended to help teachers and students make the connection between the knowledge, skills and ways of knowing used to maintain a livelihood in the villages, and the knowledge, skills and cultural standards for teaching/learning reflected in the school curriculum.
• American Association of University Women
  The AAUW is not your grandmother's AAUW: it now focuses much of its efforts on educational equity, following its landmark publication in 1992 of How Schools Shortchange Girls, that remains controversial and a target of the right although it merely summarized over 1100 previous research studies. Their sites is full of analysis and research briefs, and they provide a large amount of scholarships and awards, including the Eleanor Roosevelt Teacher Fellowships for teachers working on gender equity projects.
• American Indian/Indigenous Education Resources
  A list of books, articles and programs related to teaching American Indian and Indigenous students.
• Armstrong, Thomas Ph.D. Home Page
  Thomas Armstrong worked under Howard Gardner at Harvard's Project Zero and is a fabulous trainer on multiple intelligences. His provocative and controversial book on the "myth of ADD/ADHD_ is available here.
• BICS versus CALPS in English Language Learners
  This provides a concise explanation of the difference between BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) and CALPS (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency Skills), the knowledge of which is central to an understanding of how vitally important it is to the cognitive development of non-English speaking students to receive at least some instruction in their native language as they learn English. Underscores how damaging the ?English only? movement is to the future of Limited English Proficient children.
• Biographies of Women Scientists
  Biographies of women scientists and related activities.
• Black History Project
  Hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, this website has a collection of diverse multimedia providing rich background information about people of African origin from around the world.
• Black History Treasure Hunt & Quiz
  Centered around a 12-question quiz, this website encourages users to explore other Internet-based resources related to each question in order to try find the answer to each question.
• Black Women in Mathematics
  Website contains the history of Black women in math, biographies, role models who are mathematicians and articles about Black women in math.
• Campbell-Kibler Associates
  Yet another extraordinary gender equity trainer is Pat Campbell of Campbell-Kibler Associates, especially in the area of gender equity in math, science, and technology. Her excellent website has a remarkably large number of free and "user friendly" (in her words - and she is right!) brochures and pamphlets that you may download and use.
• Can Do!
  The Can Do! web site offers stories, activities, and resources to help create a better understanding and deeper appreciation of how people can overcome their challenges and reach their dreams by using their abilities and a "can-do" attitude.
• Center for Family Involvement in Schools
  The Center for Family Involvement in Schools provides equity-focused professional development programs and resources that strengthen family-school-community partnerships and encourage and support the academic, intellectual and social development of all children.
• Center for Gifted Education Policy
  The Center for Gifted Education Policy is run by the American Psychological Association and conducts research and advocacy work to inform educational policy on Gifted and Talented youth. They also have a newsletter, a journal, and a listserv.
• Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence
  CREDE conducts research and provide information dissemination on issues of the education of linguistic minority students. One particular concern is the assessment of such students.
• Changing Girls' Attitudes About Computers
  This on-line Cyber-Times article reviews AAUW's report about girls and computers.
• Circle of Inclusion
  For families and early childhood educators with a great deal of information about effective and best practices of inclusion and accommodations for special needs children. Includes free materials to download and links to other resources.
• Circle of Stories
  Circle of Stories uses documentary film, photography, artwork and music to honor and explore Native American storytelling.
• Collaboration for Equity
  This website seeks to ensure that efforts to reform math and science education improve quality for all while decreasing the historical gaps in participation and performance of girls and women. Resources include checklist, vignettes, bibliography and booklets.
• Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc.,
  Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc., is the largest provider of trademarked tools to help teachers learn and work with Myers-Briggs learning styles in their classrooms. Materials for professional development and teacher training are available here.
• Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders
  The Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders, the premiere organization to assist children with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, has back issues of its journal, "Beyond Behavior", available free on its site at http://www.ccbd.net/beyondbehavior/.
• Creating an Anti-Bias Learning Environment
  The downloadable checklists linked to this page include some criteria for creating positive, anti-bias environments where respect for diversity is taught, modeled, and experienced firsthand.
• Crosspoint Anti-Racism
  Crosspoint Anti-Racism lists over 2000 anti-racism organizations in 114 countries and gives one a sense of the remarkable work that is being done around the globe on issues of oppression. Great for researchers as it shows how different countries and cultures address problems of equity differently.
• Curriculum Development for Native American Students
  A guide to developing culturally sensitive curriculum .. especially for Native American students.
• Cyber Sisters
  An educational telementoring program in science, math and technology for middle school girls.
• CyberSisters
  A mentoring program that links middle school girls with University of Oregon and Oregon State University women mentors. Mentors use e-mail and face-to-face contact to encourage communication.
• Design Your Future
  This website is designed to encourage girls to explore careers related to science, math and technology. Site contains e-mentoring, information about working women, and more.
• Differentiated Instruction
  CAST is well known in the Special Education world (see SPED references in section below), and is especially worth checking out for their work on assistive technology. Here is an excellent overview of classroom best practices in Differentiated Instruction.
• Differentiated Instruction
  This Teach-Nology site for educators has links to a good number of ERIC research articles on Differentiated Instruction.
• Digital Divide Lesson
  A lesson for 7-12th graders where students study the digital divide through a comparison with other historical dividessuch as race and poverty.
• Diversity in the Classroom: A Checklist
  This checklist is designed to help teachers and other educators to effectively identify and respond to diversity in the classroom. It focuses on various aspects of the classroom environment, including curriculum materials, teaching strategies and teacher/student behaviors.
• Diversity Within Unity
  This document identifies 12 essential principles for teaching and learning in a multicultural society. Also included is a checklist for assessing the principles.
• Educating Jane
  Educating Jane is a wonderful site full of thoughtfully-chosen resources and other information. Has an excellent section on women in history.
• Educational Justice
  The Justice Matters Institute sponsors Educational Justice, a fantastic site of extensive research and annotated links on the gamut of educational equity issues, including how equity plays out in whole school reform efforts. Research-based strategies and online discussion forums.
• Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
  As mentioned above, the taxonomy of the Equity Portal was based on the excellent work done by the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse. Their site deserves another mention here, and particularly this page of a fantastic collection of self-assessment on equity.
• EQUALS and FAMILY MATH
  Besides GESA (from Graymill), EQUALS and FAMILY MATH are the grandmothers of equity-related programming for schools. Research-based strategies from the Lawrence Hall of Science at Berkeley, EQUALS provides workshops for educators and parents to increase equity and interest in mathematics, especially in underserved populations.
• Equity Benchmarks for VT
  To facilitate the implementation of equitable learning environments in Vermont, the VISMT Equity Advisory Committee developed Benchmarks for schools and districts.
• ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education
  The ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education reviews many programs aimed at helping urban youth - especially those students of color and low socio-economic status - and suggests some best practices in urban schools. Especially see reports on educational issues of African-American and Hispanic students.
• Exemplary and Promising Gender Equity Programs 2000
  This well-researched report provides reviews of an exemplary other promising gender equity programs in a variety of subfields including gender equity in math, science, and technology and in career education.
• FairTest
  FairTest, otherwise known as the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, is the only national watchdog group as alarmed as the rest of us with the overuse and misuse of standardized testing. The site has research on how standardized tests are biases on the basis of gender, race, class, and cultural difference.
• Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network
  GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Educator Network, is the premiere organization for all educators concerned about the physical and emotional safety and well-being for gay, lesbian, or questioning youth both in and out of schools. Annotated resources, current issues, and information on local chapters is also provided.
• Gender Equity in the Classroom: Viewing Guide
  A remarkable free equity resource is the Viewing Guide, written by notable gender equity experts David Sadker and Phyllis Learner, for their Gender Equity in the Classroom video. The video is also available for purchase at this site.
• Getting the Media Message
  The purpose of this 3 year research project is to examine whether the content of media, experienced by 6th, 7th and 8th graders reinforces or hinders the development of gender and racial diversity in the Informational Technology workforce.
• Girls FIRST
  This web site provides resources for hosting a science club for girls.
• GrayMill
  "I just completed the exciting, energizing, enriching three day workshop on GESA facilitating and haven't felt this motivated and inspired in years._ With experience, I can assure you this is a typical comment from a participant in a training session in GESA (Gender/Ethnic Expectations and Student Achievement.) Possibly no individual has more success in teaching teachers how to teach more equitably than Dee Grayson. Along with her partner, Pam Miller, Graymill offers no-nonsense training in strategies that work to lessen the particular "disparities_ that exist within the interaction of the classroom teacher and different subgroups of students.
• Gregorc Associates, INC.
  A learning styles model that some teachers find easier to learn and apply to the classroom since there are fewer types than the Myers-Briggs model. Assessment tools help define your thinking modality along two continuums: abstract to concrete thought, and random to sequential.
• How Girls Hurt
  An article from the American School Board's Journal about how girls use covert aggression against one another.
• How Negative Expectancies and Attitudes Undermine Females'Math Confidence and Performance: A Review of the Literature by Jennifer Gutbezah
  A good survey of a number of articles on factors that affect girl's discouragement at math in High School may be found by Jennifer Gutbezahl in "How Negative Expectancies and Attitudes Undermine Females' Math Confidence and Performance: A Review of the Literature._ .
• Imaginary Lines
  A collection of "did you know?" facts about girls and science.
• Infusing Equity by Gender into the Classroom:
  The Online Gender Equity Handbook is a guide of well done and organized lesson plans for teaching gender equity in K-16 classrooms.
• Institute for Democracy, Education, & Access
  Oakes' Institute for Democracy, Education, & Access runs projects including an Urban Educator Network, Teachers as Agents of Equity and Change, and an Educational Justice Collaborative. Oakes, Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality (Yale University Press, 1985) and her many more recent articles and books including Educational Matchmaking (1992).
• Intel Education: Design & Discovery
  Design and Discovery is a free curriculum and supporting resources for implementing a program to interest youth ages 11-14 in design and engineering. The curriculum provides a hands-on, inquiry-based experience with identifying and designing creative solutions to everyday problems in the designed and engineered world.
• Is The Physics Classroom any Place for Girls?
  "Is the Physics Classroom Any Place for Girls? The Gender Imbalance in Physics Education: How it Cam About and What Teachers Can Do About It,_ by Dean Baird (February 1997) is an extensive but very readable Masters Thesis survey of barriers to girl's involvement and motivation in physics courses and techniques to overcome it in the classroom. Cites extensive literature and includes surveys done by author.
• Jensen Learning Corporation: Brain Research Applied to Learning
  Eric Jensen, along with the Caines are probably the two most well respected brain-based learning educators. The Jensen Learning Corporation site has a good "brain-based learning quiz_ and a well-written defense of applying brain science for improved learning and teaching and reaching all students.
• Kids at Risk - Kids and Learning
  On-line resources to assist educators with at-risk children.
• Learning Disabilities Online
  Leading site recommended by experts for educators and parents on learning disabilities. One may ask questions about learning disabilities through the site and get an answer electronically from an LD expert.
• Math Ability: Nature verses Nurture
  Good Discussion and criticism of math gene hypothesis of Benbow and Stanley by an undergraduate student, Louise Anderson (Fall 1999) called "Math Ability: Nature verses Nurture,_ from the ERIC/CSMEE database (article ED 380 279). CSMEE is the Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education.
• Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
  MALDEFs National Education Policy Forums engages parents, educators, policy makers, community and business leaders, in the discussion and advocacy of current educational issues. Their National Parent/School Partnership Program teaches parent their rights and responsibilities under the law, about the structure and function of schools, about effective relationships with teachers, and provides valuable leadership training to parents.
• Mid-Atlantic Equity Center
  The Equity Assistance Centers with the greatest amount of useful information is probably the Mid-Atlantic Equity Center http://www.maec.org Although funded to provide equity-related services to states in the mid-Atlantic region (DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, and WV) their "Education and Equity News" has many articles on national issues. To subscribe send a message to [email protected] stating on the subject line: subscribe ed-news and your e-mail address (e.g., subscribe ed-news [email protected].).
• Multicultural Pavilion - Teacher's Corner
  A comprehensive site of useful classroom activities, books, quotes, and discussions on multicultural education.
• Myra Sadker Advocates for Gender Equity
  David Sadker, along with his late wife Myra, are the undisputable King and Queen of research on gender equity in education in the 20th century. Of note on his website is an excellent survey and analysis of the recent bonanza of books about boys.
• National Association for Gifted Children
  NAGC is an organization of parents, teachers, educators, community leaders and others who are concerned with providing the best educational and life experiences for children who are identified as Gifted and Talented. They have added a useful feature to their site: a "Parent Resource Specialist_ who will respond electronically to your questions and concerns about providing appropriate services to Gifted and Talented children.
• National Association for Multicultural Education
  The National Association for Multicultural Education, or NAME, is devoted to social justice and educational equity. NAME has great conferences, some active state chapters, and are probably the largest organization for multicultural education anywhere.
• National Research Center on Gifted and Talented
  The National Research Center on Gifted and Talented, run by noted expert and author Joseph Renzulli (see his book on ?curriculum compacting,? among others) has a huge number of links and resources, including their newsletter. The ?Big Red Notebook? is a compilation of resource material on the full-range of issues for Gifted and Talented education and is available as a free download from the site.
• National Visionary Leadership Project
  A collection of first-person stories told by African Americans in order to preserve history and link generations.
• National Women's Law Center
  The National Women's Law Center's section on Education has many policy briefings and texts of Congressional testimonies on issues of females and education, especially on Title IX, and has special sections on sports, sexual harassment, single-sex schooling, career education, and overall gender equity in educational achievement.
• Office for Civil Rights
  The Office for Civil Rights is the main governmental office for the enforcement of Civil Rights laws, such as those that protect us against discrimination based on race, national origin (commonly understood as language) and sex. They have the power to withhold funds to schools and school districts who do not comply with Civil Rights laws, although to date they have not withhold funds from any violator.
• Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
  Part of the OSEP Technical Assistance Center is the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program. PBIS provides free resources, including a newsletter, to schools and individuals interested in best practices of school-wide discipline programs.
• Project Zero
  Project Zero at Harvard University was started by Howard Gardner and is the research and application arm for multiple intelligence theory. Their research projects are fully described and quite interesting and informative.
• SEED Project
  The SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) Project in Inclusive Curriculum provides resources to set up powerful roundtable, book study groups of teachers who wish to transform the (still) largely White Male curriculum. Peggy McIntosh developed the SEED project through the Wellesley Center for Research on Women (www.wellesley.edu) and is the author of "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack._ Short, powerful, and easily readable, her 1989 article has centered our thinking about race (and other variables) on the notion of "privilege_ like nothing else.
• Shame and Cultural Tolerance
  What is it about some people that make them more tolerant of the cultural differences in other people? It would be interesting to understand why some people fear differences while others are intrigued. I suggest that shame, the master and universal emotion may be a significant mitigating factor.
• Soy Unica! Soy Latina!
  The _Soy Unica! _Soy Latina! project encourages cultural pride by emphasizing the strengths inherent in the Hispanic culture. Initiative materials include posters, activity books, brochures and a Web site for 9-14-year-old girls.
• Teaching For Change
  Probably the best catalog for overall equity and social justice issues in education is put out by Teaching for Change. Beyond Heroes and Holidays in a "must-have_ for both inservice and preservice work on gender-fair and multicultural education that moves beyond celebrating the "Three F's_: Food, Fun, and Festival, and focuses on undoing racism and oppression.
• Teaching in mixed-ability classrooms
  A good "first article_ on differentiated instruction, first developed as a method to effectively reach all children in heterogeneous, mixed-ability classrooms, then later co-opted as a "best practice_ in the worlds of Special Education and Gifted and Talented education.
• Teaching Tolerance
  Teaching Tolerance serves as a clearinghouse of information about anti-bias programs and activities being implemented in schools across the country.
• Teaching Tolerance/Southern Poverty Law Center
  Teaching Tolerance is a national education project of the Southern Poverty Law Center dedicated to helping students foster equity, respect, and understanding in the classroom and beyond. The Teaching Tolerance magazine is free and excellent with many useful articles and information for the classroom teacher as well as equity researcher.
• Teaching with Historic Places: American Indian History
  To celebrate American Indian Heritage and generate public appreciation for diverse cultures, Teaching with Historic Places has posted on the web the following lesson plans that consider important aspects of American Indian history.
• Techbridge: Encouraging Girls in Technology web site
  This web site describes a technology program for girls that is hosted by Chabot Space & Science Center and funded by the National Science Foundation. The site offers resources and strategies to encourage girls in technology.
• The American Forum for Global Education
  The noted Global Education/Social Studies expert from CCSSO, Fred Czarra, helped draft these self-assessment checklists with the American Forum for Global Education. The checklists include questions on student knowledge of global issues and cultural awareness, and asks how well schools, school systems, and state education agencies are preparing students to participate in the shrinking global economy.
• The Association for the Severely Handicapped
  TASH is an international association of people with disabilities, their family members, other advocates, and professionals fighting for a society in which inclusion of all people in all aspects of society is the norm.? This site was recommended by Special Education experts for its Methods and Practices section. Information is available on its provocative newsletter, Connections, that consistently challenges any hesitancy about the full inclusion of people with disabilities in the classroom and in the greater society.
• The Big Myth
  This fascinating site has many implications for equity and diversity work, especially on encouraging tolerance and understanding for religious and cultural diversity. The available CD-ROM uses Complex Instruction (an equity-based cooperative learning strategy) to explore cross-cultural creation myths.
• The Diversity Bookmarks Collection
  This list of Bookmarks was developed over the course of two years and represents hundreds of hours of research and web surfing on the part of its author. It includes most of the major web addresses which should be of special interest to bilingual and ESL educators and others interested in issues of educational equity and diversity.
• The National Association for the Education of Young Children
  NAEYC describes itself as the nation's largest and most influential organization of early childhood educators. Although a bit dated, every equity researcher and inservice and preservice teacher should have a copy of the Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children by Louise Derman-Sparks, full of research and strategies, available through NAEYC's website for an incredible $12.00!.
• The National Coalition for Equity in Education
  The National Coalition for Equity in Education employs structures such as Personal Experience Panels and dyads that get to the deepest emotional-psychological experiences of prejudice and discrimination, and healing the pain of racism and other forms of oppression through expression of feelings and personal reflections. For more information contact Julian Weissglass, Professor of Mathematics now housed in the education department at UCSB at [email protected].
• The National Women's History Project
  The National Women's History Project is highly recommended by many gender equity experts and is a wonderful teacher resource in planning gender-fair curriculum. Their Biography Center is an excellent place for students to begin their research.
• The Politics of Biological Determinism
  "Politics of biological Determinism_ Winter 1999 condensed from Mismeasure of Man survey for educators by Rethinking Schools.
• The Tracking Wars
  A full-text version of the pro-tracking book by the right-wing Brookings Institute (The Tracking Wars: State Reform Meets School Policy, Tom Loveless, 1999). Note that this book could not get published by an objective academic press.
• Tracking & Ability Grouping
  Review of Research on Tracking .
• Weaving Gender Equity into Math Reform
  One of the best articles summarizing best practices for addressing the persistent problem in math education -- even when we get girls to take math classes in numbers close to those of boys substantially fewer girls choose math-related college majors and careers. Article has been effectively used in teacher study groups for professional development.
• WEEA Equity Resource Center
  WEEA (Women's Educational Equity Act) is the only Federal legislation devoted to issues of girls' and women's' education. Although it had received much more substantial funding to do outreach and fund small-scale research projects around the country, in the 1990s it was scaled back to only a clearinghouse of information.
• What's At Stake? Why Computers Matter to Your Child
  Information about how computers are being used and why learning about computers is important. Includes things that parents can do to help their children to experience computer-based learning.