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Current and recent NIWL program activities include:Bridge to Employment . In 1992, Johnson & Johnson Corporation established the Bridge to Employment program (BTE) in an effort to reform education by communicating to at-risk students that learning can be meaningful, engaging, and relevant. The BTE program helps young people build solid futures by introducing them to a broad array of careers in health care and providing them with real world experiences. In the summer of 2003, the AED National Institute for Work and Learning (NIWL) was selected by J&J to become a partner in the management and evolution of the BTE initiative. More information is available here.Central Educational Center Evaluation. NIWL conducted a two phase evaluation of the Central Educational Center (CEC), in Newnan, Georgia. The first phase provided a critical assessment of the CEC model in general, reviewing critical dimensions such as curriculum design, instructional practice, career development of students, recruitment and professional development of staff, partnering relationships with business, higher education, and the community, and student assessment and credentialing. The second phase of the study focused on documenting and quantifying the economic benefit of educational innovations such as CEC to the county and region in which they are situated. The final report is available here. Community College Labor Market Responsiveness Initiative. With funding from the Department of Education, Westat and NIWL are conducting activities designed to yield information and tools that will enable community colleges to keep pace with the needs of a diverse student body and a dynamic labor market and design programs and services that promote individual student success as well as economic competitiveness. Activities include: literature review; solicitation of expert opinion; survey research: in-depth case study analyses; and production of a handbook on steps community colleges can take to be market driven. Contextual Teaching and Learning. Under subcontract to MPR Associates, NIWL is conducting a meta analysis of seven contextual teaching and learning projects supported by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education. All of these projects are focused on expanding current and future teachers' knowledge and use of contextual teaching learning strategies. NIWL and MPR will be synthesizing evaluation findings across sites into a single document that describes how various contextual teaching and learning strategies can be used to drive changes in the classroom and spur improvements in student learning. Coordination Services for the Grantmakers Evaluation Network (GEN). GEN helps foundation staff and trustees use evaluation to build a culture of critical thinking, informed decision-making, and continuous program improvement. GEN recently engaged in a strategic planning process that resulted in a multi-year roadmap for fulfilling its mission. NIWL provided coordination support and services to GEN through: development of a work plan; resource development plans and materials; collaboration with the Council on Foundations and other groups; and facilitating implementation of the work plan. Curriculum Integration Study . Through the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, NIWL is examining different models of curriculum integration. NIWL is exploring, in a series of case studies, how structures and circumstances affect the design and implementation of integration-related reforms at the district, school, and classroom level and documenting best practices for promoting desired student outcomes. The study is creating a new evidentiary base—to replace myths and marketing assertions with factual information about the ways in which curriculum integration can be used to enhance academic performance. Lansing Area Manufacturing Partnership Project. In April 1998, NIWL began examining a business/union-driven, school-to-career initiative known as The Lansing Area Manufacturing Project (LAMP), an innovative partnership sponsored by the United Auto Workers (UAW), General Motors Corporation (GM), and the Ingham Intermediate School District. The program combines classroom instruction with work-based learning at GM facilities. NIWL is assisting in the development, implementation, evaluation, and replication of this initiative through several closely related projects. National Adult Literacy and Learning Disabilities Center (National ALLD Center). Funded from 1993-2000 by the National Institute for Literacy, the Center was a national resource for information regarding learning disabilities and their impact on the provision of literacy services. The Center, in collaboration with the University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities, provided technical assistance in best practices in learning disabilities to literacy providers and practitioners. Activities included: creation of a National Information Exchange Network; development of Bridges to Practice, a tool kit for literacy practitioners; and training and technical assistance for literacy program practitioners who identified and taught adults with learning disabilities. National Assessment of Vocational Education. NIWL, in partnership with Westat Inc., is conducting a study designed to examine state responses to funding and accountability changes reflected in Perkins III. NIWL conducted case studies in three states—and three communities within each state. Information was collected on: state context for vocational education; vocational funding allocations and priorities; performance standards, assessments, and reporting; use of data for program improvement; alignment between vocational education and other systems; and lessons learned about vocational funding and accountability. NIWL also conducted telephone interviews with Perkins administrators in seven smaller states. Findings will be used for the National Assessment of Vocational Education report to Congress. National School-to-Work Learning and Information Center. NIWL was one of two partners responsible for the School-to-Work (STW) Learning and Information Center. The Learning Center helped state and local partnerships build a national network of STW programs. NIWL's responsibilities included: developing a series of resource bulletins for STW practitioners; identifying effective practices; compiling an inventory of state STW legislative and policy actions; conducting case studies of effective local STW systems; analyzing and synthesizing findings from national evaluations; maintaining a database of STW-related products; and planning and facilitating meetings for STW grantees. Performance Measurement Initiative (PMI). For the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, NIWL and its partners MPR Associates and Johns Hopkins University are developing and pilot-testing a new generation of secondary and postsecondary performance accountability systems that improve the ability of schools, institutions and state educational systems to assess and report accurately on attainment of academic and technical skills. The PMI supports accountability for results, facilitates continuous improvement at the institutional level, and provides useful information to educational leaders and policymakers. The project involves federal, state and local representatives in: identifying appropriate measures; designing data collection and accountability systems to address those measures; and identifying strategies and mechanisms to use these data for program management, program improvement, and program accountability Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellowship Program Evaluation. PPIA is designed to encourage culturally diverse young people to pursue graduate education and careers in public policy and international affairs. PPIA offers Junior Institutes and Senior Options to promising college students and provides graduate fellowships to college graduates. These activities empower young students of color to become engaged in and contribute to public service. NIWL examined participation in PPIA and the outcomes that accrued to PPIA fellows. The study explored: the degree to which PPIA components were accessed by participants; the perceived quality of those components; and the educational achievements and career histories of PPIA participants. A two phase data collection process was employed, including a mail survey of 2,400 PPIA fellows and in-depth telephone interviews with 200 fellows. Research and Evaluation Capacity Building. With support from the National School-to-Work Office, NIWL and MPR Associates delivered a variety of technical assistance designed to enhance state and local practitioners' capacity to evaluate school-to-work efforts and use evaluation data for program improvement. Formats used for capacity building activities range from annual conferences and forums to customized technical assistance provided on-site in states and local partnerships. NIWL staff also fielded telephone research and evaluation inquiries from state and local practitioners and helped MPR Associates convene two working groups to develop strategies for evaluating work-based learning and documenting the connections between school-to-work participation and academic achievement. Southend Community Services (SCS) and Our Piece of the Pie (OPP). NIWL provides technical assistance to OPP, a youth business incubator and youth employment program in Hartford, Connecticut that uses work and entrepreneurial experiences to engage at-risk youth in school-based learning. NIWL is working with OPP staff to: identify progress toward achieving stated goals and objectives; review the quality/appropriateness of services and activities; measure the benefits of OPP; and capture the long-term benefits of participation for project alumni. NIWL is working in a similar fashion with other SCS program directors and staff to design evaluation strategies and tools for the Child Care, Computers4Kids, AmeriCorps, and Elderly Services programs. Teachers for a New Era: Technical Support and Capacity Building (TNE). This multi-million dollar initiative is designed to strengthen K-12 teaching by developing state-of-the-art programs at schools of education. Three design principles focus on: engagement of arts and science faculty; evidentiary base for pupil learning; and teacher induction and professional development. NIWL is providing technical support and capacity building to the higher education institutions participating in the initiative through site support, technical assistance brokering, and cross-site workshops and institutes. UAW-GM-Delphi Paid Educational Leave (PEL) Program. Working with speakers representing Congress, the Executive Branch, business and labor organizations, and public interest groups, NIWL serves as the coordinator of the Washington seminar for the UAW-GM-Delphi program. NIWL designs and implements this effort to improve worker and manager understanding of the governmental process and its impact on the automobile industry. Issues explored during the week include international trade, health care reform, environmental concerns such as clean air, the federal role in labor-management relations, and the impact of lobbying on the governmental process. Since 1985, NIWL has conducted 92 PEL Washington programs for the United Auto Workers-General Motors Center for Human Resources. More than 2,500 union officials have attended these sessions, together with approximately 800 of their management counterparts. Virtual Reader for the College and Career Transitions Initiative. The College and Career Transitions Initiative (CCTI) is designed to ease students' transition to postsecondary education and employment through the development of programs of study based on core sets of rigorous academic and technical courses. The League for Innovation in the Community College contracted with NIWL to provide a virtual reader on students' college and career transitions for the initiative. The reader, available via the Internet, will comprise a comprehensive bibliography of relevant documents on theories, issues, policies, strategies, approaches, and best practices. A subset of pre-screened and annotated documents will provide partnerships between high schools and community or technical colleges with a common reference source of essential and fundamental readings Youth Development Practitioner Apprenticeship (YDPA) Initiative Evaluation. YDPA programs provide opportunities for youth workers to strengthen their professional competencies through structured learning and mentoring relationships, while building their credentials through a locally sponsored, federally recognized system. In partnership with the National Training Institute (NTI), NIWL is providing guidance and leadership on assessment and evaluation. The purpose of the evaluation is to document grantees' progress in establishing local YDPA models and to assess the efficacy of NTI's technical assistance to grantees. In an expansion phase of this initiative, NIWL is designing a common local program evaluation. |
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