MAEPOPP Center 2015 Best Education Practices Directory
Author: Arendale, David R., Ed.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reference Materials - Directories/Catalogs
Subjects: Best Practices,Educational Practices,Academic Achievement,Achievement Gap,Academic Persistence,Low Income Groups,Disproportionate Representation,First Generation College Students,Summer Programs,Middle Schools,Curriculum,Educational Counseling,Career Counseling,Academic Advising,Seminars,Disabilities,Access to Education,Tutoring,Tutor Training,Writing Skills,Skill Development,High Schools,Money Management,Secondary School Curriculum,Enrichment Activities,High School Students,Study Centers,Veterans Education,Adult Students,Educational Assessment,Integrated Activities,Learning Activities,Peer Teaching,College Students

Purpose: This directory identifies, describes, and contains evaluative data evidence-based practices that improve academic performance, close the achievement gap, and improve persistence towards graduation for low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented 6th grade through college students. Methodology: The directory was a production of the Mid-America Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (MAEOPP) and the Department of Postsecondary Teaching and Learning at the University of Minnesota. They jointly host the MAEOPP Best Education Practice Center that identifies, validates, and disseminates practical activities and approaches to improve success of students who are low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented in education. The administrative and education best practices in this publication have been reviewed and approved by multiple members of an external expert panel of qualified reviewers. Each practice has been approved as promising, validated, or exemplary based on the level of evidence supporting it. The rigorous standards applied during the review process are similar to previous national evaluation efforts by the U.S. Department of Education. A precedent for a national information dissemination program existed for several decades in the Education Department's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). Within OERI was the Program Effectiveness Panel. Through a rigorous evaluation process, some practices were &quot;validated&quot; and disseminated widely. The MAEOPP Center follows similar protocols for rigorous evaluation. Results: The thirteen practices approved thus far by the MAEOPP Center represent each of the five major TRIO grant programs: Educational Talent Search, &quot;Middle School Summer Curriculum&quot;; Upward Bound, &quot;Study Hall Days at a College Campus&quot;, &quot;Podcasting Academic and Career Counseling&quot;, &quot;Academic Advising Management System&quot;, and &quot;Planning Effective Campus Visits&quot;; Educational Opportunity Centers, &quot;Right Start to College Seminar for Adults&quot; and &quot;Post service Assessment Tool&quot;; Disability Services, &quot;Access College Today (ACT) Program&quot;; Student Support Services, &quot;Integrated Learning Course&quot;, &quot;Tutoring for Students with Disabilities&quot;, and &quot;Tutor Training and Professional Development&quot;; Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement, &quot;McWrite: Developing Scholarly Writing Skills&quot;; and GEAR UP, &quot;High School Financial Literacy Curriculum&quot;. Conclusions: Rather than looking to others for solutions, the federally-funded TRIO and GEAR-UP grant programs have the expertise needed to solve vexing problems with student success. These programs are incubators of best education practices that can be implemented elsewhere. Recommendations: Educators need to investigate these peer learning programs to discover effective learning practices that can be adapted and adopted for use in supporting higher student achievement, closing the achievement gap, and increasing persistence to graduation. Appended are: (1) Profiles of TRIO and GEAR UP Programs with Best Practices; (2) MAEOPP Center and External Expert Panelists; and (3) Procedures for Submission to the MAEOPP Center.