Ideas In Action

High-achieving undergraduates of color pursuing lucrative careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have their sights set on social justice, not just a big paycheck, according to a new Vanderbilt study. Read More

Combating fake news and bolstering the public’s trust in journalism is the aim of a Vanderbilt research project that was selected to receive a share of a $1 million prize through the Knight Prototype Fund. Read More

The Response to Intervention initiative, commonly known in education circles as RTI, is being regarded unfairly in the wake of a negative national evaluation, according to Vanderbilt researchers. Read More

Vanderbilt University and the Tennessee Department of Education have formed a new alliance that will produce a series of rigorous research studies to inform the state’s school improvement efforts. Read More

People either with low levels of financial literacy or who have used payday lending are far less willing to borrow to pay for college, according to a new Vanderbilt study. Read More

K–12 schools in districts in Nashville, Tenn., and Iowa City, Iowa, will soon benefit from an iPad app designed by Vanderbilt professors to help students modify their own problem behavior. A self-monitoring intervention, MoBeGo (Monitoring Behavior on the Go) will provide critical support to teachers working with students who have challenging behaviors. Read More

Vanderbilt University is offering two new online degree programs for education professionals through Peabody Online, a partnership with 2U, Inc. Read More

High-quality state- and district-run prekindergarten programs should be supported as long as they are implemented properly and evaluated with rigor, according to a new pre-K consensus report penned by Vanderbilt education researcher Mark Lipsey. Read More

One of James Booth’s biggest research challenges is keeping his young subjects from getting wiggly while measuring their brain activity during an MRI scan. As a neurocognitive researcher, he uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to tease out how children’s brains develop academic skills. Read More

An analysis of existing research on teacher merit pay programs reveals that the highly debated practice is having a positive effect on student outcomes, according to a new Vanderbilt University report. Read More

Tennessee’s principal licensure exam is a poor predictor of effective leadership, and raising the cut score required for licensure could be counterproductive to diversity efforts, according to a new study by Vanderbilt University’s Tennessee Education Research Alliance. Read More

The world’s foremost longitudinal examination of gifted children is the subject of a new film, “Quick Learners; High Achievers: Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth.” Read More

In the first five years of life, a child’s linguistic, conceptual, and social competence grow enormously. Read More

Peabody College has launched an initiative designed to help early-career faculty thrive in all aspects of campus life and to guide them toward promotion and tenure. The R.A.C.E. (Research, Advocacy, Collaboration, Empowering) Mentoring project targets new and junior faculty members, and it is particularly useful for faculty of color. Peabody welcomed 14 new faculty this fall, 80 percent of whom are women and minorities. Read More

Teaching children with disabilities play skills helps them interact with typically developing peers. Read More

A new report highlights the need to improve college affordability, especially for lower-income families. Read More

High-achieving black students are half as likely as their white peers to be assigned to gifted education. Their teachers’ race may explain why. Read More

When Tennessee’s governor wanted to develop better principals, he turned to the experts at Peabody College. Read More

Could an emphasis on mental toughness be harming the psychological and physical health of black students? Read More

When children have a choice of how they interact with educators, they may learn more efficiently. Read More