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Teacher education assignments come in two kinds. Research papers ask what the evidence says about a practice. Lesson and unit plans ask you to build something a real class can use, aligned to state standards. This guide covers both. It is written for the College of Education’s programs, including elementary education, special education, early childhood and career and technical education.
For a research paper, search for the practice and the grade level together (“phonics instruction” plus “first grade”), then filter for empirical studies. For a lesson plan, start with the standard you are teaching and work outward.
Databases and indexes
- Classroom Research Index. About 1,100 education journals plus research reports and conference papers, 1966 to now. Use the “peer reviewed” and “empirical study” filters.
- State Standards Navigator. The Wesconsin academic standards for every grade and subject, cross-linked to the national frameworks behind them.
- Assessment Reviews Index. Independent reviews of published tests and screeners: what they measure, reliability and who they were normed on. You need this for EDUC 2300.
- Children’s Literature Finder. Picture books, chapter books and young adult titles searchable by reading level, theme and curriculum topic.
- Teaching Practice Video Library. About 2,000 classroom videos with transcripts, for methods courses and observation write-ups.
Books and e-books
| Call numbers | Subject |
|---|---|
| LB 1025–1050.75 | Teaching methods, reading instruction |
| LB 1051–1091 | Educational psychology |
| LB 1139.2–1140.5 | Early childhood education |
| LB 1501–1547 | Elementary education |
| LC 1041–1048 | Career and technical education |
| LC 4001–4806.5 | Special education |
The Curriculum Materials Collection on Level 2 holds K–12 textbooks, teacher editions, about 4,200 picture books shelved by grade band, and kits: math manipulatives, science investigation kits, and a set of 30 identical copies of six popular class novels for literature circles. Kits check out for two weeks, which matches a student-teaching unit.
Specialized sources
- Local district curriculum. Porter Falls Area School District and Cedar Bluff School District share their curriculum maps with Porter’s placement office. Ask Lucas Brekke for access before your placement starts.
- School data. State school and district report cards are public and searchable by school.
- Research on teaching. The Institute for Teaching & Learning Research publishes working papers on rural and small-district schools.
- Action research. Classroom studies that collect data from students usually need IRB approval as well as the district’s permission. Allow a month.
- The town library. The Porter Falls Public Library has a larger current picture-book collection than Porter does and lends to student teachers with a local card.
Citing and getting help
Education courses use the author–date style in its 7th edition. Cite a state standard by the issuing agency, the standards document title, the year and the standard’s code. Cite a classroom video by its producer and title, not by the teacher shown in it.
Lucas Brekke is the education librarian. Because student teachers cannot get to campus during the school day, he holds evening hours in the Curriculum Materials Collection on Thursdays from 3 to 6 p.m., and he books online consultations until 8 p.m. on Tuesdays. See also finding evidence in education.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. This education guide is fictional, as are the Curriculum Materials Collection, its kits and the district curriculum-sharing arrangement. The databases, call-number shelving, collections and librarians on this guide are invented, so nothing here can actually be searched, borrowed or booked, and none of it describes a real library.