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03. November 2014 Newsletter

November 2014

Education Evaluation Center: Providing Services that are Key to Oregon's Future

by Carol Dennis

Girl with frustrated expression reads textbook

Many people have expressed feeling “crazy” or “stupid” or “from Mars” when they reflect on not being able to do things that seem so easy for everyone around them. That feeling of “not being present the day the rules of life were handed out” can take a toll on a person’s self image whether they are 3 years old or 30, or 70. It can feel like they are missing pieces of a puzzle, condemning them to always fail.

These are the kinds of feelings and thoughts that have haunted many of the people who have come through the doors of TRI's Education Evaluation Center over the past 52 years, and are in direct contrast to the ah-ha moments that follow the discovery of a learning disability or other diagnosis that explains everything. Not “stupid” or “Martian,” just dyslexic or having ADD – conditions that, with proper accommodations in place, will no longer hold them back.

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TRI Awarded $600,000 to Study Low Birth Weight Babies

Patricia Blasco, PhD, smiles for the camera

Dr. Patricia Blasco, PhD., will serve as the Principal Investigator in a collaboration between TRI and the Oregon

Health & Science University (OHSU) to study the effects of low birth weight on the development of executive function in the first three years of life.

Executive Function (EF) is the collection of mental processes in the brain that allows for self-regulation, working memory, attention, and organization and planning, all necessary skills for school-readiness. . . .

“This is a dream come true for all of us,” says Dr. Blasco. “I have been interested for many years in the development of children who are born early and the effects on brain development in terms of executive function. These findings will provide new scientific knowledge and a better understanding of EF skills and deficits in young children who are born LBW and preterm.”

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TRI Receives $415,000 to Improve Traffic Safety Education in Oregon

The Center on Educator Preparation and Effectiveness (CEPE) was recently awarded two Oregon Department of Transportation grants totaling $415,000 to increase the number of qualified driver education instructors in Oregon. The grants will focus on coordinating traffic safety education classes, certifying over 300 driver education instructors, and providing support for curriculum, policy and a web presence.

In addition, the $415,000 will be used to plan and host the annual Pacific Northwest Driver & Traffic Safety regional conference and revise the curriculum which is used to teach teens in driver education classes, candidate instructors in TSE classes and online continuing education courses offered by Chemeketa Community College.

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Project PEPI Widens Reach of Inclusion in Oregon's Early Childhood Education

by Carol Dennis

A toddler girl with Down Syndrome smiles proudly for the camera

Project PEPI (Preparing Early Childhood Educators for Inclusion) is designed to fill in the gaps that currently exist in Early Childhood Education curriculum in Oregon’s community colleges to support the inclusion of children with disabilities and those from culturally diverse backgrounds. After a successful roll-out of a pilot program within four Oregon community colleges, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP – a division of the US Department of Education) decided to expand the program and has increased funding to Project PEPI by $90,000.00 for the 2014-15 academic year. This increase is allowing the project to add three additional community colleges, nearly doubling its reach.

Project PEPI has been a collaborative effort between TRI, the College of Education at Western Oregon University, and four Oregon community colleges: Southwestern Oregon, Chemeketa, Portland, and Blue Mountain Community Colleges. The additional community colleges that will be added beginning the 2014-15 school year are Clackamas, Lane, and Linn-Benton. . . .

"The addition of three community colleges to the program is very exciting. It not only means we can expand the reach of the program, but we can also get input from a broader population of faculty and students about how the curriculum enhancements are working."

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How TRI Builds Software

by Jeff Denton

A computer screen shows a software project

TRI-TIMS (Technology and Information Management Services) has a 13-year track record of delivering quality software on time and on budget to Oregon state agencies and national non-profits. As the bad news of failures hit, we took the time to examine what characteristics of the TIMS workflow has led to our successes, and what obstacles and threats we have learned to avoid.

What came out of that exploration is a framework of best practices that we found can put a project – and keep a project -- on track. Below are the 3 essentials for working with software developers that we believe can move your work forward without busting the budget or costing you sleep.

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Teaching Research Institute Welcomes New Staff

TRI is excited to welcome four new staff members:

Dr. Serra Acar will be joining the Evaluation & Research Group (ERGo) working on projects with an early childhood/early learning focus.

Lacey Davis is joining TRI's Center on Early Learning as an Early Childhood Project Specialist.

Dr. Carol Leitschuh is joining us as a visiting Fellow and will be exploring grants and contracts related to early childhood, assessment and evaluation, especially relating to infant/toddler movement.

Kathleen McDonnell joined TRI's Center on Early Learning as an Early Childhood Specialist.

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