Teaching Research Institute

The mission of the Teaching Research Institute, "to inform and facilitate change in educational and human service systems to improve the quality of life for individuals", is guided by partnerships with consumers, families and practitioners, and is measured by the impact on their lives. Today, TRI activities are no longer exclusive to just research and instructional technology, but are conducted through five program areas including:

• Community Services;
• Data and Technology Services;
• Personnel Preparation;
• Evaluation and Research;
• Technical Assistance, Training and Information Services

The Teaching Research Institute operates four direct service centers:

• Child Development Center serves children (2-6 years old) of students, faculty and community members
• Center on Inclusion
• Education Evaluation Center provides evaluations for children, youth and adults who have disabilities
• The National Lead Center on Community Reintegration and Long-Term Care

In addition to being housed in two locations on the WOU campus, in historic Todd Hall and in the College of Education, TRI has an additional Institute office in Eugene, as well as project offices in New York, Massachusetts, Kansas, and Tennessee.

Current work continues to align with local, state and national issues in regular and special education, as well as human services and TRI projects are working in every state within the country, as well as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Pacific Basin.

News & Events

Governor’s Food Drive a Success

TRI again showed its commitment to our community with another successful Governor’s Food Drive. The TRI Social Committee planned a series of tasty and fun events during the month of February to entice our colleagues to donate. Back by popular demand were the Soup Kitchen and Silent Auction, and we held a new raffle for a giant Super Bowl Party Basket. The committee decided to align this year’s goal with the food drive’s 29th anniversary by raising the equivalent of 29,000 pound of food. Wow! We delivered, raising 34,857.50 pounds!

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Our Work

TRI’s fifty-plus faculty and staff are drawn form broad array of educational and experiential backgrounds. While most senior faculty have been working in their fields for over 20 years, there is also an infusion of fresh talent to continually add depth and breadth of knowledge to new and evolving projects. Current projects continue our mission of research and development in a variety of educational endeavors including:

• Autism
• Deaf-blindness
• Early childhood development
• Educational evaluation
• Inclusive child care and early childhood education programs
• Program evaluation
• Personnel preparation
• Teaching and learning
• Technology and data services
• Traumatic brain injury
• Transition