College of Education Reaches Across Iowa

Even before Margaret Crocco officially took the reins July 1^st as the University of Iowa College of Education’s 15^th dean, she was already connecting with people across Iowa.

Coming from New York City, where she most recently served as professor and chair of the Department of Arts and Humanities at Teachers College, Columbia University, Crocco wanted opportunities to listen and learn more about the issues Iowans are passionate about, whether education, the environment, or the economy.

So Crocco spent three days in May traveling across the state with the UI Faculty Engagement Corps. The group visited with students and administrators in Marshalltown, business and civic leaders in Webster City, almost all 200 residents of Goodell, as well as with Iowa Dept. of Education Director Jason Glass in Des Moines.

Already in her first few months, Crocco has modeled outreach by initiating new collaborations with colleagues from across campus, in the community, and across the nation.  Photo courtesy of Jon Winet/University of Iowa

College Centers Reach Out

Iowans benefit greatly from the services and resources College’s centers provide. A few examples include:

• The College’s Belin-Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development offers services, support, and programs for Iowa students and their teachers from pre-K through college level. Its most notable outreach initiatives are the Iowa Online Advanced Placement Academy that provides Iowa high school students the opportunity to take AP courses online without which they would otherwise have access and Invent Iowa, a program that has connected over half a million K-12 Iowa students over the past two decades.
• The Iowa Center for Assistive Technology Education and Research assists Iowa students, educators, parents, education professionals, and each of Iowa’s Area Education Agencies through hands-on training, educational workshops, and collaborative research.
• With sale of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and the Iowa Tests of Educational Development, which are among the most widely used standardized achievement tests in the world, Iowa Testing Programs is able to subsidize the cost of Iowa’s assessments. Each year, ITP supplies testing materials, consultation, and scoring services for approximately 360,000 K-12 Iowa students. Each year, over 100 Iowa school administrators and teachers receive professional development through on-site programs at locations throughout the state.

Faculty Outreach

College of Education faculty work tirelessly to improve education in Iowa. A few examples of their outreach projects include:

• Counseling Psychology Associate Professor Saba Ali works closely with hundreds of underserved, rural middle and high school students in Muscatine County schools, including Columbus Junction, West Liberty, and Muscatine, as well as with the Postville Community School District through her career education projects. Her aim is to help students and link their career goals to school, especially in the health sciences.
• Science Education Assistant Professor Cory Forbes works with the Davenport Community School District to investigate how and why elementary teachers use existing science curriculum materials to teach science. His goal is to help educators teach science in ways that best promote student learning. He chose Davenport because it is one of Iowa’s largest high-needs school districts.
• Science Education Professor Brian Hand and Special Education Professor Bill Therrien are helping 7,000 Iowa students in grades 4-6 in 48 elementary schools, including both urban and rural located in the Loess Hills (southwest Iowa) and Keystone (northeast Iowa) AEAs, improve their science literacy. When students learn argument and language strategies, it helps them better understand science.