Research and Development Centers, Institutes and Projects
The following centers, institutes and projects are supported through the School of Education focus on educational issues related to research, training, and/or social change.
The Center on Human Policy
The Center for Support of Teaching and Learning
Continuous Education and Global Outreach
ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources
Liberty Partnerships Program
The Training Institute for Human Service Planning
The Training Systems Institute (TSI)
The Facilitated Communication Institute (FCI)
The New York Partnership for Statewide Systems Change 2000
The Center on Human Policy
The Center on Human Policy is a Syracuse University-based policy, research, and advocacy organization involved in the national movement to ensure the rights of people with disabilities. Since its founding, the Center has been involved in the study and promotion of open settings (inclusive community opportunities) for people with disabilities. The Center's staff and associates include educators, human services professionals, people with disabilities, graduate students, and family members of children and youth with disabilities. The Center is involved with a broad range of local, state-wide, national and international activities, including policy studies, research, information and referral, advocacy, training and consultation, and information dissemination.
The Center for Support of Teaching and Learning
The primary mission for the Center for Support of Teaching and Learning (CSTL) is to support faculty and staff in the assessment and improvement of teaching and learning at Syracuse University. CSTL staff consult, coordinate, and provide direct services to help instructors enhance their overall performance and contribution. A sample of these services include assisting faculty to integrate technology into instruction, syllabus review, designing and developing instructional materials, and test scanning/scoring. Its goal within the School of Education is to create an atmosphere of reflective teaching with an emphasis upon improvement.
Continuous Education and Global Outreach (CEGO)
Continuous Education and Global Outreach (CEGO) provides professional development and support services to the School of Education and the University and higher education outreach to a greater global community. It also oversees several organizations including the:
Principals' Center at Syracuse University which upon request provides opportunities for professional and personal development of school principals and assistant principals throughout central New York.
Study Council at Syracuse University, a membership organization of more than 160 member districts. Its mission is "the promotion of educational excellence and supportive relationships between individual schools, school districts, educational agencies, and the School of Education at Syracuse University through ongoing study and dissemination of educational theory and practice." Based on assessments of needs and interests, services provided include conferences, issue-related long-term study seminars, and collaborative action research. The Council also creates and disseminates documents of interest to educators and hosts programs relevant to the work of member school boards.
Syracuse University Superintendents Alumni Association (SUSAA), a membership organization comprised of school leaders primarily from New York State. It is a support network and forum for the exchange of information to provide professional development for practicing and retired chief school officers. SUSAA's individual and collective expertise, the only active university-affiliated superintendents group in New York State, is an invaluable University and community resource.
ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources
Eric/IT is affiliated with both the School of Education and the School of Information Studies and specializes in library and information science and educational technology. ERIC/IT acquires, selects, catalogs, indexes, and abstracts documents and journal articles for input into the ERIC Database. The variety of resources within the Clearinghouse assists professors and students by making available the most recent publications within given academic areas.
Liberty Partnerships Program
The Liberty Partnerships Program is a state-funded program designed to help at-risk middle and high school students succeed academically. This year round program is based within the Syracuse City Schools for the school year and exposes LPP students to college campuses and enrichment activities in the summer. Their mission ensures that these students "will graduate from high school and be prepared to enter post-secondary education or the workforce."
The Training Institute for Human Service Planning
Most of the teaching events that the Training Institute conducts deal with themes relevant to all types of human services to all types of people - especially those who are devalued by society. The Training Institute's programs are primarily aimed at people who are, and who aspire to be, leaders and change agents in human services. The institute trains human service professionals on an individual basis, but it also consults, evaluates and makes recommendations to agencies that want to improve their performance.
The Training Systems Institute (TSI)
In an effort to respond to challenges in educational research, development and training, and to stimulate new directions in the application of instructional technology, the Training Systems Institute was created by faculty in the Instructional Design, Development, and Evaluation (IDD&E) program.The Training Systems Institute's main function is to improve educational and training processes by conducting an array of R&D programs related to the evaluation and management of education and training.
The Facilitated Communication Institute (FCI)
The Facilitated Communication Institute (FCI) was established to foster the understanding and knowledge of facilitated communication - an alternative means of expression for people who cannot speak or whose speech is highly limited and who cannot point reliably. The method has been used as a means to communicate for individuals with severe disabilities, including persons with labels of mental retardation, autism, down syndrome and other developmental disabilities. Established at Syracuse University in 1992, the Facilitated Communication Institute conducts research, public education, training and scholarly seminars.
The New York Partnership for Statewide Systems Change 2000
The Systems Change Project is a collaborative effort of the New York State Education Department's Office of Special Education Services/VESID and Syracuse University's School of Education, Teaching and Leadership program. The primary goal of the Systems Change Project is to help selected districts develop, implement, and evaluate their own systems change process toward quality inclusive educational opportunities for students with significant disabilities in their home schools and classrooms.