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The Research Institute
Research to Practice • Practice to Research
January 2016
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TRI's Research on Executive Function in Babies Born Low Birth Weight Gains International Attention
by Carol Dennis
 At the Zero to Three Conference in Seattle this past December, TRI's Patricia Blasco, Serra Acar, and Sybille Guy were delighted to see over 250 participants at their presentation, enthusiastically engaged with the speakers throughout, asking good questions and providing new ideas.
When the research project is your own, it's often hard to know how excited and engaged others will be. The participation at the Zero to Three conference took away any doubt that this work will be seen as making an important contribution in the field of early childhood development.
TRI's Patricia Blasco, Ph.D., in collaboration with the Institute on Development and Disability at the Oregon Health & Sciences University, leads Project EF, a cutting-edge research study that examines Executive Function (EF) in infants and toddlers born Low Birth Weight (LBW).
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TRI Contributes to the Success of WOU Students
 Western Oregon University prides itself on successfully recruiting students from non-traditional backgrounds – first in the family to go to college, non-native speakers, students from underrepresented communities, students with young children, veterans, students with disabilities, and older students on a second career path.
And once these students arrive at WOU to begin their college experience, there are supports in place to help them, and all WOU students, be successful in their studies.
TRI is very proud to play a part in that support.
Read more . . .
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Serra Acar Elected to the Division for Early Childhood Executive Board
 TRI's Serra Acar, Ph.D. has been elected by her peers to serve as Member-at-Large on the Division for Early Childhood Executive Board.
Colleague and longtime DEC member Patricia Blasco says, "I think Serra brings youth and expertise in social equity as well as early childhood education to her role on the board. She participated in the revision of the DEC Recommended Practices and demonstrated her leadership by involving many TRI colleagues in submitting proposals at DEC last year."
"Serra is a hard worker," Dr. Blasco continues. "She is a team player and always willing to do whatever it takes to get a job done. She is enthusiastic about her work and makes those around her excited and happy to be involved as a team."
Read more . . .
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Oregon's QRIS to be Subject of National Webinar
 For Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS), the initial system building phase often focuses on rating programs because there is a need to create and assess equitable, balanced, and valid standards and processes. Once a system has been established, the focus should shift to continuous quality improvement (CQI) within programs and to the system as a whole.
Oregon’s QRIS is a relatively new system that has embraced CQI throughout a multi-level approach: at the system level with the development and implementation team, at the TA model level with the Quality Improvement Specialists (QIS), and at the program level with participating Early Learning Development Programs whose improvement directly affects our children.
Read more . . .
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Teachers and Grant Writing: What's the Connection?
by Carol Dennis
 I had heard that TRI’s Christina Reagle was scheduled to present a Grant Writing 101 workshop to a room full of Western Oregon University (WOU) students. Nothing unusual about that. But these students are about to graduate from the WOU College of Education and begin their first teaching jobs. Why would these new teachers need to develop grant-writing skills, I wondered? So, I went along to find out.
It’s common knowledge that many teachers spend their own money to replenish supplies in their classrooms. And we see teachers helping out at car washes and bake sales to support projects in their schools.
What’s not so common knowledge is that many teachers also spend hours of their own time applying for grants from foundations, charities, and local government agencies to pay for the projects that help make a well-rounded and engaging educational experience for the students in their charge – our children.
Read more . . .
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Adventures at the Child Development Center
What have we been up to at the Child Development Center?
We met a new friend! This is George Stern. He's an adult with deaf-blindness who came to visit us on behalf of DeafBlind Citizens in Action.
George played his guitar for us and taught us about how we can use all our different senses. When we jumped up and down, George could feel where we were using the vibrations in the floor!
We also met George's guide dog, Vale. When her harness is off, that means it's time to play!
We had a great time singing songs and learning about our senses. Thanks, George and Vale!
Do you want to watch a video of George answering our questions? You can do that here!
To see more of our adventures, visit the Child Development Center on Facebook!
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