Teaching Research Today

Teaching Research (TR) has long been a facilitator of educational and human service improvement, at all levels. This is accomplished through state, regional and national training, research, evaluation, development, and dissemination.

TR's 60+ faculty engage in a wide range of grant funded and contract activities both at our main office in Monmouth and at our branch office in Eugene. TR has a long-standing, national reputation in the field of special education, with a 25 year history in model development and dissemination. In addition, TR's work focuses on several specific areas including early childhood education, deaf-blindness, dispute resolution, traumatic brain injury, special education personnel issues, teaching and learning and research & evaluation. In addition, TR has fostered close working relationships with many education agencies and associations within Oregon and across the nation, and with many schools, districts, and teacher education institutions. The advancement of all students has been at the center of TR's mission for many years.

What is TR's Mission?

TR's mission is to inform and facilitate change in educational and human service systems that improves the quality of life for individuals.

To attain this vision, TR conducts a comprehensive multi-disciplinary program of research, evaluation, program/model development, training, technical assistance, direct service, and dissemination serving both typical and special populations of all ages at the local, state, regional and national levels.

TR is guided by partnerships with consumers, families and practitioners and measures the effectiveness of its work by its impact on their lives.

Teaching Research History

Teaching Research was established in the early 1960s as a research and development arm of the Oregon State System of Higher Education. In 1989, TR transferred from the Oregon University System Chancellor's Office to the Provost's Office at Western Oregon University, and has since become an integral part of the Western family.

TR is now an Institute within WOU and maintains its main facilities in Monmouth, Oregon and a branch office in Eugene, Oregon.

Who Funds TR's Work?

Projects at TR are funded through a variety of U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Maternal Child Health Bureau; National Institutes of Health; State of Oregon agencies and private funding sources.

Who Does TR's Work?

TR faculty presents a broad array of educational and experiential backgrounds. Most senior faculty have been working in their field in excess of twenty years. This workforce is complimented by the on-going recruitment of new faculty who are recent graduates of other University programs. Flexible organization allows TR to bring needed content and technical expertise from a variety of fields to bear on any given project.

How does TR Measure its Impact?

Collectively TR projects span the range from dissemination and direct service projects to research projects. Consistent with our mission, however, all aim to improve education and human service systems. We measure the efficacy of our efforts not by satisfaction with our work, but by how our work improves the policies and practices of these systems, the practices of those who work in them, and more importantly, the outcomes for the individuals they serve.