New Evidence-Based Education Program Focuses on Reading Instruction

The University of Oregon's Center of Teaching and Learning is collaborating with Catapult Learning to launch the Institute for Scaling Evidence-Based Education.

children reading in the classroom

The University of Oregon's Center of Teaching and Learning is partnering with Catapult Learning to launch the Institute of Scaling of Evidence Based Education. The collaboration initially calls for Catapult Learning to provide professional development instruction for CTL's Enhanced Core Reading Instruction (ECRI) program nationally, and the Institute plans to eventually cover the full suite of evidence-based programs and services developed by CTL.

The partnership will allow CTL to distribute its programs across the United States while using Catapult's ability to implement services in thousands of schools simultaneously.

"We carefully selected Catapult because of the company's unwavering dedication to serve students, teachers and districts with top-quality instructional programs and professional development. This partnership uniquely positions us to take ECRI to the next level and positively influence literacy learning for K-2 students," said CTL director Hank Fien in a statement.

ECRI is a multi-tiered program that features a series of teaching routines to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of reading instruction. Evaluations of ECRI have shown that there is a "statistically significant and substantive impact" on the reading achievement of at-risk readers in first grade, according to a press release announcing the partnership. 

"By partnering with CTL to form the Institute for Scaling Evidence-Based Education, we underscore our commitment to delivering programs that are scientifically proven to generate positive outcomes for struggling students," said Catapult Learning CEO Jeffrey Cohen. "We look forward to expanding the scope of the Institute and deepening our collaboration with one of the nation's premier research universities."

More information about the new partnership can be found here.

About the Author

Sara Friedman is a reporter/producer for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe covering education policy and a wide range of other public-sector IT topics.

Friedman is a graduate of Ithaca College, where she studied journalism, politics and international communications.

Friedman can be contacted at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @SaraEFriedman.

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