Centers, Institutes and Programs

We're providing service to the state and beyond

In addition to providing a spectrum of regular degree programs, the College of Education currently sponsors or co-sponsors a number of special enrichment and outreach programs with direct impact on local, state, and national communities.

List of Centers, Institutes and Programs

Institute for Educational Leadership

The Institute for Educational Leadership works with educators throughout the state to focus on and clarify issues important to education in Iowa and to address issues of significance to Iowa's school districts. The IEL serves as a catalyst for informed dialogue on educational issues impacting schools of Iowa, the region and nation. The Institute often sponsors working conferences that bring together educators, university faculty, and private sector leaders to explore challenges facing Iowa school administrators and other leaders.

Iowa Teacher Intern License Pathway

The Iowa Teacher Intern License Pathway (ITILP) is designed to help talented professionals answer the call to teach by attaining a secondary (grades 7-12) teaching license, usually in a high-needs content area. ITILP allows the participant to be a salaried probationary teacher in an accredited secondary Iowa school, on a temporary license (Teacher Intern License), for one year from date of issuance.

Multicultural Initiatives in Teaching

The Multicultural Initiatives in Teaching (MIT) Program was formerly known as the Minorities in Teaching Program. The MIT Program was initiated in 1988 as a school/university partnership between the University of Northern Iowa and five Iowa school districts with large, ethnically diverse student populations. These districts included Davenport, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City, and Des Moines.

Professional Development School

The UNI PDS is an innovative partnership with the Cedar Falls and Waterloo community schools. Our PDS recognizes the intertwined nature of the missions of schools and the university and seeks to create a hybrid learning community to bring about our simultaneous renewal.

Reading Clinic

The UNI Reading Clinic is a division of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. At the clinic, students enrolled in reading tutoring classes provide clients one-to-one remedial tutoring under the supervision of university faculty and graduate assistants. Following the administration of diagnostic and evaluative measures, each client receives an individually designed remedial program. Tutoring times are arranged with each child's family. There is a small materials fee. Parents, teachers, or other educators can refer children to the center.

Reading Recovery Center of Iowa

The goal of Reading Recovery is to dramatically reduce the number of first-grade students who have extreme difficulty learning to read and write and to reduce the cost of these learners to educational systems.

Regents' Center for Early Developmental Education

Established in 1988, the Regents' Center for Early Developmental Education focuses efforts on improving early childhood education (birth through 8 years) in Iowa and beyond. Recognizing that children construct knowledge, intelligence, personality, and morality through active engagement with physical and social environments, the Center supports educational efforts that emphasize children's interest, experimentation, and cooperation.

Richard O. Jacobson Center for Comprehensive Literacy

The Richard O. Jacobson Center for Comprehensive Literacy at the University of Northern Iowa focuses on educating, coaching and mentoring teachers and administrators in the development of effective literacy teaching based on current reading research.

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UNIted for Teacher Quality:

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Implementing Standard Based Mathematics

Preparing Iowa High School Mathematics Teachers to Implement Standards Based Mathematics: Using a Case Study Approach on DVD

Freeburg Center

In 2001, the University of Northern Iowa and the Regents' Center for Early Developmental Education developed a model early childhood education program, known as the Freeburg Early Childhood Program, in partnership with the Waterloo Community Schools, the R.J. McElroy Trust, Tri-County Head Start, Allen College and Allen Health Systems, Inc.