One of our objectives is to increase collaboration between various centers and institutes at Teachers College involved in the fields of Latinx and Latin American Education, Health, and Psychology, as well as to increase their visibility to those interested in studying, working in, and providing funding for these fields.
FabLearn
FabLearn is a network, research collaborative, and vision of learning for the 21st century. FabLearn disseminates ideas, best practices, and resources to support an international community of educators, researchers, and policy makers committed to integrating the principles of constructionist learning and maker education into formal and informal K-12 education.
FabLearn is based on the work of Columbia University Associate Professor Paulo Blikstein and the Transformative Learning Technologies Lab (TLTL). FabLearn develops research sites and disseminates resources and information through three main initiatives: FabLearn Labs (formerly FabLab@School), FabLearn Conferences, and FabLearn Fellows.
Community College Research Center
The Community College Research Center (CCRC) is the leading independent authority on the nation’s more than 1,200 two-year colleges. Since its inception, CCRC’s consortium of researchers has strategically assessed the problems and performances of community colleges. Its mission is to conduct research on the major issues affecting community colleges in the United States and to contribute to the development of practices and policies that expand access to higher education and promote success for all students.
Compared to other groups, Latinos enter postsecondary education through community colleges at significantly higher rates than other groups. CCRC is seeking to better understand the role of these institutions in promoting Latina/o access to and success in higher education. Research produced by the center has examined community college access and degree attainment of Latina/os and Latina/o immigrants in the colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY). More broadly, current research at the CCRC seeks to evaluate the impact of dual-enrollment and different methods of delivering remedial education in promoting the postsecondary success of low-income students and students of color... (read more)
Bilingual Extension Institute
The over-referral of bilingual and culturally diverse children to special education and related services is a pressing challenge in public school systems. Not only are unnecessary or inappropriate services a drain on resources, but they are harmful to the child, taking him or her away from the classroom and inevitably stigmatizing the child. In addition, an incorrect diagnosis may mean that the child does not receive the services he or she does need.
We, speech-language pathologists, evaluate bilingual and culturally diverse children who are having academic difficulties. We are "on the front lines" in making the crucial differential diagnosis between a disorder and something else. This "something else" could have a cultural basis, such as a mismatch between demands of school and home or linguistic factors, for example, the normal process of second language acquisition. Due to cultural and linguistic biases in traditional assessment tools and methods, we can readily see the need for clinicians to have a sophisticated and specialized knowledge base. Without this knowledge base, bilingual clinicians cannot make informed decisions about the services needed by these children.
The Bilingual Extension Institute at Teachers College Columbia University provides clinicians with the knowledge and skills to make these differential diagnoses and provide appropriate services... (read more)
Institute for Urban and Minority Education
The Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME), disseminates information, conducts research, and provides technical assistance to increase the human potential and quality of education for urban and minority children and youth. Through program evaluation and technical assistance to organizations, institutions, and schools, IUME works to improve the educational outcomes and quality of life of communities of color... (read more)
Center for Multiple Languages and Literacies
The Center for Multiple Languages and Literacies (CMLL) at Teachers College, Columbia University, focuses on the challenges occasioned by the multiplicity of languages and literacies in the 21st century. CMLL conducts and disseminates research on how different languages and literacies can be used as resources to advance human development, education, and intercultural understanding. CMLL also promotes dialogue across societies and groups through lectures, conferences, and online spaces. In addition, it supports educators in using research to inform practice.
CMLL's work is elaborated in the context of a world characterized by greater flows of people, information, goods, and services within and across national boundaries. CMLL is distinctive because of its emphasis on international and transcultural societies, with New York City as an expression of such a society, and its attention to educational systems, including schools, families, religious institutions, community centers, the workplace, and the media... (read more)