Institute in the College of Education has a new name

Fort Worth, Texas

2/11/2011

The institute for Special Education in the College of Education was founded in 2005 as the Alice S. Neeley Special Education Institute and re-established this year as the Alice Neeley Special Education Research and Service (ANSERS) Institute.

“Associates of the institute believe that the acronym ANSERS better reflects our desire to seek solutions, or answers, to the challenges faced by teachers, administrators and educational researchers in the field today,” said Dr. Lindy Crawford, the Ann Jones Endowed Chair in Special Education for the College of Education.

The following information includes the ways in which the ANSERS Institute functions at TCU.

About the institute

The ANSERS Institute provides an environment for innovation and change in special education through exemplary teaching, creative research, and community outreach. The ANSERS Institute works in conjunction with the TCU laboratory schools – Starpoint and KinderFrogs – to create and coordinate activities, programs and research in special education.

The mission of the ANSERS Institute is to improve the quality of life and learning for students with disabilities and their families through evidence-based research and practice.

How the ANSERS Institute transforms education

·      RESEARCH

-Development of an online middle school mathematics curriculum for students with learning disabilities funded by the U.S. Department of Education. 

-Research on students’ transition from Starpoint School to more inclusive middle school settings

- Longitudinal study of infants who attend KinderFrogs

-Research on students’ use of online support tools such as hyperlinks in mathematics funded by the U. S. Office of Special Education Programs

-Assessment of the quality of preschool programs through the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) funded in part by TCU and Zhejiang Normal University in China 

-Research on educational equity issues regarding Chinese preschool education.

- Comparative study of U. S. and Chinese kindergarten mathematics curricula 

·      PRACTICE

Our teacher education candidates work with teachers and children in urban public schools, museums and zoo schools, Head Start classrooms, charter schools, alternative schools and within private school settings.  Students desiring to become special education teachers also have a unique opportunity to observe and teach at Starpoint and KinderFrogs, the two laboratory schools associated with the Institute and housed on campus. 

·      SERVICE

Community outreach is an integralpart of our mission. As an example, the ANSERS Institute collaborates with the Down Syndrome Partnership of Tarrant County, The Arc of Northeast Tarrant County, and North Texas SNAP (Special Needs Assistance Partners) to support and provide resources for Learning Together, a monthly workshop series that draw parents and educators from around the metroplex. The Institute also regularly features speakers on topics of interest to teachers, parents, and child advocates who seek to improve lives of children and youth with disabilities.