About Project ESCOLAR

Project ESCOLAR is a five-year research and development project created and implemented by the University of Oregon College of Education’s Center for Equity Promotion (CEQP).

The project’s main goal is to increase opportunities for all middle school students, and especially those with learning disabilities, to:


Become 21st-century innovators

Excel within the science curriculum

Prepare for college and career success

To achieve this goal, the project is developing and evaluating Collaborative Online Learning (COL) units for use in middle school science classrooms. The COL units align with Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core State Standards. They are meant to help sixth- through eighth-grade students explore science, collaborate with others online, solve problems creatively, and enhance learning.

Each COL unit incorporates multimodal, multimedia features, including electronic-text supports (eText supports), to assist with academic reading of science content. eText supports include:


Text-to-speech

Vocabulary words linked to online definitions

Digital note-taking

Captioned videos

Alt tags

For this project, the University of Oregon is partnering with Georgia Southern University (GSU). The project is committed to providing high-quality science education units and technology resources to students.

Project ESCOLAR is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (2013-2018) for stepping up technology implementation to better assist students with learning disabilities.

ESCOLAR Staff

Directors

  • Fatima Terrazas Arellanes, Ph.D.
  • Principal Investigator
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  • 541-346-3798
  • Alejandro Gallard, Ph.D.
  • Co-Principal Investigator
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  • 912-478-5719

Project Staff

  • Emily Walden, M.A.
  • Project Coordinator
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  • Lisa Strycker, M.A.
  • Research Methodologist
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  • Osmar Alvez
  • Multimedia Assistant & Translator
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  • Jessica Owen, B.S.
  • Graphic Designer & Photographer
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  • Arunima Bhattacharjee, B.S.
  • Graphic Designer
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  • Yubo Zhang
  • Multimedia Assistant
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  • Alena Jones, B.S.
  • Content Developer
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  • Ricardo Friaz, M.A.
  • Content Editor
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Project Evaluator

  • Pacific Research and Evaluation
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Advisory Board

  • Sandra Lewis, Ph.D.
  • Special Education Adviser
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  • E. Diane Torres-Velásquez, Ph.D.
  • Science Education Adviser
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  • Mark Horney, Ph.D.
  • Science Education Adviser
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General Contact

University of Oregon
170 Lokey Education Building
Eugene, OR 97401
Phone: 541-346-3798
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

University of Oregon Center for Equity Promotion (CEQP)

CEQP collaborates with experts across the U.S. in technology innovation, education research, and program evaluation. CEQP and its partners are committed to providing high-quality education.

If you are interested in collaborating with CEQP, please contact us: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Georgia Southern University (GSU)

GSU offers programs in teacher preparation in early childhood education, middle grades education, special education, and the K-12 teaching field in health and physical science. Graduate programs are offered for initial teacher preparation and for advanced teacher education at the master’s and education specialist levels.

Pacific Research and Evaluation

Pacific Research and Evaluation provides program evaluation and organizational assessment services across the nation. The Pacific Research and Evaluation team takes a data-driven approach, offering expert advice to improve program outcomes.