Research Centers & Initiatives

The mentoring experience is one of the most impactful parts of a novice teacher's training training, yet most universities offer little or no actual training for mentors. We are changing that.

Great science teaching can be learned! We provide a vision of ambitious science instruction for elementary, middle school and high school classrooms.

Our research develops artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) methods and studies AI adoptions by integrating educational domain knowledge in curriculum and instruction, learning science, and educational policy and school systems.

A central location for partnerships, program development, and collaborative research that seek to center and sustain Native, Black, Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islander young people and communities across multiple intersections with gender, disability, language, land, migration, class, and more.

A cohort-based program that provides underrepresented men of color at the University of Washington opportunities for academic growth, leadership, exploration of intersecting identities, and support.

In the United States, the education system isn’t designed to center student experiences. For Black students and students of color especially, this leads to persistent inequities in the ways they experience school. CEL partners with leaders — from students to superintendents — to disrupt this by having high-performing, equity-driven leaders in every school.

Center for Innovation and Research in Graduate Education (CIRGE) is the first U.S. research center devoted to the study and improvement of doctoral education worldwide.

The Center develops effective leaders who maximize the positive, educational impact of sport and physical activity for creating healthier communities.

The Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy investigates efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning, the teacher workforce, and the systems of support for teachers’ work, in various contexts and at multiple levels of the K-12 educational system.

Cultivate Learning is committed to supporting the early childhood education (ECE) and expanded learning opportunity (ELO) workforce. Community engaged research and evaluation informs all of the work that we do.

The DO-IT Center uses grant funds for interventions to increase the success of students with disabilities, especially in STEM studies and careers.

DL2 generates rigorous, actionable research and partners with school district leaders as they tackle inequities rooted in school systems.

Education Policy Analytics Lab (EPAL) uses interdisciplinary perspectives and research methods to provide cutting-edge educational policy research. We seek to provide meaningful, innovative, and rigorous analysis of data (both in-depth and at scale) to address pressing educational issues at federal, state, and local levels.

The work of the University of Washington’s Equitable Parent–School Collaboration (EPSC) research project is driven by a desire to expand how schools and districts recognize and tap parental expertise and leadership in improving student learning.

The Family Leadership Design Collaborative (FLDC) is a national network of scholars, practitioners, and family and community leaders who work to center racial equity in family engagement by reimagining how families and communities can create more equitable schools and educational systems.

The University of Washington Haring Center for Inclusive Education provides early childhood education to children with and without disabilities, conducts leading-edge research to advance inclusive learning, and trains education professionals in proven practices to develop every child’s potential. The essential support of our generous donors creates inclusive communities that empower all children to learn, play and grow together.

ibestt is a web-based technology tool that assists schools and teachers in providing behavior supports and monitoring student progress in the classroom.

myIGDIs is a suite of universal screening progress monitoring assessments of language, literacy and numeracy development for preschool-age children.

INSPIRE, a center for cultivating collaborations in professional learning, seeds university-school-community collaborations to co-create joyful, meaningful and equitable learning experiences and resources for educators.

ISME creates partnerships to cultivate and study equity-focused educational models in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

This study explores visual, physical and sensory approaches to mindfulness using an iPad app called L.A.U.G.H. (Let Art Unleash Great Happiness) in schools.

The Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center is a collaborative effort among three primary partners — the University of Washington, Stanford University, and Stanford Research Institute — as well as other institutions across the country.

This project is studying how two groups of urban youth collect data about and map their communities using mobile and location aware technologies, and how these data support educators to better understand the places in which students live.

The NW Center has dedicated more than 25 years to research, training and service focused on the area of media literacy education.

Practical Measures, Routines and Representations for Improving Instruction (PMR2) is developing tools to support practitioners to engage in frequent, systematic, disciplined inquiry about instructional improvement in mathematics.

The BECA project will build the number of dual language teachers in Western Washington by providing a model program for them based in the UW College of Education.

The Robinson Center is a site for research, teaching and discovery of best practice in supporting advanced and accelerated learners.

The overarching mission of the School Mental Health Assessment, Research, and Training (SMART) Center is to promote high-quality, culturally-responsive programs, practices, and policies to meet the full range of social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) needs of students in both general and special education contexts.

The Sisterhood Initiative (SI) provides the opportunity for undergraduates who identify as women of color at UW to come together as a community of scholars. Through first and second year seminar classes, individualized support and advising, and workshops that center personal, academic, and career development, we create a community that promotes success in being your authentic self.

We collaborate with two school districts to provide learning opportunities for adults at all levels of the system for instructional improvement.

In service of communities experiencing structural inequity in education, we join together to exchange knowledge and co-design justice-centered strategies that improve educational systems and create better futures for children and youth.