As Iowa schools develop and implement policies governing student cell phone use, the Hub is examining what those policies look like across the state and what we can learn from their implementation.

The project is documenting and analyzing different policy approaches and connecting those approaches with available school and district data, including measures such as student attendance, office referrals, and demographic characteristics. The goal is to move beyond the question of whether schools have cell phone policies and begin understanding how different approaches may relate to student engagement, behavior, attendance, and the broader learning environment.

This work has the potential to provide Iowa educators and policymakers with practical evidence as they make decisions about an issue affecting schools across the state.

Faculty partners Dr. Kay Ramey and Dr. Darrel Currington are working with elementary schools to create STEAM learning experiences that connect academic content with authentic service-learning opportunities.

Rather than treating science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics as isolated subjects, this work engages students in meaningful problems and projects that allow them to apply their learning within their schools and communities. The approach creates opportunities for deeper learning while strengthening collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, and civic engagement.

The UI Education Innovation Hub is partnering with the Iowa City Community School District to examine how educational data can be organized, integrated, and accessed more effectively.

Schools collect tremendous amounts of information, but having more data does not necessarily lead to better decisions. This project focuses on streamlining data structures and processes so that educators and leaders can more efficiently move from information to insight.

The goal is to strengthen both macro-level decision-making, such as identifying districtwide patterns and allocating resources, and micro-level decision-making, such as understanding what is happening within a particular school, classroom, program, or student population.

Ultimately, the project asks a practical question: How can we make the data schools already have more useful to the people making decisions?

Teachers rely on their voices as one of their most important professional tools, yet the vocal demands of teaching can contribute to significant strain and voice-related health concerns.

The Hub is partnering with Dr. Eric Hunter on research focused on teacher vocal health and the development of strategies that can better protect and support educators. This interdisciplinary collaboration has included development of a National Institutes of Health grant proposal to expand the research and its potential impact.

The project reflects a broader Research for Service commitment to educator well-being by examining an often-overlooked occupational issue that can affect educators' health, effectiveness, and ability to remain in the profession.

Research for Service extends beyond traditional PK-12 settings when educational expertise can strengthen communities.

The Hub is partnering with the First Responder Center for Excellence on the Rural Firefighter Readiness and Resilience initiative. College of Education expertise has supported the development of learning modules designed to strengthen training, readiness, and resilience among rural firefighters.

The partnership has also resulted in the submission of a FEMA grant proposal designed to expand and deepen this work.

This project illustrates an important dimension of the Hub's mission: educational research, learning design, and professional development expertise can improve not only schools, but also the organizations and systems that sustain healthy, resilient communities.