Curriculum Center and Reading Clinic

The Curriculum Center (CC) located in 5131 Wesley W. Posvar Hall serves as an education support facility within the School of Education and its surrounding community. The Curriculum Center includes a library of curriculum and software materials, the Reading Clinic, a work area for students, and two computers for walk-in use. This facility was created to support the learning needs of students in the School of Education and educators in the schools. Through its Reading Clinic, the Curriculum Center provides services to those requesting diagnosis or instruction in the area of reading. In the Reading Clinic, university graduate students get first-hand experiences in assessment and instruction. Research that produces new knowledge about reading assessment and instruction is also conducted.

The Curriculum Center currently holds teachers manuals, students' texts, workbooks, activity books, reproducable materials, educational software, academic support materials, diagnostic testing and standardized testing materials for reading, and children's literature. Children's literature ranges from early reading materials to chapter books. In addition, the Reserve section of the Center holds certain curriculum and/or software materials put on reserve by faculty members in the Department of Instruction and Learning for their students to review. Currently all the textbooks in the Curriculum Center are organized by subject area, and then alphabetically by publishers.

Services Offered

The basic mission of the Curriculum Center is to provide access to a broad array of current and historical educational curriculum materials which students and faculty may review and evaluate, including materials used for instruction in area school districts.

Materials in the Curriculum Center are available for use by students, faculty, and staff. Most texts can be checked-out using a Pitt ID for a period of two weeks. Students from neighboring colleges and universities, as well as teachers and Pitt alumni are also welcome to use the Curriculum Center, but check-out of materials by these individuals in generally at the discretion of the Librarian or the Center Director.

Software materials are housed in file cases and patrons can be assisted by the Center's consultants to get access to them. Although software materials are in the CC database, generally speaking, none of them can be checked out without specific permission from the Director of the Center or the Librarian.

The Curriculum Center can also be used for either formal or informal discussions or small group discussions. Based on individual requests by faculty members, the Curriculum Center also offers orientation sessions on how to use this facilty to new students in the School of Education. Additionally, reserved class times are also available on request.

Through its Reading Clinic, the Curriculum Center also provides:

• Diagnostic Testing - Testing, interpretation of results, and a written report are done by a certified reading specialist for children who are experiencing difficulty with reading and writing.
• Clinical Reading Program - The Reading Clinic coordinates a clinical reading program during the spring and summer terms for school age children who need help with their reading and writing. Diagnostic testing occurs at the beginning and end of the program. During the twelve sessions, students receive instruction in a one-on-one or small group setting. Instructors are certified teachers completing the required practicum experience for reading specialist certificate; these teachers are supervised by University instructors.
• Tutor Recommendations - The Reading Clinic offers a list of tutors to families and organizations that would benefit from private tutoring. Arrangements for time, place, and price are arranged between the family/organization and tutor.

For more teacher resources, teaching strategies, and lesson plans, please visit our Literacy Educators Assessing and Developing Early Reading Success (LEADERS) site.

Hours

How to Contact Us

For more information about the Curriculum Center or to schedule use of the Center outside of the official center hours, or to request orientations, etc., please contact Annamore M. Matambanadzo at ammst101@pitt.edu or call 412-648-7350.

For more information about the Reading Clinic and its testing/tutoring programs, please call 412-648-7298.