Research at UCLA Lab School is overseen by CONNECT, our onsite research partner. CONNECT is led by UCLA Education Professor Megan Franke, Associate Director Nicole Mancevice, Assistant Director Sandra Smith, and Research Associate Christine Lee. As a central part of UCLA Lab School, CONNECT stimulates research and encourages exchange of ideas among scholars and practitioners interested in child development and school reform.
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Supporting Early Literacy
UCLA Lab School is working with Dr. Laura Rhinehart and Dr. Maryanne Wolf, who are collaborating with demonstration teachers to co-design a series of reading interventions to support young students’ early literacy. This three-year longitudinal study began in 2020 with ECII students and is now following these students in Primary. All Primary students in both the English and Dual Language programs are participating. The Lab School regularly uses assessments to help identify and support students who are at-risk of reading challenges and/or dyslexia in early grades in order to prevent them from falling behind in reading. As a result, students receive targeted interventions to support their development. This research project will be using data from these classroom practices to assess the impacts of various interventions on students.
Developing Energy Stewards
Upper classes joined in the “Dial Down Challenge”. The goal is to determine if young students can be energy stewards in the home. Professor Magali Delmas, of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and Anderson School of Management, and her team are conducting this project in collaboration with UCLA Lab School teaching staff. Upper I and Upper II students and their families are learning about energy efficiency and how to work together to implement simple and no-cost changes to lower their utility bills. In addition to classroom discussions and check-ins, students and their families are working collaboratively at home around energy saving strategies. Every week focuses on a different aspect of energy consumption, so families can explore, learn, and collaborate in fun activities.
Teacher Education Blogs
The CONNECT team worked closely with UCLA Lab School teachers to launch a series of blogs capturing the innovative teaching that took place at the Lab School during remote teaching and learning in March 2020 to March 2021. In addition to documenting the creative forms of remote instruction during the pandemic, teachers shared stories on playful learning, inquiry, literacy, and mathematics. Visit the CONNECT website to read more about how researchers and teachers shared their learning with the broader education community. UCLA Connect Teacher Educator Blog
Practitioner Briefs
Teachers at UCLA Lab School initiated an action research project to investigate the practice of pedagogical documentation by students and teachers as part of inquiry instruction. The multi-year teacher action research project involved 14 teachers from across the school. In 2020–2021, the action research team authored a practitioner brief to summarize what Lab School teachers learned from their research on the use of pedagogical documentation to support student learning and instructional planning. The team wrote the practitioner brief so that educators in other schools could consider possible implications for using pedagogical documentation to promote active learning and reflection in their classroom communities. UCLA Connect Practitioner Briefs
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For More Info
For more information about these projects, contact Assistant Director of Research Sandra Smith Email Sandra Smith
Current Research
To learn more about current research at UCLA Lab School, visit the CONNECT website. UCLA Connect