Current Projects
Excellence in Character Education (ExCEL) Project
This study focuses on how students develop prosocial behaviors in EL Education school environments. Not only are students expected to develop mastery of knowledge and skills in EL Education schools, but there is also an equivalent expectation that students will develop character and engage in high quality work that helps create a better world. Read More
Compass Early-Stage Evaluation
Our UVA research team has partnered with Valor Collegiate Academies, a charter management organization (CMO) in Nashville, TN, and its R&D partner, Transcend, to provide early-stage evaluation support for Valor’s unique model of comprehensive human development, called Compass. Both faculty and scholars engage in this model by completing Badge Work (a curriculum of activities designed to foster growth in the different disciplines of the Compass) and participating in the practice of Circle. Read More
RULER Research Study
The RULER Research Study is a research study examining the efficacy of the RULER program in elementary school grades (K-6). The RULER program teaches emotional intelligence skills by providing instruction in Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulating emotion. Read More
Past Projects
Connect Science
Connect Science is a project-based learning program involving professional development, coaching and a series of 30 lessons that takes teachers and students through a process of establishing classroom norms, teaching students essential social skills, and creating opportunities for students to tackle challenging concepts in science in ways that match the Next Generation Science Standards. Read More
Alleghany Highlands - UVA Collaborative Project
Our research team partners with the Alleghany Highlands community in an education reform initiative supported by the Alleghany Foundation. Through an extensive data collection effort in 2016, our team used surveys and interviews to understand the educational goals and needs of students and families. Read More
Engaging Students in Environmental Service Project
The Engaging Students in Environmental Service Project is an effort to integrate service-learning activities into environmental science instruction in the elementary and middle school years. The work follows from growing efforts in the last decade to enhance children’s social and emotional skills in schools. Read More
Mathematics Learning Study
The Mathematics Learning Study was a one-year study of fifth grade students designed to examine how teachers’ practices contribute to students’ engagement in mathematics instruction and students’ subsequent mathematics achievement. Read More
Responsive Classroom Efficacy Study
The Responsive Classroom Efficacy Study (RCES) was a randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of the Responsive Classroom® Approach. The Responsive Classroom® Approach, an intervention developed by the Center for Responsive Schools, is designed to integrate social and academic learning and improve the capacity of teachers to manage their classrooms effectively. Read More
Leading Together
This project was a two year study of an intervention, Leading Together. Leading Together is designed to enhance collaboration, listening, and mindfulness among the adults who work in schools—principals, teachers, specialists, and other staff. Read More
Early Learning Study
The Early Learning Study examined the ways in which teachers support children’s self-regulatory competencies in kindergarten and first grade classrooms. The research team gathered data from families and observed children in classrooms to understand the ways in which contact, communication, and relationships between teachers and children supported their ability to stay on task and engaged in learning. Read More
Social and Academic Learning Study
The Social and Academic Learning Study was a three year, quasi-experimental, longitudinal study examining the contribution of the Responsive Classroom Approach on teachers’ beliefs and attitudes as well as children’s social and academic outcomes. Read More
