Implementation Science for Early Learning Lab (ISELL)

Overview

The Implementation Science for Early Learning Lab (ISELL) was formed in August 2019 by Dr. Lori Caudle and Dr. Margaret Quinn. Our focus is to improve early childhood educational practices and child outcomes through engaged scholarship. Our work aims to develop pathways between scholarship and the daily experiences of children and early childhood practitioners.

Specific areas of interest include collaborative professional development that increases pedagogical content knowledge and related practices of pre/in-service teachers, innovative approaches to literacy instruction, and the relationships between practitioners’ beliefs and practices.

Objectives

Use research-based strategies in educational settings to integrate interventions with practitioners and children to change practice patterns and increase learning.
Develop innovative approaches to literacy instruction and integrate literacy across the curriculum.
Strengthen pathways between research and practice in early childhood education.

Opportunities for Student Involvement

Graduate Opportunities

Graduate Assistantship in the Implementation Science for Early Education Lab: Assist with ongoing research projects, including data collection in the field, data analysis and database management, and grant and manuscript preparation

Undergraduate Opportunities

Directed Studies (CFS 481): 3 credit hours
Research Practicum (CFS 490): 6 credits per semester for two semesters

Current Projects

Early childhood teachers’ beliefs and perceptions of science teaching: A cross-cultural study with pre/inservice teachers in the U.S. and Spain.
Examining teachers’ implementation of Read Right from the Start: Hearst Evaluation of the Cox Campus. Funded by the Hearst Foundation and the Atlanta Speech School.
Identifying individual factors associated with job-related burnout among the ECE workforce.
Investigating how a semi-structured peer feedback protocol informed preservice teachers’ implementation of project-based learning with young children.

Projects Under Development

Early childhood computer science community partnership: Designing and implementing curricula for teachers of marginalized student populations.
Examining the impacts of an online early writing professional learning platform: Mitigating barriers to implementation.
Implementing a cross-regional professional development framework with urban Head Start and rural pre-K teachers.
Pages and stages: Leveraging well child visits for early literacy development.