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/STEM/SEL instruction, and the relationships between practitioners’ beliefs and practices.

Objectives

Use research-based strategies in educational settings within programs and interventions that improve practice patterns of educators and increase learning among children.
Strengthen pathways between research and practice in early childhood education through research-practice partnerships.
Develop innovative approaches to instruction across the curriculum that integrate all academic and developmental domains, with a particular focus on STEM, literacy, and social-emotional development

Opportunities for Student Involvement

Graduate Opportunities

Graduate Assistantship in the Implementation Science for Early Learning 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

CRRAFT Partnership – Culturally Relevant Robotics: A Family and Teacher Partnership for Computational Thinking in Early Childhood (PI: Frances Harper; NSF Award #2031394). http://crraft.org
Early Childhood Teachers’ Beliefs and Perceptions of Science Teaching: A Cross-Cultural Study with Early Childhood Pre/in-service Teachers in the U.S. and Spain.
Trauma-Informed Social Emotional Interventions: A Partnership with Rural Southeastern Pre-K Teachers
Identifying how ACEs Impact the ECE Workforce
Building Words, Making Meanings: Developing Multisyllabic Decoding and Encoding Skills for Upper Elementary Learners (PI: Zoi Traga Philippakos; AERDF – Reading Reimagined)

Projects Under Development

The Neurocognitive Dynamics of Learning and Executive Function (PI: Dr. Aaron, Buss, Department of Psychology; proposal under review)
Understanding and enhancing early childhood educators’ professional learning experiences (PI: Quinn; proposal under review)
Using Data to Promote Young Children’s Written Language Development (PI: Dr. Meaghan McKenna, UConn, proposal under review)