Projects

At UB, our research is designed to make a measurable impact on the communities we serve, whether we’re helping to improve math skills for girls right here in Buffalo, or addressing achievement gaps nationwide. We invite you to learn more about the current research projects within the Graduate School of Education.

Active Projects

  • Learning Sciences Initiative
    12/8/23
    Focused on integrative learning sciences scholarship, the initiative will assemble a group of prominent faculty in the disciplines of learning sciences, human-computer partnerships, cognitive science and psychology, design, and learning environments.
  • Teacher Residency Program
    11/30/23
    The UB Teacher Residency is a 16-month, paid residency program that has been designed to prepare effective, learner-ready teachers for public schools in Buffalo and Western New York. During the residency, students will co-teach alongside a mentor teacher for an entire school year. With asynchronous coursework starting in the summer, students can now be considered for our grant-funded programs that are in partnership with four local school districts: Buffalo Public School District, Sweet Home Central School District, Amherst Central School District and Kenmore-Tonawanda School District.
  • Youth Alliance for Education
    2/6/24
    It is easy to feel powerless as a young person today. We are in the middle of a global pandemic which we can’t control. There was a presidential election, but you couldn’t vote. Nationwide protests about racism and inequality are held and you can’t attend. Inequality exists in your classrooms and in your schools and you are frustrated. While you may be young, your voice matters and you deserve to be heard. You are not powerless.
  • Mandarin Language & Chinese Culture Immersion Project
    4/2/24
    The purpose of this project is to contribute to the development and improvement of the study of modern foreign languages and area studies in the U.S. by providing opportunities for teachers, students and faculty to study in a foreign country to increase the Mandarin language capacity and culture knowledge of the participants. The project will implement a research-based integrated culture content and language immersion model. A research study will be integrated in the evaluation plan to determine the participants’ Mandarin language gains, increases in pre- and post-knowledge of Chinese culture and their perceptions of it, as well as professional transformative changes.
  • Faculty in Residence
    3/12/24
    This initiative places GSE faculty members inside a Western New York school, where they spend their time working directly with administrators, teachers and students. Schools benefit by gaining direct access to an experienced professional who can help address some pressing needs. Our faculty receive hands-on, practical experience that further enhances their ability to teach, conduct groundbreaking research, and publish their work in journals and textbooks.

Past Projects

  • Anatomy of Achievement Gaps
    1/22/24
    This project started with the premise that public education is central to solving many national and global challenges and that scientific research should inform educational policy decisions. Rapid social changes induced by a knowledge-based economy, globalization, immigration and technological advances make many of the current school reform efforts outdated and ineffective to meet tomorrow’s societal needs.
  • Mixed Methods Working Group
    1/4/23
    Over the past decade, research universities and funding agencies have vigorously encouraged research that works towards solving pressing and large-scale problems related to education in an increasingly diverse and unequal society. It is widely accepted that such research often demands broad-based research teams that are multi-disciplinary and employ a range of research methods from the social sciences. Constructing and actualizing such broad-based teams both within and across universities increasingly demands that scholars leverage institutional support to pursue external federal, state and/or private foundation funding and work across disciplinary and methodological boundaries to accomplish their goals.

Our Research in the News

  • Enhancing the music abilities of children
    8/14/18
    Musical sounds surround a child, even before the moment of birth. Whether a child is listening to music, singing a song or moving creatively to the sounds around them, music is a vital part of a child's life. “Young children often create music as a part of their play experiences, thus sustaining imagination and creativity,” said Maria Runfola, professor in the Department of Learning and Instruction and the director of the GSE MusicPlay project.
  • Using VR to treat PTSD and anxiety disorder
    7/24/18
    Before Richard Lamb was a teacher, he was a soldier. In addition to spending eight months in Bosnia, Lamb served in Afghanistan for over a year, beginning September 22, 2001.
  • Helping dads become better parents to their children with ADHD
    7/17/18
    The belief that parents can shape positive behavior and experiences in their children, including those with behavioral challenges such as ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), is well known. Traditional positive parenting programs have typically been used for mothers, creating a need for a program that would lend itself more to fathers.
  • Finding the correct college fit for disadvantaged students
    7/10/18
    The college application process is complicated, including how high school students obtain and use information to narrow down their college choices. This selection process can be especially challenging for students at racially and socioeconomically diverse high schools, who may be influenced by the marketing techniques of less and noncompetitive schools that at times come with high price tags.
  • Effective teaching through technology
    7/3/18
    The Graduate School of Education is participating in a program called TeachLivE that uses a simulated teaching environment to assist in the preparation of student teachers. The simulated environment is one tool that allows student teachers the opportunity to learn teaching skills and craft their practice without placing “real” students at risk during the learning process.
  • Improving the English language skills of international students
    6/26/18
    Enhancing language support and reducing impediments caused by language are among priorities at UB to promote international student inclusion and engagement, and enable students to achieve their educational and social goals.
  • Graduating on time less likely for undermatched college students
    6/19/18
    The concept of “undermatching” refers to high-performing students, often from economically-disadvantaged households, who attend less competitive colleges that do not match the students’ high qualifications. A current research study now suggests that undermatching correlates with delayed graduation.
  • Childhood learning the focus of Project Play
    6/12/18
    To bridge the communities of early childhood researchers, pre-service teachers and toy industry experts, X. Christine Wang and Corinne Eggleston, director and associate director of ECRC have been working in close collaboration with colleagues at the Fisher-Price Play Lab to design Project Play.
  • GSE addresses the impact of summer on literacy skills
    6/5/18
    The Center for Literacy and Reading Instruction (CLaRI) at UB is a reading center that has provided reading services in Western New York since 1963. The center is a community resource for the assessment of children’s literacy development and individualized reading instruction, as well as a site for conducting literacy research.
  • Improving literacy learning in middle school through response to intervention
    5/29/18
    Lynn Shanahan, associate professor from the Department of Learning and Instruction is partnering with Enterprise Charter School and the Amherst Central School District Middle School to assist in the development of a middle school response to intervention system for literacy learning. This collaboration is part of the UB Graduate School of Education Faculty in Residence Program.
Our Faculty's Research Interests

------------------------

Which faculty members are doing the type of research that interests you?

> View our faculty directory

Research Centers, Institutes and Labs

At UB, you’ll find dedicated facilities and programs for a variety of interests. 

Student Research Symposium

The annual research symposium gives students an opportunity to explore their passion for research while strengthening their presentation skills.

Ongoing Projects and Programs

  • Anatomy of Achievement Gaps
    1/22/24
    This project started with the premise that public education is central to solving many national and global challenges and that scientific research should inform educational policy decisions. Rapid social changes induced by a knowledge-based economy, globalization, immigration and technological advances make many of the current school reform efforts outdated and ineffective to meet tomorrow’s societal needs.
  • Mandarin Language & Chinese Culture Immersion Project
    4/2/24
    The purpose of this project is to contribute to the development and improvement of the study of modern foreign languages and area studies in the U.S. by providing opportunities for teachers, students and faculty to study in a foreign country to increase the Mandarin language capacity and culture knowledge of the participants. The project will implement a research-based integrated culture content and language immersion model. A research study will be integrated in the evaluation plan to determine the participants’ Mandarin language gains, increases in pre- and post-knowledge of Chinese culture and their perceptions of it, as well as professional transformative changes.
  • Mixed Methods Working Group
    1/4/23
    Over the past decade, research universities and funding agencies have vigorously encouraged research that works towards solving pressing and large-scale problems related to education in an increasingly diverse and unequal society. It is widely accepted that such research often demands broad-based research teams that are multi-disciplinary and employ a range of research methods from the social sciences. Constructing and actualizing such broad-based teams both within and across universities increasingly demands that scholars leverage institutional support to pursue external federal, state and/or private foundation funding and work across disciplinary and methodological boundaries to accomplish their goals.