Research

How can caterpillars help preschoolers develop coding skills and computational thinking? Fisher-Price and the Fisher-Price Endowed Early Childhood Research Center (ECRC) in the Graduate School of Education are working together to answer this question in preschool classrooms and children’s homes.

Sam Abramovich, assistant professor from the Department of Learning and Instruction and the Department of Library and Information Studies, in collaboration with the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, has been awarded a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to develop reliable and valid ways to measure the learning and associated benefits of Makerspaces in libraries.

The Graduate School of Education, in collaboration with Buffalo Public Schools, will launch the UB Teacher Residency Program in summer 2019. The program has three goals for the initial urban teaching cohort: (1) increase the number of learner-ready teachers in the city of Buffalo; (2) diversify the pool of teachers in the city of Buffalo; and (3) increase the number of teachers who stay in the teaching profession in Western New York urban schools. The UB Teacher Residency Program was launched with the support of a Cullen Foundation grant and has since been awarded additional funding through a federal Teacher Quality Partnership grant.

Claire Cameron, associate professor from the Department of Learning and Instruction, is partnering with the Community Action Organization of Western New York (CAO) to determine the existing school readiness assessment practices and supports across 32 CAO Head Start programs, which serve over 2,700 children in Erie and Niagara counties. The collaboration is part of the UB Graduate School of Education Faculty in Residence Program.

Ji-Won Son, associate professor from the Department of Learning and Instruction, is partnering with the Christian Central Academy in Williamsville to develop and implement a history-infused mathematics curriculum in K–12 classrooms and analyze the effects of the curriculum. The collaboration is part of the UB Graduate School of Education Faculty in Residence Program, and is funded by a National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 7–12 Classroom Research Grant.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.