Projects

The Simple Interactions Tool has been used in professional development settings to support the ways in which we understand simple, human moments between individuals or groups of individuals.
How do we uplift and “notice” the moments that matter in the research context?

Learn more here.

The Early Relational Health project spans our two-year effort, which has resulted so far in two research and action papers that help define the concept for the field. A Review of the Science, Program, and Concept of Early Relational Health and A Synthesis of Principles in Action.

In collaboration with the EASEL Lab and our colleagues Dr. Stephanie Jones and Gretchen Brion-Meisels, we are working with the Children’s Aid College Prep Charter School (https://www.cacpcs.org/) in the Bronx neighborhood of New York City. We re-imagine what social-emotional learning looks like in the everyday lives and experiences of teachers and students.

How do we create equitable and enriched early learning opportunities in low-resource, rural communities?
We need teachers – preferably teachers who are from those communities. But how do we support these teachers’ development both pre-service and in-service? These questions lie at the heart of this project, initiated by our colleagues Dr. Si Chen and Dr. Catherine Snow.

This project is inspired by the educators that Dr. Junlei Li and Dr. Si Chen met while conducting workshops and presentations in China. Teachers wanted “theories” that supported their work, rather than “theories” that are so academic that they seem detached from everyday life. The name “Last Mile” (最后一公里）conveys the idea that we need to push our theories and training to that last mile so that it can actually meet teachers where they are.