Educational Research
After many years of being interested in research as a practitioner, I was thrilled to be able to become part of Project Zero (PZ) research center in 2016. Project Zero’s work has inspired me in my own practice and learning since I first became aware of it during my time at the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Arts in Education Ed.M. program. Its approach to doing research in thoughtful, participatory, and design-based ways appealed to me as someone coming from a background in working in arts education and non-profit organizations for many years. During my time at PZ, I have had the privilege to work on teams exploring maker-centered learning, inquiry-based learning, and school-based innovation. I’ve included links to these projects below!
Since moving back to my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA) in 2022, I’ve continued work with Project Zero and have also been fortunate enough to put my research skills to use with some incredible professional groups and non-profit organizations here. Most recently, I’ve been keeping up connections with the Agency by Design Pittsburgh Learning Community, and also engaging in an extensive collaboration with Hatch Pittsburgh’s Partners in Play program. This incredible equity-focused organization seeks to ensure that meaningful, research-backed play approaches are accessible to all children. I love working with them because they put an emphasis both on high-quality play experiences and on supporting educators in this work. They are a true partner in the schools with which they work, and I feel very honored to be working with them to help crystallize and communicate the importance of the work they do in public schools, and the research background behind it.