On Tuesday, April 2, 2024, the Education Collaboratory at the Yale Child Study Center (YCSC) hosted a first of its kind "Spring Education Mini-Conference" as a lead-up to the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) and American Education Research Association (AERA) conferences, fast approaching on April 8-11 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. YCSC Associate Professor Christina Cipriano organized the hybrid meeting of the lab's collaborators from across the nation, all whom are scheduled to present their work later this month.
The only thing ‘mini’ about this meeting was the length of the presentations. The Collaboratory's inaugural meeting provided a suite of insights, discussions, and shared experiences, underscoring the critical importance of social and emotional learning (SEL) in contemporary education. With a focus on inclusivity, measurement, and community-rooted approaches, the sessions illuminated key facets shaping the landscape of educational research and practice.
Promoting inclusive mindsets and practices was a foundational theme, echoing the imperative to learn from and center the experiences of those directly impacted by educational interventions—students with disabilities, their teachers, and district leaders alike. Discussions delved into the nuances of frameworks and operational definitions, emphasizing the need for precision in defining inclusion. However, it was noted that existing frameworks often falter in accounting for external factors, highlighting the ongoing need for context-sensitive approaches. Presentations by Dr. Christina Cipriano and Michael McCarthy from Yale University, Natasha Raisch, Rebecca Bailey, Katherine Brush, Sonya Temko and Stephanie Jones from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlictmann and Amanda Cook from EdTogether, Inc illuminated these mindsets and practices in the field. Check out their session on Saturday April 13 at 9:35am.
Chris and her team invited me to present a snapshot of work that I'll be presenting at AERA, and it was a gift to be able to practice with the other presenters pre-AERA and get a sneak peek at the other papers in my session—I feel like I have a better understanding of the ways our work fits together, and it's made me even more excited to continue to learn from each other at the conference and beyond.
Natasha Raisch, Harvard University
Drawing attention to the significance of context, speakers underscored the importance of understanding the unique experiences within specific settings. This emphasis on contextualization resonated strongly with the call to honor student perceptions of their abilities and experiences, recognizing the profound influence of environmental factors on learning outcomes. Michael McCarthy from the Education Collaboratory discusses this in detail in his presentation titled 'Including the Family Context in SEL Design and Implementation: Families of Children with Intellectual Disabilities'. Join him on Saturday, April 13 at 9:35 am to learn more.
Furthermore, the imperative for explicit instruction in SEL was highlighted as essential for continued accessibility. While acknowledging the strides made in this regard, concerns were raised about the persistence of implicit approaches and the aspiration gap between ideal practices and current methodologies. More can be learned from Dr. Almut Zieher’s session at AERA on the Pedagogies of SEL, which features the science underscoring the lab’s federally funded observation checklist for elementary schools. Join her Thursday, April 11, at 10:05 am to learn more.
Following and engaging communities emerged as a guiding principle from these sessions, emphasizing the need for holistic and equitable measurement and assessment of SEL programs. Participants stressed the importance of balancing evidence-based strategies with adaptations tailored to local contexts, thereby bridging the gap between research and practice. Dr. Ila Deshmukh Towery of Education First led a beautiful discussion of these complex concepts, supported by Laura Hamilton of the American Institutes for Research (AIR), Sasha Rabkin of Equal Opportunity Schools, and Chris Cipriano in a presentation named 'Rooted in Community: Equitable Design and Practice in Assessment'. You can learn more at their panel at NCME on Saturday, April 13 at 3:05 PM.
The meeting also featured selections from 'Contemporary Approaches to Evaluating SEL Programs'. Drs. Melissa Lucas and Cheyeon Ha from Yale University shared this work, including a newly published meta-analysis of the effectiveness of SEL in US contexts, as well as a forthcoming review that disentangles the evidence for multilingual learners. You can learn more about this work at their session on Sunday, April 14, at 3:05pm.
Addressing methodological considerations, speakers underscored the importance of collaboration and preregistration in research, particularly in evidence synthesis work. Discussions around equal opportunity versus equal outcomes highlighted the complexities inherent in educational assessment, urging a nuanced approach that considers both in-school and out-of-school contributors to student success. More on this topic can be gleaned from presentations by Drs. Christina Cipriano and Michael Strambler from Yale University, and Drs. Sarah Peko-Spicer, and Joshua R. Polanin from the American Institutes for Research in their session on Friday, April 12 and 11:25am.
In leveraging SEL assessment data, the imperative to integrate teachers and students into research was emphasized to foster practical application. Additionally, the need to create resources that recognize and support educators in their SEL efforts was highlighted as integral to sustaining effective interventions. Presentations by Dr. troya ellis from Trajectory of Hope, and Ania-Lisa Etienne from Urban Assembly, both of which are the Collaboratory’s community partners in a large-scale research-practice partnership, Project Flourish, outlined these concepts in depth.
As the Education Collaboratory gears up for the upcoming NCME and AERA conferences in Philadelphia, the insights gleaned from the mini-conference serve as a testament to the collective commitment towards advancing equitable and inclusive science and practice in social and emotional learning. With a renewed focus on inclusivity, measurement, and community collaboration, the Collaboratory remains steadfast and unapologetic in its pursuit of equity and inclusion in social and emotional learning research and practice. Please find the schedule of sessions that will be presented out of our lab at these conferences here.