Research Projects

Playful learning landscapes in Santa Ana, CA: With my collaborators at the University of California, Irvine, we are implementing playful learning landscapes in a predominately Spanish-speaking community in Santa Ana, CA. Using community-based participatory design and participatory action research practices, we co-created a series of playful installations with families that will be installed in several community spaces (parks, bus stops, and a grocery store) later this year. We are collecting observational and survey data to understand how the activities impact caregiver-child interactions and caregiver perceptions about play and learning.

Playful learning landscapes in early childcare: I am implementing and evaluating the impact of Playful Learning Landscapes in early childcare. Activities were co-designed with educators and community members. We are investigating how the activities impact learning and classroom quality using individual student assessments, naturalistic observations, and teacher surveys.

Perceptions of Storytime. We are investigating how interactions interrupted by technology (technoference) impact preschool-aged children’s selective trust and learning. Findings will provide initial evidence regarding the impact of technology use during contingent social interactions.