Edtogether

Programs: The organization has three primary areas of work, all focused on harnessing the power of emotion in learning:1) research and evaluation to better understand the role of emotion in learning and the emotional experiences of youth with disabilities. 2) evidence-based innovation to harness the power of emotion in learning and transform education. 3) co-design with youth to personalize learning, foster empathy, and strengthen relationships between students and educators. The 3 projects the organization is currently working on are:developing guidelines for designing challenging and rewarding interactive science exhibits-in this national science foundation funded 3-year research in service to practice project, we are working together with the boston museum of science to investigate how the design of informal science learning (isl) environments can support visitors to engage in "productive struggle" - richly challenging and impactful learning experiences. Through an iterative research process involving qualitative comparative analysis, design-based research, and descriptive quantitative analysis, we are working to systematically create (1) an empirically tested theoretical model for productive struggle in isl environments; (2) a refined set of 4 exhibits designed to elicit and support productive struggle, and (3) a refined and tested set of guidelines and strategies for eliciting and supporting productive struggle in isl environments. 2) game design studio-developed by edtogether and ithrive games, the goal of game design studio (gds) is to provide a safe, fun, and effective space for teens to deeply engage in social and emotional learning in personal and meaningful ways. As teens play, analyze and design games using stem competencies, they engage in self-exploration and become drivers of their own learning. The activities and learning arcs of gds are designed to elicit and support "hard fun", experiences where students are deeply engaged, moving through uncomfortable feelings to working through challenging ideas and conversations as they express their voice through a myriad of media. 3) the udl science notebook-funded by the office of special education programs and the institute of education sciences, this project is focused on the development, scaling and research of a universally designed for learning science notebook. We are working with cast to create a suite of collaborative tools that support elementary school students to make sense of their science experiences through discourse and writing.