Class Links
Lead Faculty: Tashia Abry, Laura Hanish, Richard Fabes, Carol Martin
Program Managers: Shawn Kirkilewski-Flora and Liz Tollis
Class Links is an innovative, evidence-informed classroom resource designed by a team of teachers and researchers specifically for middle-school students. Class Links aims to promote positive connections among students through quick and experiential teacher-facilitated activities. Class Links activities are designed to support teachers in creating classroom communities that are safe and engaging for all students, and to foster communication, respect, empathy, critical thinking, problem-solving, and friendships in the classroom. We are currently conducting a small-scale evaluation of Class Links in approximately 30 Phoenix-area classrooms.
Creating Connected Classrooms
Lead Faculty: Manuela Jimenez, Michelle Taylor, Laura Hanish, Richard Fabes, Carol Martin
Creating Connected Classrooms is a professional development program currently in development for teachers in grades K-3. It is focused on supporting teachers' efforts to create connected classrooms in which children feel connected to their teachers and peers and spend more time actively engaged in learning. Creating Connected Classrooms is designed to build on and expand teachers' existing knowledge and practices related to the impact of positive peer relationships on learning and child well-being and approaches to creating a connected classroom.
Squeeze: Squeezing Interactive Learning Opportunities into Everyday Moments
Lead Faculty: Megan Pratt, Richard Fabes, Carol Martin, Laura Hanish
Program Managers: Shawn Kirkilewski-Flora and Liz Tollis
Squeeze is a set of activity cards designed to encourage positive interactions between preschoolers and their parents. Activities are designed for moments throughout the day when parents and children have a few minutes to spare, such as waiting at the doctor's office, eating at a restaurant, or playing at home. Squeeze activities promote playful interactions, while also promoting self-regulation skills important for school readiness, such as resisting impulses, paying attention, and remembering instructions. This program is currently in development.
Transgender Education Program
Lead Faculty: Carol Martin, Tashia Abry, Richard Fabes, Laura Hanish
Program Director: Cammy Bellis
Program Managers: Shawn Kirkilewski-Flora and Liz Tollis
The Transgender Education Program is a newly developed professional learning opportunity for K-12 teachers and staff that focuses on the social, emotional and educational needs of transgender students. The Transgender Education Program is designed to provide staff with the knowledge and understanding they need to help transgender students be successful in school, and to promote affirming schools where all students learn and thrive.