Partnerships with schools, educators, families, and community organizations are central to LRDC’s mission of advancing the science of learning and improving educational opportunities. Grounded in more than 60 years of research in the learning sciences, our work brings researchers and practitioners together to identify pressing challenges, co-design innovative approaches, and study how to improve teaching and learning in real-world settings. These collaborations span early childhood through adulthood and encompass curriculum and instructional design, teacher professional learning, educational technology, and efforts to strengthen learning opportunities in schools and communities. Through sustained partnerships, researchers investigate not only whether new approaches are effective, but also how they can be adapted, implemented, and sustained across diverse educational contexts. By bringing scientific knowledge into conversation with the expertise and lived experiences of practitioners and communities, LRDC seeks to generate new insights into learning while expanding access to high-quality educational opportunities for all.
Training the next generation of scholars is also integral to this work. Graduate and undergraduate students have opportunities to engage in collaborative, community-partnered research that bridges fundamental scientific inquiry and educational practice. Below, we highlight key research themes and laboratories advancing work in these areas:
Integration of cutting-edge research with real-world classroom practice in districts and schools that empower K-12 educators to elevate instruction
- Institute for Learning (IFL), Anthony Petrosky and Angela Allie (Directors)
Opportunities for undergraduate students at Pitt to develop research skills in the learning sciences
- Science of Learning transcript distinction, Lindsay Clare Matsumura and Frits Pil (PIs)
Professional development system designed to promote student achievement by coaching ELA teachers to use a set of practices of lesson design and reflection to plan, enact, and reflect on rigorous standards-based lessons
- Online Content Focused Coaching, Lindsay Clare Matsumura and Richard Correnti (co-PIs)
In-service teacher training to expand their current pedagogical practices in science
- Transforming Science Education, Cassie Quigley (PI)
Initiative designed to advance achievement for all students by implementing and evaluating school-based relational climate and restorative program programs
- The Just Discipline Project, Jay Huguley (PI)
Co-design, test, and share teaching practices that respond to challenges exacerbated by generative AI (GenAI)
- Regional Innovation Network (RIN), Jennifer Iriti (PI)
Improvement science approaches to support improved decision-making by educational leaders, practitioners, and policy makers
- Evaluation for Learning Group, Jennifer Iriti (PI)
Primary coordinating vehicle for Action Research at Pitt—connecting interventions, building shared measurement, and ensuring that learning accumulates across efforts not just individual projects
- Student Success Action Research Partnership, Leo Schumann (PI)
Evaluation of the Pittsburgh Promise – a college scholarship program for city residents.
- The Pittsburgh Promise, Jennifer Iriti (PI), with Danielle Lowry and Brook English
Video series that features the importance of research for improving classroom learning environments
- Research to Practice: The LRDC Learning Sciences Video Series, Elizabeth Rangel (PI)
Researchers Associated with this Area
Richard Correnti
Sara DeMartino
Joseph Dostilio
Jennifer Iriti
Lindsay Clare Matsumura
Anthony Petrosky
Frits Pil
Cassie Quigley
Elizabeth Rangel
Filipe Recch
Leo Schumann