3C Institute
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
ID: ED-IES-15-C-0013
PI: ASHLEY CRAIG, KEVIN LEARY
TERM: 05/15 – 10/15
Substantial research supports the important relationship between emotional literacy and academic success. However, the current focus on standards-based education has made it difficult for educators to address social-emotional learning (SEL) without losing vital instructional time. Through this SBIR project, we will leverage 3C’s cutting-edge dynamic narrative generation, game, mobile, and web technologies to create a highly innovative and engaging SEL product for K-2nd grade students and educators that incorporates English Language Arts (ELA) standards. The proposed technology product, Emotion Explorer: Adventures in Emotional Literacy, will engage students in interactive storybooks that will enable educators to provide scaffolded and individualized student support in five core emotion literacy skills critical for social-emotional well-being and academic success. Emotion Explorer will be easily integrated into the classroom because each story is mapped to ELA standards and will be implemented through mobile- and web-based delivery. The Emotion Explorer software will be fully integrated with important educator tools, including an Online Implementation Center, where educators can access web-based implementation resources and support, and an Educator Dashboard where educators can track and document students’ progress and performance. This SBIR directly addresses IES’s priority of using technology to improve students’ social skills and behaviors that support academic outcomes.
Dr. Childress obtained her PhD in psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to coming to 3C Institute, she served as a research associate and a postdoctoral fellow in the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill working on a longitudinal imaging study aimed at identifying the early markers of autism through behavioral and imaging methodologies. She has 19 years of autism research experience, during which she has examined the behavioral, personality, and cognitive characteristics of individuals with autism and their family members. Dr. Childress also has experience developing behavioral and parent report measurement tools, coordinating multi-site research studies, and collecting data from children and families. She has taught courses and seminars in general child development, autism, and cognitive development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.