Research Labs

Dr. Bill Muirhead and Dr. Lorayne Roberston are the directors of the Collaboratory for Policy and Leadership Lab.

Overview

We chose a collaboratory because the Centre for Educational Leadership and Policy employs a model of working with universities, school districts, and other research sites called research as co-learning.  In co-learning research, all of the participants involved in the research project have a voice in all aspects of the research. 

Why a Collaboratory Now?

Over the past year, we have seen challenges emerge that were unforeseen before the global pandemic. Our response to the pandemic has been driven by both policy decisions involving all aspects of educational context and leadership by those leading our individual and collective reactions to the challenges all educators are facing. A collaboratory is an effort to bring a collective effort to examining and undertaking research that informs educational contexts across the globe.

Research

Click here for the most recent research (Publications, Chapters and Graduate Students)

The Educational Informatics Laboratory (EILab), led by Dr. Roland van Oostveen,  is used by a group of researchers who share a social-constructivist vision of education. These like-minded researchers from a number of the university's faculties consider that with the adoption and use of digital technologies across all sectors of society and in most parts of the world, the representation, generation and dissemination of information—and the concept of knowledge—is changing.

The rapid evolution of digital technology and the information revolution have a significant impact on the need for continuing education across disciplines. At the EILab, researchers are working on a series of projects regarding the concept of informatics as applied to disciplines in the context of lifelong learning, including:

• education
• health
• sciences

One common element is the various projects in the study of human-computer-human interaction in different forms of online learning. They share an objective to develop research initiatives in:

• computer-mediated communications
• e-learning
• m-learning (mobile learning)

We share a vision that moves education from content-centred, teacher-driven designs to process-centred, learner-driven approaches to building new theories, practices, structures and processes of knowledge creation, preservation and transmission.

Dr. Robyn Ruttenberg- Rozen leads the Ideas Lab The team includes:

• Dr. Tapo Chimbganda
• Dr. Rob Elkington
• Dr. Marc Husband
• Dr. Ami Mamolo
• Dr. Helen Thouless

This lab brings together a community of scholars researching innovative practices and strategies in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) as well as exploring access and equity both in and out of digital spaces.

Current projects include

• Leveraging the digital economy to support women of colour in postsecondary STEAM education
• Technology and task design
• Emerging issues in higher education leadership

The Mental Health in the Digital Age Lab is a research hub that explores how technology is impacting human development and well-being across the lifespan. Research and community-based projects focus on research to practice ideas for optimum well-being and learning.

The lab is led by Dr. Jennifer Laffier, an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education, and a registered creative arts therapist and psychotherapist with over 25 years of experience in the mental health field.  

The PHE WISE Digital Culture Lab, lead by Dr. Wendy Barber,  is comprised of researchers, teachers, clinical psychologists, coaches and leaders who advocate for Physical Health Education and Sport in Canada.  The goal of this lab is to situate Physical and Health Education in evolving Digital Culture; to develop a place where educators and sport leaders can leverage technology to build a culture of healthy movers, healthy communities and a Healthier Canada.

We aim to promote resilience, wellness, and a healthy lifestyle, using digital technology to facilitate sustainable and meaningful PHE programs.  Our lab is home to a group of creative and motivated thinkers who push the boundaries and implement engaging digital lessons that encourage students, teachers and parents to get active.

The NET Lab - Networks for Educational Transformation - is a research group led by Dr. Joelle Rodway that seeks to understand educational change and leadership by focusing on the interconnections between policy, practice, people, and place. 

Descriptors: social capital; relational space; social network analysis; professional learning; knowledge mobilization; educational change; leadership; policy. 

Recent NET Lab projects

Research program

Leaders intuitively understand how relationships contribute to positive learning, productive work environments, and success. Yet, when asked directly about the social spaces in relation to their work, many education leaders struggle to articulate how they cultivate and attend to the social infrastructure within their organizations. This disconnect is not surprising given research suggests that although social relations are widely accepted as an important part of organizations, they remain undervalued in discussions of leadership. 

Social network research focuses on how social capital (e.g., advice, information, social support) is exchanged through social interactions and makes it abundantly clear that relational patterns have direct implications on numerous aspects of leadership and educational change. Until recently, social networks have been the focus of little attention in education research. 

Research in the NET Lab is all about social networks and how they contribute -- positively and/or negatively -- to change efforts in education contexts. 

Current projects

Decolonizing Professional Learning

Objective(s): To develop a national educational change network that shares how local/regional/provincial programs of research work with equity-deserving groups to develop relational pedagogies and accountability, and to reconstitute professional learning as a collaborative and transformative practice. 

Co-led with Dr. Leyton Schnellert (UBC), Dr. Nicholas Ng-a-Fook (University of Ottawa)

The Role of Social Capital in School Improvement (A Scoping Review of Academic Literature) 

Objective(s): To understand how social capital theory has been taken up in academic research focused on leadership and system improvement, and what we have learned from this body of work. 

Learning & Leading: How School System Administrators Position Themselves as Learners in their Organizations

Objective(s): To explore how senior school administrators (i.e., directors and superintendents) cultivate personal learning networks to support their professional learning goals and leadership practice. 

Interested in joining the team, or looking for more information? Contact Dr. Rodway at joelle.rodway@ontariotechu.ca 

Dr. Jia Li is the director and primary investigator of the Technology Advances for Language, Literacy, and Learning (TALLL) Lab. The TALLL team is comprised of faculty, graduate students, and educators who specialize in language learning, data-driven language and literacy interventions, educational technologies, instructional design, and more. 

Overview

The TALLL Lab aims to better understand English language learners' (ELLs) cognitive process of vocabulary acquisition, and to develop data-driven and technology-supported interventions for ELLs in secondary and post-secondary education. Entrance into high school and university are two of the most critical academic transitions for ELLs, where many experience low grade achievement, failed or incomplete courses, and academic probation. A major contributing factor to these academic challenges faced by ELLs is limited vocabulary knowledge. However, this generation of students is heavily immersed in technology and social media, creating numerous opportunities for innovative language acquisition support. 

Primary objectives of the TALLL Lab include: 

1. Investigating high school and undergraduate ELLs’ vocabulary knowledge through profiling the size, depth, and types of their vocabulary knowledge using an innovative vocabulary assessment measure.
2. Examining the effectiveness of a vocabulary intervention using integrative technologies and social networking media which are pervasive and prevalent in the students’ lives.
3. Exploring the correlation between vocabulary knowledge, reading skills, and academic performance for the two vulnerable student groups.

Research

Recent TALLL Lab projects have included: 

• Digital Technology-Based Intervention Studies for Indigenous Youth in Remote or Fly-In First Nations Communities (2018 - 2023)
• Digital Technology-Based Intervention Studies for University Students and English Language Learners (2021-2022)

Please visit the TALLL website for more information.