The Science of Learning and Development (SoLD) Measures and Methods across the Developmental Continuum (MMDC) project, funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, is exploring the individual (idiographic) components of developmental trajectories among Grade K-12 students. Researchers and practitioners alike must understand individual developmental pathways to maximize opportunities to enhance the lives of diverse groups of young people, especially children who have experienced trauma and adversity. This project focuses on three of the essential constructs of the Building Blocks for Learning (BBFL) model—Self-Regulation, Executive Function, and Relationship Skills—to better understand how youth-serving professionals can enhance educational and life successes for the young people they serve.
The ultimate goal of the SoLD MMDC project is to transform classroom and school practices and policies to include the identification of patterns within developmental pathways across the BBFL model. The new information about individual development that this project creates will enhance understanding of the personalized (idiographic) pathways that reflect holistic life successes (e.g., involving academic, personal, and social achievements) among diverse groups of youth.
Project Collaborators:
Juliette Berg, Ph.D.
Senior Researcher
American Institutes for Research
Email: jberg@air.org
Pamela Cantor, M.D.
SoLD Initiative Lead
Founder and Senior Science Advisor
Turnaround for Children
Email: PACantorMD@tfcusa.org
Sheila Ohlsson Walker, CFA, PhD
Senior Scientist
Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development
Visiting Professor, the Johns Hopkins School of Education
Email: sheila@walkers.us
Sarah Caverly, Ph.D.
Senior Researcher
American Institutes for Research
Email: scaverly@air.org
John Geldhof, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences
Human Development and Family Sciences
Oregon State University
Email: john.geldhof@oregonstate.edu
David Osher, Ph.D.
Vice President and AIR Institute Fellow
American Institutes for Research
Email: dosher@air.org
Christina Theokas, Ph.D.
Vice President, Organizational Learning and Impact
Turnaround for Children
Email: CTheokas@tfcusa.org