Faculty in the Department of Child Development are engaged in various research and community project activities. For more information about the work that faculty are doing and ways to become involved, please look at the faculty research/project labs below.
EnAct Lab
Topic/Areas of Interest:
Youth engagement, intergroup relations, race/ethnicity, gender, sex, and intersectionality of identities
Description:
In collaboration with Dr. Stacy Morris, Dr. Manpreet Dhillon Brar, students at CSUSB, and in partnerships with institutions within the community, the EnAct lab focuses on promoting and supporting civic engagement in various forms (e.g., digitally, volunteering, activism, political) in different contexts (e.g. institutions, political, communities). We do our work with the goal of improving intergroup relations with attention to diversity, social identities, intersectionality, and equity. Some of the values include mentorship, community action, critical consciousness, accessibility, and collaboration.
We are currently looking for research assistants to support our ongoing work which involves: (1) a mixed-methods study (survey and interview) of CSUSB students to better understand their beliefs and values around community engagement; and (2) a qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews of diverse young people in emerging adulthood to better understand their coping, resiliency, educational and financial experiences amid the uncertain COVID-19 pandemic.
We have research assistant positions available for graduate (x1) and undergraduate students (x2).
Contact information:
You can reach out to us at enactlab@csusb.edu with inquiries!
How to apply:
Please fill out an online application to express your interest and share a little bit more about yourself with us. Apply Here
BEFAST Lab
Description:
BEFAST (Building Executive Function for Academic Success Training) is a community-University partnership that provides cognitive training experiences for students during the school day. Many different cognitive abilities (e.g., working memory) are necessary to achieve academic success (e.g., consistent grades and being engaged with school). However, for many students there may be under development in one or more of these cognitive abilities; BEFAST utilizes computer-based cognitive training activities to build cognitive skills that support school performance. We work with students (elementary to high school age) in small group settings at school sites in San Bernardino and Orange Counties. BEFAST is an excellent way for you to gain research and clinically-related experiences beyond your coursework.
Contact information:
If you’re interested in BEFAST, please contact Dr. Wong. Get more info!
Beliefs & Motivation Research Lab
Description:
This lab engages in research related to development, behavior, beliefs, and motivation within educational and home contexts, with a focus on students, parents, and educators. Student research responsibilities will be dependent on interest, prior research experience, and time availability, but examples of research related tasks would be data entry, data collection, literature searches, and/or preliminary writing. There can also be opportunities for conference presentations and authorship on publications. Interested students will work with Dr. Looney to determine what types of experience they want to gain, and experiences will be tailored to interest and future goals.
How to Join:
Contact Dr. Looney (no research experience required)
Team ACCES Lab
Description:
Team ACCES research lab stands for Access to Child Care and Equity for Students. Research conducted in my lab focuses on early childhood education specifically ways to improve learning environments for young children including teacher work environments and education and equity issues. Students involved in Team ACCES have the opportunity to participate in various activities including active research (e.g. recruitment, data entry, cleaning, and analyses) and gain experiences in writing manuscripts, conference proposals/presentations, grants, and research briefs. Research conducted in my research lab is predominately community-based and action-based research with the aim of making a difference within the community and beyond. Additionally, I employ both quantitative and qualitative methods within in my research.
This research lab is an opportunity to get hands-on experience as well as having regular meetings to explain the process and why things are designed and implemented a particular way within the research.
Contact information:
If you’re interested in Team ACCES, please contact Dr. van Schagen. Get more info!
Dr. Chen’s Lab
Description:
Dr. Chen’s Lab engages in research related to early STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) literacy, involving children, parents, and teachers. Research conducted in Chen’s Lab centers on understanding best practices for supporting caregivers (both teachers and parents) in enhancing children’s STEM skills. The research includes: 1) understanding individual differences (e.g., cognitive skills, age, gender) in young children’s STEM skills, 2) identifying factors within early learning environments (e.g., type of activities, materials, interactions) that relate to young children’s learning of STEM skills, and 3) developing and disseminating interventions and curricular programs to promote children’s early STEM experiences in both the childcare and home contexts.
The current ongoing lab research aims to explore how parents support young children’s learning of math skills at home. CSUSB students involved in Chen’s Lab will have opportunities to be trained in early math content and to practice research skills (e.g., reviewing literature, coding videos, analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data, reporting results). Students interested in this line of research will also be encouraged and supported to develop their own research plans.
I will have research assistant positions available for 1-2 students. Prior research experience is not required, but students with enthusiasm and time commitment (e.g., at least 5 hours weekly) are preferred.
How to Join:
If you’re interested in joining Chen’s Lab, please contact Dr. Keting Chen. Get more info!
MIND Lab (starting Fall 2023)
Description:
My primary research interest is examining the nature of cognitive abilities, such as working memory, executive function, and cognitive control. Specifically, understanding the psychometric structure of these cognitive abilities and their predictability of important real-life outcomes like children’s and adolescents’ academic performance and achievement. To complement my basic research, my applied work focuses on testing the effectiveness of computerized cognitive training to enhance working memory in school-aged children and ultimately improve their ability to perform well in school. In sum, my lab addresses questions about children’s cognitive development from both basic and applied research perspectives.
Lab Activities:
Students in our lab will help conduct research on school-aged children’s cognitive abilities by (1) administering cognitive psychological measures to samples of children and adolescents in the local community and (2) implementing computerized cognitive training paradigms aimed at enhancing a myriad of cognitive abilities in the school setting.
How to join:
Email Dr. Rosales, if you are interested in joining. Get more info here!