Interdisciplinary research projects have College of Education faculty members collaborating with colleagues in other disciplines across the University, across the country, and, in some cases, across the globe. Their research is leading to improvements in the lives of learners of all ages and levels of ability.

Read about the many ways in which the College of Education is furthering interdisciplinary research in the "2018 Report on Interdisciplinary Research," available online via issuu.com, with individual stories posted to the Penn State News website.

This edition features:

• Dean's message on interdisciplinary research
  • College of Education faculty members are doing groundbreaking, interdisciplinary research that is relevant and applicable in educational environments in our own backyard, around the world, and everywhere in between.
• Program combines mobile devices and the outdoors in an unlikely pairing
  • Research combining technology and the outdoors is ‘Transforming Outdoor Places into Learning Spaces’ for children and families.
• Research projects help children have inquiring minds about science
  • When it comes to learning about just how much preschool-aged children are capable of while attempting to grasp the concepts of astronomy, Julia Plummer likes to shoot for the stars.
• Researcher seeks to increase college enrollment, success among foster youth
  • Royel Johnson says collaboration among higher education institutions, child and family service agencies, and other stakeholders is critical to broadening college access for foster youth.
• Research aims to boost dual-language learners’ reading comprehension
  • The interdisciplinary work being done by Amy Crosson and her colleagues to help dual-language learners with reading comprehension also may help students with learning disabilities.
• Dynamic assessment can help language learners have more success
  • Altering or individualizing assessment procedures can propel second-language learners toward more successful mastery of that language, ongoing research by Matt Poehner and his interdisciplinary team suggests.
• Professors integrate study of education and Latin American social movements
  • Inspired by Italian philosophers and Brazilian educators, John Holst and Rebecca Tarlau are exploring social movements, education and sociology with their work in South America and the United States.
• Research shows Summer Academy for the Blind is changing lives, attitudes
  • Jim Herbert has been involved with the Summer Academy for the past three years and bases his research on the program on untraditional measurements.

As always, your feedback is welcome at edrelations@psu.edu.