Research Partnerships

P.K. Yonge partners with researchers from the University of Florida and other institutions, to address critical issues in learning.  As a laboratory for designing, testing, and disseminating promising practices, research partnerships, as well as annual cycles of practitioner inquiry by every P.K. Yonge faculty member, are integral to achieving the school’s mission.  Today’s research opportunities are dedicated to designing, testing, and examining a collaborative, inclusive, personalized, tech-enriched, inquiry-driven, mastery-based learning experience for today and tomorrow’s learners.

Technology Tools for Learning
Wearables and science learning (Chu, UF Comp & Info Science & Engineering)
Touchscreen R & D (Anthony, UF Comp & Info Science & Engineering)
VR Simulation and Climate Science (Pimentel, UF Journalism)
Personalized reading apps and reading achievement (van Dijk, UF Education)
1:1 Chromebook implementation (Dogan, UF Education)
Personalized math app and impact on achievement (Li, UF Education)
Computational thinking and integrated math/fractions (Antonenko, Israel, Luo, UF Education)
Codebreakers: explorations in morphology to engage underrepresented students in STEM, cryptography, and cybersecurity (Antonenko, UF Education, NSF ITEST)
Blended learning for mastery in band class (Peasant, UF Music Education)

Online Literacy & Source Materials
Online resources and information literacy (Kohnen, UF Education)

Reading & Critical Literacy
Reading motivation (Almutwa, UF Education)

Computer Science
Strategies for inclusive computer science education (Israel, UF Education)
Collaborative approaches to computer science education (Boyer, UF Comp & Info Science & Engineering)

Inquiry-Based Science
Effectively implementing inquiry-based science practices to engage all learners (Pringle, UF Education)
Video-based Lesson Study to Publish Model Lessons in Elementary Inquiry-based Science (Lord, UF Education)
Integrated STEM via 3D digitization, printing, and paleontology (Antonenko, UF Education & FL Museum of Natural History, NSF ITEST iDigFossils)
Global plant diversity and human “blindness” to non-flowering plants (Sessa, UF IFAS)
Bone biomaterials engineering (James, UF Materials & Science Engineering)

Multi-tiered System of Supports
K-12 development of academic enablers (Anthony & Waldron, UF Education)
Developmental study of children’s grip strength (Schneider, UF Occupational Therapy)
Positive Behavior System of Supports (Gage, MacSuga-Gage, UF Special Education)

Universal Design for Learning
Investigating the role technology in response to learner variability with middle school teachers (Dawson, Dana, & Kohnen, UF Education, Shewey Project)
Moral reasoning as a framework for professional learning—examining the role of implicit bias in decision making via school-based case studies (Kerr, UF Psychology)

K-12 Mental Health Program & Supports
Social emotional learning (Anthony, UF Education)
Preparedness of high school teachers to identify/respond to mental health needs (Saunders, UF Education)
Safer, Smarter Kids (Kerr, UF Psychology)
Social media use and self-worth (Zollicoffer, UF Psychology)
Language/cognitive development and social group preferences (Sudo, UF Psychology)
Middle school cyberbullying & parent awareness/education (Doty, UF Family, Youth & Community Services)
Play-based therapy to promote positive behavior (Swank, UF Counseling Education)

Other
School improvement through school wide teacher inquiry (Dana, UF Education)
Modern Band Class (Haning, UF Music Education)
School yard learning and environmental stewardship (Hostetler, UF Wildlife Ecology & Conservation; Ito, Japanese Fulbright Scholar)

Training Partnerships

P.K. Yonge partners with U.S. News & World Report top-ranked University of Florida College of Education to serve as a laboratory for preparing tomorrow’s educators.  As a state and national leader, immersive, applied learning opportunities serve as a signature experience for participating UF students.  Future educators are prepared to support the success of diverse learners, address learning differences, and apply contemporary, technology-supported, inquiry-driven STEM and critical literacy teaching practices.

School Psychology
Semester and year-long school-based experiences to prepare future school psychologists as district leaders in multi-tiered system of supports and to respond to growing mental health needs.

Counselors-in-Residence
Semester and year-long counselor-in-residence experiences to prepare future school counselors for K-12 mental health support needs as well as academic advisement, bullying prevention/intervention, and counseling curriculum leadership.

Secondary Teacher Preparation Residencies
Extended field placement in mentoring teacher’s classroom dedicated to preparing future 6-12 teachers who understand and can respond to learner variability, implement mastery-based education, and effectively use technology to support learning.

Elementary Year-Long Internships
Devoted to mentoring and partnering to support young learners in an inclusive, mastery-based, inquiry-driven, collaborative learning environment that weaves support for social emotional learning throughout the school day.

Summer Adventures in Literacy
Complements a 6-credit summer course in UF Special Education by providing a 3-week, half-day field experience devoted to applying research-based, targeted instructional support for K-3 struggling readers and students with dyslexia.

UF TEACH Field Experience
Provides classroom-based teaching experiences devoted to project/problem-based learning focused on STEM.

Research Practicum
Partnering with advanced education graduate students to provide field-based research experiences to help inform a school transformation effort.

Research Newsletters
Providing opportunities for College of Education students to write and publish education-related articles and newsletters. Read the Fall 2022 Newsletter written by COE students.

Non-Profit Partnerships

Center for the Collaborative Classroom
Since 2011, P.K. Yonge and CCC have been investigating effective approaches to professional learning that results in high quality, research-based literacy instruction while supporting students’ social and emotional growth and development. P.K. Yonge serves as a model/demonstration and training site for educators interested in CCC curriculums and professional learning approaches.

Great Schools Partnership
Since 2016, P.K. Yonge has been consulting with GSP to design, implement and test a personalized, mastery-based education system that will graduate every student as college- and career-ready.

Florida College Board Partnership
Since 2018, P.K. Yonge has collaborated with the College Board partnership to design and test a K-12 system that increases the number and diversity of graduates qualifying for a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship.

Northeast Florida Educational Consortium
Since 2001, P.K. Yonge has partnered with NEFEC to help design and implement systems approaches to school improvement including the Florida Reading Initiative, Research in Action, U-FUTuRES, RtI/Multi-tiered Systems of Support, technology integration, standards-based grading, and progress monitoring systems to achieve 100% college- and career-readiness for every P.K. Yonge graduate by 2025.

River Phoenix Center for Peace Building & Restorative Practices
Since 2018, P.K. Yonge’s principal has partnered with the Phoenix Center to implement restorative practices to strengthen student-teacher-administrator relationships and the learning culture.