DALLAS (SMU) – SMU Simmons’ Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE) will join Temple University in conducting a “Learning through Play” national study. The LEGO Foundation has awarded a $19.98 million grant to fund the longitudinal study. SMU’s Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE) at Simmons will be the Dallas site lead for the national study and will receive $2.8 million over 5 years to conduct the work locally.
CORE Executive Director, Dr. Annie Wright will serve as the Principal Investigator, with CORE Assistant Director Dylan Farmer and Dr. Toni Harrison-Kelly, Executive Director at the SMU Budd Center, serving as Co-PIs. The study will follow students from Pre-K through 4th grade. The researchers will study how creating active, engaged, socially interactive classrooms can bring about deeper learning and joyful teaching.
A pilot study will take place in the 2023-2024 academic year with the full study beginning in the 2024-2025 school year. According to Wright, SMU CORE will coordinate all research activities for the project and will consult the national team on school partnerships, parent engagement and community engagement. “We are honored to be selected to be part of this important work; we believe it will strengthen our research-practice partnerships with local school districts.” The study will hire a local research coordinator as well as coaches to work with the national Active Playful Learning team.
Leon Simmons Endowed Dean Stephanie Knight says, “SMU CORE’s involvement in this study speaks to the caliber of work being done by Annie Wright and her staff. Their reputation in education research and evaluation is well-earned. I know they will add valuable data to this equation that could ultimately lead to a way to re-imagine education in and out of the classroom.”
The study, which will prioritize under-resourced schools around the country, convened top scientists in the United States to develop an infrastructure that will support long-term sustainability in the participating school districts. The project will be led by Temple University Professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek who is a New York Times Bestselling author on Early Childhood Education. Six other universities from around the country including University of California Irvine and University of Virginia, will join SMU Simmons in conducting the study. SMU Simmons is the #1 ranked private graduate school of education in the southwest and in the top 50 among public and private graduate schools of education in the 2023-2024 U.S. News & World Report rankings.