Professional Development Academies in Education

Professional Development Programs in Information Studies

UCLA’s School of Education & Information Studies is home to two departments. Each is a leader in their field, helping to pioneer what's next in the Education and Information worlds.

UCLA Ed&IS faculty are at the forefront of their fields, addressing issues of equality, access and social justice in the fields of education and information. Their scholarship has an international reputation for excellence and commitment to addressing the most critical issues facing our society.

An ecosystem of K-12 teaching schools where UCLA partners to develop, study, share, and advance innovative best practices.

The work at UCLA Ed&IS is guided by the principles of individual responsibility and social justice, an ethic of caring, and commitment to the communities we serve. Learn more about our mission and values, our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in our faculty and students, our history and more.

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are defining features of UCLA Ed&IS and we embrace them as a source of strength.

Department of Education 2023 Information Sessions

Department of Information Studies Programs

Department of Information Studies 2023 Information Sessions

Learn more about the undergraduate and graduate academic programs we offer, when program information sessions are being offered and how to apply.

Student directory

Human Development & Psychology

Ph.D. Student Directory Submission Request

Master's Student Directory Submission Request

Anna is a doctoral student in the Human Development and Psychology (HDP) division within the UCLA Department of Education. Her research interests lie in the early-middle childhood period with a focus on understanding and improving the experiences of children and families of color from an equity-centered perspective. She is particularly interested in the experiences of Asian American children and families as well as the intersection of social policy and early childhood development. Prior to attending UCLA, Anna served as the Policy Assistant at the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). She has a B.A. in Child Study and Human Development with a minor in Asian American Studies from Tufts University. Anna uses the gender pronouns she, her, hers.

Education
B.A. in Child Study and Human Development with a minor in Asian American Studies, Tufts University

2021-2022 UCLA Graduate Research Mentorship

2021 UCLA Graduate Summer Research Mentorship

2020-2021 UCLA Ed&IS Wasserman Dean's Scholarship

2018 Undergraduate Research to Practice Award, Department of Child Study and Human Development, Tufts University

Kimura, A. M., Antón-Oldenburg, M., & Pinderhughes, E. E. (2021) Developing and teaching an anti-bias curriculum in a public elementary school: Leadership, K-1 teachers’, and young children’s experiences. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2021.1912222

Mistry, R. S., Benner, A. D., & Kimura A. M. (Forthcoming). Child development and the COVID-19 pandemic. In P. K. Smith & C. H. Hart (Eds.), The handbook of childhood social development (3rd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.

Research Center
Children's Understanding of Economic and Social Inequality (CUESI) Lab

Anna Kimura

Expected Graduation Year
2024 | Ph.D. Human Development Psychology

Anna Reyner, MA, ATR, LMFT. Anna Reyner is a nationally recognized arts advocate and award winning author with a life long passion for helping people get in touch with their own creativity.  She has presented over 800 conference workshops in her 40 years as a teacher, art therapist, and teacher trainer.  Today she speaks, teaches, gives workshops, makes art and plays with her family and animals.  She is currently working on her next book, “Trauma Informed Art in Early Childhood.”

LMFT Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist

trauma informed care in early childhood, with emphasis on the arts as prevention

Research grant recipient, American Art Therapy Association

In process currently, for 2023 release with jessica Kingsley Publishers: Trauma Informed Art in the Early Childhood Classroom

Author: Smart Art Ideas with Learning Outcomes

Author: Smart Art Ideas 2 / with Learning Outcomes

Anna Louise Reyner

LinkedIn | Twitter | ebclarke42118@g.ucla.edu 

Elaine's research interests at the Lord Lab include using developmental trajectories to predict personal, educational, and vocational outcomes in adults with ASD. She is also interested in identifying methods to systematically evaluate subjective well-being in adults ASD, as well as how adults with ASD and their families obtain and utilize services following school exit. Prior to coming to UCLA, Elaine earned her B.A. in Psychology and Art from St. Mary's College of Maryland. She also worked with Dr. Stephen Sheinkopf of Brown University, where she studied the impact of gender and socioeconomic characteristics on access to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis and treatment.

Titles and Positions
Graduate Student Researcher

Teaching and Research Interests
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), adult outcomes, developmental psychology, longitudinal methodologies

M.Ed., University of California, Los Angeles

B.A. in Psychology and B.A. in Art & Art History, St. Mary’s College of Maryland

The Gordon & Olga Smith Award - UCLA Education Department

Psi Chi Summer Research Grant  - Psi Chi International Psychology Honors Society

The Psychology Major Award - St. Mary’s College of Maryland Psychology Department

Clarke, E.B., McCauley, J.B., Lord, L. (2020). Post-high school daily living skills outcomes in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.11.008

Elaine Clarke

Elianny is an educator, applied researcher, and scholar. She is a certified K-6 teacher with over ten years of experience teaching, mentoring, and directing out-of-school-time programming for youth from underserved communities across the country. Her research and scholarly interests include school safety at the intersections of race, class, and gender, the critical wellness and academic outcomes of Black youth, and culturally relevant and sustaining teaching pedagogy. Her research has been featured in media outlets like the LA Times, NPR, EdWeek, and EdSource.

Teaching and Research Interests
Education Policy, School Safety & Climate, Racial Equity in Schools, Intersectionality and Outcomes for Black Youth & Families

M.A., UCLA School of Education and Information Studies

Edwards, E.C. (2021). Centering race to move toward an intersectional ecological framework for defining school safety for Black students. School Psychology Review, 50 (2-3), 1-19.  DOI:10.1080/2372966X.2021.1930580

Edwards, E.C., Edwards, E.J., & Howard, T.C. (2020). Keeping Students Safe in Los Angeles: An Analysis of LAUSD School Incident Reports & Funding. Los Angeles, CA. UCLA Black Male Institute Policy Brief.

Research Center
UCLA Black Male Institute
CUESI Lab (Children's Understanding of Economic and Social Inequality)
Middle School Diversity Project

Elianny C. Edwards (she/her)

Hello! I am a first-year doctoral student in Human Development & Psychology, currently working on an intervention study on adapted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for youth with autism and co-occurring anxiety in a community-based setting with my advisor, Dr. Jeffrey Wood. I graduated as a psychology undergraduate at UCLA (Class of 2021), where I completed an award-winning Honors Thesis and series of experiments examining appearance anxiety, attention, and cognitive interference when learning via Zoom or other online learning platforms under the mentorship of Dr. Elizabeth Bjork. My research interests include disparities in treatment and diagnosis of girls with autism and influencing educational and public policy to benefit mental health resources.

Teaching and Research Interests
Disparities in diagnoses rates and differences in symptomatology for girls with autism, influencing educational and public policy for school-based mental health support

Education
B.A. in Psychology, A.A. in Psychology & Sociology

Ingrid S. Tien (she/her/hers)

Jessica is working towards her Ph.D. in the Human Development and Psychology program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She also holds a B.S. in Liberal Studies (with a concentration in mathematics) from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, as well as a teaching credential and Master's degree in Curriculum Design and Instruction from San Jose State University. Jessica has worked as a Teacher Assistant for a Research Methods Course in Psychology at UCLA for the past 6 academic quarters. She has taught lab sections for 21 undergraduate students in learning about experimental and non-experimental research methods, as well as statistical design and analysis as applied to a broad range of basic and applied research issues. Her research interests include social robots and humanoid robots facilitating the social skills of children with ASD within education as well as faculty-student-relationships of college students with ASD.

Titles and Positions
Doctoral Student and Researcher at UCLA
Graduate Teaching Associate

M.A. in Curriculum Design & Instruction and General Education Teaching Credential, San Jose State University

B.A. in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Mathematics, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Jessica Johnson (she/her/hers)

Kourtney Christopher is a doctoral student in the Human Development and Psychology program under the supervision of Dr. Catherine Lord. She has worked in the field of autism for over ten years,  beginning at Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders at the University of Missouri-Columbia. There, she managed a team of autism assessment specialists, trained professionals, and parents engaged in research and in diagnostic clinics. While at the Thompson Center, Kourtney also co-developed Global Autism Interactive Network (GAIN), an online community for continual training in autism. One focus of GAIN is the further education of professionals on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule- Second Edition (ADOS-2), authored by Dr. Lord. Now at UCLA, under the supervision of Dr. Lord, Kourtney works on an ongoing longitudinal study examining the development of autism across a lifespan. In addition, she currently works on the continued development of autism assessment instruments (e.g., BOSA and BOSCC). Kourtney’s passion and research interests include early identification of autism through phenotyping and creating meaningful assessments for both clinicians and families.

Education
Master's in Special Education with an Emphasis in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Christopher, K., Bishop, S., Carpenter, L., Warren, Z., & Kanne, S. (2020) The Implications of Parent-Reported Emotional and Behavioral Problems on the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers. J Autism Dev Disord. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04469-5

Christopher, K. & Lord, C. (under review). Best Practice Assessments for Autism Spectrum Disorders in Schools.

Christopher, K., Elias, R., & Lord, C. (in prep). A Longitudinal Study of Perceived Negative Impact in Parents of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders from 2 to 25 years of age.

Research Center
UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior

Kourtney Christopher

Manisha is a doctoral candidate in the Human Development & Psychology division at UCLA Ed&IS. Her research interests lie at the intersection of classroom assessment, motivation, and equity. As a Teaching Research Scholar, she is also dedicated to bringing research into translatable classroom practice. She is currently working on her dissertation which includes two studies seeking to understand the classroom assessment experience of students and instructors in higher education, as well as implementing a novel intervention that aims to bring student voice into STEM classroom assessment practice. Manisha hopes to continue such bridging between assessment research and practice in her post-doctoral career.

Student Voice in STEM Classroom Assessment: A Pilot Intervention 
https://www.rpajournal.com/student-voice-in-stem-classroom-assessment-practice-a-pilot-intervention/

Manisha Chase, C. Phil

Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | ResearchGate

Rhinehart, L., Vazquez, S. R., & Greenfield, P. M. (2021). The impact of screen-free zones in an undergraduate psychology classroom: Assessing exam performance and instructor evaluations in two quasi-experiments. Teaching of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/00986283211017443

Vazquez, S. R., & Greenfield, P. M. (2021). The influence of social class on family participation in children’s education: A case study. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, 30(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v30n1.89185

Vazquez, S. R., Ermeling, B. A., & Ramirez, G. (2020). Parental beliefs on the efficacy of productive struggle and their relation to homework-helping behavior. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 51(2), 179–203. JSTOR. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc-2020-0019

Salvador R. Vazquez

Torrey is a doctoral student in the Human Development and Psychology program and a member of the Kasari Lab. Torrey’s research interests involve early social and neurobehavioral development, particularly in the context of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She hopes to translate findings about brain and behavioral development to improve early identification and intervention strategies for children with or at increased likelihood for developmental delays or disabilities. Torrey received a B.A. in Psychology from Emory University. Prior to beginning her graduate studies at UCLA, she worked as a research specialist in the Pediatric Neuroimaging Core at Emory University’s Marcus Autism Center.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), social communication, developmental social neuroscience, early intervention

M.A. in Education, University of California, Los Angeles

Dr. Ursula Mandel Scholarship (2022-2023)

Graduate Summer Research Mentorship Program (2021)

Wasserman Dean’s Scholarship (2018-2019)

Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior

UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment

Torrey Cohenour

Website | LinkedIn | yuyawen@ucla.edu | ResearchGate | (310) 849-8597 

Yawen Yu (余雅文 in Chinese), a trilingual speaker of Mandarin Chinese (native), English (professional), and Wenzhou dialect (conversational). I am interested in how culture, family practices, and personal identity influence language learning, and in understanding the effect of bilingual education on child development. I have experiences TA in the Department of Education, the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, International Development Studies Program. Currently, I am working on the dissertation, aiming to better understand the Chinese parents' roles in supporting children's early language learning and socio-cognitive development.

M.A. in Humanities Studies, the University of Chicago

B.A. in Philosophy, Zhejiang Gongshang University

Yu, Y., Bailey, A. & Mistry, R. (2021, Apr 8 -12). Academic Performance of First-Graders in a Dual Language Immersion Program: Roles of Self-Concept and Gender [Paper and Symposium Session]. AERA Virtual Annual Meeting. https://tinyurl.com/yyqb6mao

Bailey, A. L., Yu, Y., Mistry, R., Martin, A. & Griffin, K. M. (2020, Apr 17 - 21). A Longitudinal, Cohort Analysis of the Academic Performance of Spanish-English Dual-Immersion Elementary Students [Roundtable Session]. AERA Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA. http://tinyurl.com/qusqyng (Conference Canceled)

Yu, Y. & Yurovsky, D. (2019). Lexical diversity and Language Development. Poster presented at the 41st Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Montreal, Canada.

Yawen Yu (she/her/hers)

Ph.D.

Haleh Davoudi (she/her)

Leyi Shang

LinkedIn | tkching@g.ucla.edu | (310) 850-4798

Specialization
Impacts of social policy and the structural and process features in early educational settings affecting educational progress and achievement. The significance of innovation and intervention strategies in under-served classrooms promoting inclusion and acceptance. How adverse childhood experiences and externalizing behaviors are linked with peer aggression across diverse populations.