On the Ground is the official blog of the Institute of Human Development and Social Change (IHDSC). Through informed dissemination, On the Ground aims to build knowledge and networks among scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and leaders in order to “put research to work” to enhance the lives of children, youth, and adults living in under-resourced communities.
Faculty, staff, and student contributors use Q&As, op-eds, research reports, and other accessible formats to provide practice-ready and policy-relevant information about research findings in the following four domains: education and child development; race, poverty, and inequality; health and well-being; and justice and welfare systems. The goal is to speak to all sides of the research-practice-policy divide. On the Ground also highlights how research, policy, and practice partnerships can address the many pressing social issues we face, both domestically and globally.
Featured Stories
Bringing STEM Home
Dr. Moira R. Dillon, Assistant Professor of Psychology, helps families can bring STEM home and even to contribute to science, so that children can have fun and learn and researchers can test and improve STEM curricula for the future.
Discovery and Learning through Play at Home
IHDSC postdoctoral fellows explore the ways the infants benefit from playing at home, as well as ways that family can encourage play.
Educating Children Remotely
Hannah Ellerbeck, research coordinator for the Chicago School Readiness Project, has provided analysis and resources for educators to actively prevent social and emotional setbacks caused by COVID-19.
Yes, LGBTQ Students Are Still Silenced
IES-PIRT fellows Sarah Rosenbach and Zachary T. McDermott help educators provide support for LGBTQ+ students on the 24th annual Day of Silence and beyond.
Leveraging the Math We Do
Dr. Gigliana Melzi, professor and researcher at NYU, provides parents with steps to be better math educators at home during COVID-19.
Do Science from Home!
Dr. Marjorie Rhodes, associate professor of psychology, provides resources from the Conceptual Development and Social Cognition lab that can help families be better science educators at home in light of COVID-19.
We Know Better: The Evidence on Children Seeking Refuge
"The current crisis at the southern border of the United States is a refugee crisis, provoked by immigration policies across administrations. As scientists who study children’s development in some of the most volatile and violent contexts in the world, we feel compelled to share what we have learned over the course of our own work in conflict-affected regions."
Read Global TIES' statement
Faculty Q&As:
Seed Award Spotlight: Dr. Natasha Strassfeld
Dr. Strassfeld’s pilot project, supported by the IHDSC Seed Award program, examines the experiences of professionals who work within the portions of the Cuyahoga County’s court system that serves incarcerated or detained youth.
Reaching the Rarely Reached: Dr. Njelesani
As part of the "Reaching the Rarely Reached" series, Mackenzie Whipps asked three NYU practitioner-researchers how and why they conduct research with populations that are often forgotten with in the healthcare system. As an occupational therapist, Dr. Janet Njelesani has spent years working with children with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries.
Reaching the Rarely Reached: Dr. Alan Mendelsohn
In the Reaching the Rarely Reached series, Mackenzie Whipps asked three NYU practitioner-researchers how and why they conduct research with populations that are often forgotten with in the healthcare system. Dr. Alan Mendelsohn is developmental pediatrician who has worked as a clinician at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City and currently serves as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Population Health at NYU Langone.
Q&A: Understanding Black Male Reactions to Police
“Understanding the reactions of Black male youth to police” examined how African American, Black immigrant, and White youth in New York City potentially differ in their assessment of police in terms of threat, security, trust in the police, and identification with the police. Read a Q&A with the project leaders.
Partnership Q&As:
Studying STEM in Sunset Park
IHDSC spoke with Dr. Natalie Brito and Sunset Spark — a Brooklyn-based non-profit— about their partnership, the importance of diverse and representative samples, and the benefit of conducting research in community-based settings.
Partnering to Improve Afterschool
What role can afterschool programs play in addressing inequality and promoting opportunities? The Advancing Collaborative Research in Out-of-School Settings (ACROSS) partnership represents a unique partnership between researchers from The Institute of Human Development and Social Change and Good Shepherd Services. Read a Q&A with Dr. Miranda Yates, Dr. Elise Cappella, and Sophia Hwang.
Research Partnerships: Dr. Dillon & MoMath
Dr. Moira Dillon and Cindy Lawrence, Executive Director of the National Museum of Mathematics, received an IHDSC Seed Award to recruit children for interactive in-museum experiments to investigate how children reason about the general properties of geometric figures. Dillon and Lawrence talk about the process of developing their research partnership.