PARENTS: Please note: for students who are seven years-old, an optional portion of this study falls outside of the UCLA Lab School blanket consent form. As such, consent forms are being sent home with seven year-old students only. Parents must sign and return this form if they would like their children to participate in the additional portion of the study.
In this study, researchers from UCLA will work with the students in classrooms 11 and 12 to see how arts-based learning enhances literacy. For six weeks this fall, students in these classrooms will listen to stories and engage in dramatic or visual arts activities designed to improve recall and comprehension. Researchers may make some general written observations about student behavior. Students will take reading tests at the beginning and end of the six-week period. This project is part of the Lab School’s curriculum and no permission is required for participation; however, seven year old students in these classrooms will have the opportunity to participate in an additional out-of-school portion of the study on arts-based learning and the brain. Seven year-old students only will receive consent/assent forms for this additional part of the study. This study is conducted primarily by Jacqueline Bennett, M. Ed, a former elementary school teacher and current doctoral student in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. She can be reached at (424) 248-7022 or jbennett13@ucla.edu. The faculty advisors for this study are Dr. James Catterall and Dr. Elizabeth Sowell.