Our School

Current Projects

The READ Study

Conducted by John Gabrieli & Joanna Christodoulou, MIT

This is a 5 year project to disambiguate the impact of ADHD and Executive Function on reading in students with dyslexia.

EdTogether & Child Study Center Yale University

This project explores exactly how Landmark explicitly builds student self-concept and social awareness so as to create resilience and a responsive defense to stigma (like an inoculation) that they are likely to experience in the wider world about their learning disability.

Intrinsic Motivation in Science Museums

In the multidisciplinary study, “Intrinsic Motivation in Science Museums,” researchers from the University of Rochester, Rochester Museum and Science Center, EdTogether, and the Museum of Science, Boston, are investigating ways to broaden the participation of youth with learning disabilities (LD) in informal science learning (ISL). Lead researchers are Dr. Gabriella Schlictman and Dr. Samantha Daley. Landmark students will visit the Museum of Science, Boston, engage with specific exhibits, and meet with researchers to discuss how the language demands of the exhibit enhanced or diminished their experience at the museum. Additionally, Adam Hickey, the research coordinator at Landmark School, is serving as senior project advisor on the project.

BEAM Lab

Study 1

In this 10-year self study, researchers at the Brain, Education, and Mind (BEAM) Lab, under the direction of lead researcher, Dr. Joanna Christodoulou, are exploring the intersectionality of reading comprehension, social-emotional learning (SEL), and executive function. Researchers are gathering data on measures of reading comprehension, executive function, and social-emotional learning (SEL), and that data will inform best instructional practices on Landmark’s Elementary•Middle school and High School campuses. 

Study 2

The BEAM Lab is also collaborating with Landmark to explore reading in the context of COVID-19. During the COVID-19 pandemic, students with language-based learning disabilities (LBLDs) have faced an unprecedented impact of interrupted schooling and are at higher risk of exacerbated reading difficulty. Models of resilience offer promising malleable factors that can positively impact reading outcomes: social-emotional learning skills (SELS) and executive function (EF). SELS underlie the ability to be available to learn and are a strong candidate for fostering reading resilience through growth mindset, self-management, self-efficacy, and social awareness. EF describes the skills underlying the ability to regulate cognition, emotion, and behavior. Through a partnership between the BEAM Lab at the MGH Institute of Health Professions and Landmark, this study was designed to:

1. Identify the course of school-year reading skills during COVID-19.
2. Characterize SELS and EF among students with LBLD.
3. Determine whether the capacity to leverage SELS and/or EF is predictive of positive reading growth for children with LBLD. 

Study Findings

Study 3

In an upcoming study, the BEAM Lab will collaborate with Landmark School Outreach to evaluate the fidelity of professional development approaches.

Landmark Collaboration with Google

Landmark is working with senior interaction designers/accessibility teams at Google to modify the Chrome OS operating system to design and adapt features for all users through the lens of users with specific learning disabilities.

Check out an update on this project (#4 in the article).

Other Projects

Adam Hickey is serving as senior project advisor to the following projects: 

Institute of Education Sciences: “A Research-Practice-Policy Collaboration to Accelerate Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Access and Outcomes for Students with Learning Disabilities." Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence (YCEI; Research), EdTogether (Practice), and the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD; Policy)

Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence/Yale Child Study Center: SEL for ALL: Measuring Up RULER to Promote SEL Access and Outcomes for All Learners

Boston Museum of Science, EdTogether, University of Rochester: Intrinsic Motivation in Science Museums: Learning from and Broadening the Participation of Visitors with Learning Disabilities