What do driving in rush hour traffic, a denied debit card at checkout and teaching have in common? High levels of stress. But according to today’s guest, while two of those experiences are temporary, teachers—especially novice ones—commonly experience overwhelm daily. So, what can be done to help?

Special education Professor Michael Kennedy and his lab are leveraging generative artificial intelligence to lessen teachers’ mental load and improve their capacity in the classroom. In this episode of EdLab, Kennedy discusses his own learning struggles and how they informed his journey to become a special education professor and work to improve outcomes for teachers and their students.

Professor Michael Kennedy: https://education.virginia.edu/about/directory/michael-j-kennedy

The Supporting Teachers Through Coaching, Observations, and Multimedia to Educate Students with Disabilities Lab: https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/research-labs/supporting-teachers-through-coaching-observations-and-multimedia-educate-students-disabilities

EdLab is a production of the UVA School of Education and Human Development and WTJU 91.1FM. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

Autism often exists alongside co-occurring conditions, such as difficulties with sleep or for some, depression and anxiety. For individuals with autism seeking mental health care, health care providers often have several tools in their treatment toolbox. But most of those have primarily been tested on non-autistic people. So, questions remain as to which treatments work best for the autism community. Professor Micah Mazurek is on the hunt for some answers.

Micah Mazurek is a clinical psychologist, the Novartis U.S. Foundation Professor of Education, and director of the Supporting Transformative Autism Research (or STAR) initiative at the UVA School of Education and Human Development.

Learn more about Micah Mazurek: https://education.virginia.edu/about/directory/micah-mazurek

Visit STAR: https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/supporting-transformative-autism-research

EdLab is a production of the UVA School of Education and Human Development and WTJU 91.1FM. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

When it comes to reducing cardiovascular disease, kinesiology professor Sid Angadi’s research shows how fitness level is much more important than body mass index. And perhaps the best news of all, the researcher’s measurement for fitness is quite generous.

Learn more about Siddhartha Angadi: https://education.virginia.edu/about/directory/siddhartha-angadi

EdLab is a production of the UVA School of Education and Human Development and WTJU 91.1FM. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

How would you define curiosity? Associate professor Jamie Jirout is on the podcast to help us answer that question and to share what she’s been uncovering about curiosity and how it relates to learning.

EdLab is a production of the UVA School of Education and Human Development and WTJU 91.1FM. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

Learn more about Jamie Jirout's research at the Research in Education and Learning Lab: https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/research-labs/research-education-and-learning-lab

After visiting a hospital for care during a mental health crisis—whether a visit to the emergency department or for an in-patient stay—students often jump right back into school. UVA professor and licensed clinical psychologist Lora Henderson Smith discusses her work with school-based mental health professionals aimed at supporting these students during and after their transition back to school.

EdLab is a production of WTJU 91.1FM and the UVA School of Education and Human Development. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

No matter where you are in your professional journey, if becoming a teacher is your goal, the UVA School of Education and Human Development has a pathway to help you make that happen. In this episode of EdLab, Teacher Education Director Jillian McGraw walks us through all the ways pre-service teachers find their way to the teacher education program to pursue their dream of one day leading a classroom of their own.

Visit the Become a Teacher page for more information.

EdLab is a production of WTJU 91.1FM and the UVA School of Education and Human Development. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

Research can help identify policy ideas that improve schools and outcomes for students. But then what? Education policy associate professor Beth Schueler wants to know: What happens after we have evidence that a program or policy benefits schools? How do leaders decide where it gets implemented and for how long?

Learn more about Schueler’s work:

EdPolicyWorks Research Center: https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/edpolicyworks

EdLab is a production of WTJU 91.1FM and the UVA School of Education and Human Development. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.

Notes go hereWhile schools are some of the safest places for children, any act of violence in schools is one too many, forensic clinical psychologist and professor of education Dewey Cornell reminds us. For nearly 40 years, Cornell has studied school violence prevention and how threat assessment teams can play a pivotal role in keeping schools safe.

Learn more about Cornell’s work:

Youth Violence Project: https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/research-labs/youth-violence-project

EdLab is a production of WTJU 91.1FM and the UVA School of Education and Human Development. EdLab is produced by Audrey Breen, with support from Mary Garner McGehee and Sage Tanguay. Our music is Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions. You can subscribe to EdLab wherever you get your podcasts.