Elissa JohnsonGreen

Expertise

Music's function in human development from the perspective of music education

Research Interests

Interdisciplinary and community engaged research that focuses on:

1. children's cognitive and social emotional development through music-focused integrated and immersive learning;
2. children's skill building and knowledge retention around safety through musical interaction;
3. music's essential role in human development and how it underlies our humanity; and
4. music engagement as a resource for resilience through major and daily life transitions in children's lives and learning.

Education

• EDD: Music and Music Education, (2012), Teachers College, Columbia University - New York, NY
  Supporting Area: Childhood Development and Parenting
  Dissertation/Thesis Title:Ordinary magic: The musical foundations of transition in family life
• M.Ed.: Music Education, (2003), Teachers College, Columbia University - New York, NY
  Supporting Area: Childhood Development
  Dissertation/Thesis Title:"One more thing": Parents reflect on musical parenting of infants
• M.M.: Baroque Flute Performance, (1994), Oberlin Conservatory of Music - Oberlin, OH
  Supporting Area: Musicology
  Dissertation/Thesis Title:Lecture recital on the "gigue" dance form in historical performance
• B.A.: Flute Performance, (1992), The Peabody Institute of Music of the Johns Hopkins University - Baltimore, MD
  Supporting Area: Voice performance
• Performance Certificate: Flute Performance, (1988), The Juilliard School of Music - New York, NY
  Supporting Area: Choral Performance

Biosketch

Elissa Johnson-Green is Associate Professor of Music and Coordinator of the Program in Music Education in the Department of Music at University of Massachusetts Lowell. Before becoming a research professor, Elissa was a classical performer on flute and then a music teacher for several years in public and private school music education with children in grades K-8. Her combined interests in music, learning, engineering, and design led her to create the EcoSonic Playground Project, which she has implemented with 25 diverse groups of children in the US, Canada, and Ireland since 2016. She has been collecting data since then, which she plans to turn into a book focusing on the impact that the ESPP has had on its participants. Recently, she has been working with Rocio Rosales, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, to implement the ESPP with children with autism spectrum disorder. In a separate project, Elissa has been collaborating with Jiabin Shen, Assistant Professor of Psychology, to study young children's knowledge retention around injury prevention when music has been integrated into their skill building and learning. Their work includes a neuroscience component that connects them with UMass Lowell's New England Robotics Validation and Experimentation Center and UMass Chan Medical School. Elissa has also been working with a colleague at the University of Freiburg, Germany, to collaborate on research that focuses on music's essential role in human development, social emotional functioning, and well-being.

Elissa has served on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Music Education (2016-2022) and Visions of Research in Music Education (2023-present) and has been an invited reviewer for Psychology of Music and Music Education Research. She is a Commissioner for the Early Childhood Music Education special interest group of the International Society of Music Education and the Higher Education Representative to the Massachusetts Music Educators Association Northeastern Division Executive Board. She has published several articles and book chapters on her areas of interest and has presented papers at regional, national, and international conferences.

Selected Awards and Honors

2022

• Outstanding Achievements in Creative Works Award, University of Massachusetts Lowell

2018-2020

• The Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Klarman Foundation; Music Educators and Teaching Artists Fellowship. Nominated for the EcoSonic Playground Project

2017

• Music Department Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Massachusetts Lowell

2016

• National and International Partnerships in Sustainability Workshop

Selected Publications

• Johnson-Green, E. & Schmid, S. (in process). MusicBeing as an entanglement of ideas and practices in ecology, resilience, spirituality, and well-being: A meta-narrative review. Music Education Research.
• Rosales, R., Blake, J. F., and Johnson-Green, E. (in process). A Starting Guide for Interdisciplinary Research Collaborations. Behavior Analysis in Practice.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2024). The EcoSonic Playground Project: Immersive music education in action. Massachusetts Music Educators Journal, 72 (3), 48-50.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2023). Synthesis and embodiment: The Lowell string project as complex musical ecosystem. In J. Southcott & L. de Bruin (Eds.), Community music: Musical ecologies in action (pp. 95-111). Routledge.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2023). A work in progress: The legacy of Lee Pogonowski. Visions of Research in Music Education, 43, https://opencommons.uconn.edu/vrme/vol43/iss1/9
• Johnson-Green, E. & Greher, G. R. (2023). Editorial: Musical thinking, thinking about thinking and so many a-ha moments! Visions of Research in Music Education, 43, https://opencommons.uconn.edu/vrme/vol43/iss1/1
• Rottman, A. & Johnson-Green, E. (2023). The EcoSonic Playground Project in action. Massachusetts Music Educators Journal, 72(2), 13-14.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2022). Keep singing out: Families’ use of popular music as a resource for raising resilient children. Journal of Popular Music Education, 6(1), 45-63.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2021). iAssess: Using mobile technology for student self-assessment in a k-5 music composition curriculum. In Greher, G. R. and Burton, S. L. (Eds.), Creative Music Making at Your Fingertips! A Mobile Technology Guide for Music Educators (pp. 126-144). Oxford University Press.
• Custodero, L. A. & Johnson-Green, E. A. (2021). Caregiving in counterpoint: Reciprocal influences in the musical parenting of younger and older infants. In, W. Gruhn & W. Brodsky (Eds.), Music in the Lives of Young Children: An Annotated Anthology of Research Papers from Early Child Development and Care (pp. 33-58). Routledge.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2021). The child as musical affector: Sound perception and manipulation as artistic process in primary school music education. In Walzer, D. A. and Lopez, M. J. (Eds.), Audio Education: Theory, Culture, and Practice (pp. 17-44). Routledge.
• Johnson-Green, E., Lee, C. & Flannery, M. (2020). A musical perspective on STEM: Evaluating the EcoSonic Playground Project from a co-equal STEAM integration standpoint. International Journal of Education and the Arts, 21(14), 1-52.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2020). Music composition as immersive learning in K-5 music education: Results of a 4-year study. Visions of Research in Music Education, 35(Special conference issue), 1-41. Johnson-Green, E. (2018). Musical architects: Immersive learning through design thinking in a kindergarten music composition curriculum. Visions of Research in Music Education, 31, 1-38.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2018). From not knowing to understanding: An exploration of effective teaching in a music educator preparation program. Massachusetts Music Educators Journal, 66(3), 17-18. Johnson-Green, E. (2017). The EcoSonic Playground: Project description and development. The 8th Conference of the European Network of Music Educators and Researchers of Young Children, 186-194. 
• Johnson-Green, E. (2016). STEAM: Where A is for composition. Massachusetts Music Educators Journal, 64(4), 27-29.
• Johnson-Green, E. (In press). Growing up String Project: The complex ecology of an embedded community orchestral education program. In J. Southcott & L. de Bruin (Eds.), Community music: Musical ecologies in action. Routledge.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2022). Keep singing out: Families' use of popular music as a resource for raising resilient children. Journal of Popular Music Education, 6(1) 45-63.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2021). iAssess: Using mobile technology for student self-assessment in a k-5 music composition curriculum. In Greher, G. R. and Burton, S. L. (Eds.), Creative Music Making at Your Fingertips! A Mobile Technology Guide for Music Educators (pp. 126-144). Oxford University Press.
• Custodero, L. A. & Johnson-Green, E. A. (2020). Caregiving in counterpoint: Reciprocal influences in the musical parenting of younger and older infants. In, W. Gruhn & W. Brodsky (Eds.), Music in the Lives of Young Children: An Annotated Anthology of Research Papers from Early Child Development and Care (pp. 33-58). Routledge.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2020). The child as musical affector: Sound perception and manipulation as artistic process in primary school music education. In Walzer, D. A. and Lopez, M. J. (Eds.), Audio Education: Theory, Culture, and Practice (pp. 17-44). Routledge.
• Johnson-Green, E., Lee, C. & Flannery, M. (2020). A musical perspective on STEM: Evaluating the EcoSonic Playground Project from a co-equal STEAM integration standpoint. International Journal of Education and the Arts, 21(14), 1-52.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2020). Music composition as immersive learning in K-5 music education: Results of a 4-year study. Visions of Research in Music Education, 35(Special conference issue), 1-41.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2018). Musical architects: Immersive learning through design thinking in a kindergarten music composition curriculum. Visions of Research in Music Education, 31, 1-38.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2018). From not knowing to understanding: An exploration of effective teaching in a music educator preparation program. Massachusetts Music Educators Journal, 66(3), 17-18.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2017). The EcoSonic Playground: Project description and development. The 8th Conference of the European Network of Music Educators and Researchers of Young Children, 186-194.
• Johnson-Green, E. (2016). STEAM: Where A is for composition. Massachusetts Music Educators Journal, 64(4), 27-29.
• Johnson-Green, E. A. (2013). Beyond Bebop: Iconic composition as music curriculum. In Educating the Creative Mind Conference Report. Kean University: Union, NJ.
• Johnson-Green, E. A. (2012). Musical transitions: Parenting practices through change. In International Society for Music Education, Early Childhood Music Education Conference Proceedings. Corfu, Greece.
• Custodero, L. A., & Johnson-Green, E. A. (2006). Caregiving in counterpoint: Reciprocal influences in the musical parenting of younger and older infants. Early Child Development and Care, 176(1), 1-25.
• Custodero, L. A., & Johnson-Green, E. A. (2003). Passing the cultural torch: Musical experience and musical parenting of infants. Journal of Research in Music Education, 51(2), 102-114.

Selected Presentations

• Johnson-Green, E. and Green, E. (November 2024). The EcoSonic Playground Project: Encompassing all dimensions of learning for the young child through musical exploration. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Johnson-Green, E. (August 2024). Symposium. State of the Art in Early Childhood Music Education. The International Society of Music Education: Advocacy for Sustainability in Music Education. Helsinki, Finland.
• Johnson-Green, E. (March 2024). Workshop. The EcoSonic Playground Project, Hands On. Massachusetts Music Educators Association, All State Conference. Worcester, MA.
• Johnson-Green, E. and Schmid, S. (April 2023). Poster. MusicBeing in an age of transformation: A meta-narrative review study on connectivity and recent holistic approaches in music education. The Thirteenth International Research in Music Education Conference, Society for Education, Music, and Psychology Research. Conference online.
• Johnson-Green, E. (November 2022). Paper. Keep singing out: Families’ use of popular music as a resource for raising resilient children. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Washington, D.C.
• Johnson-Green, E. (July 2022). Poster. Keep singing out: Families’ use of popular music as a resource for raising resilient children. Early Childhood Music Education Commission, International Society of Music Education. Virtual conference.
• Johnson-Green, E. and Lee, C. (April 2022). The EcoSonic Playground Project. Maker Music Festival, Room C418, https://www.makermusicfestival.com/building/Partch/. Award of Merit.
• Johnson-Green, E. and Kiberstis, M. (March 2022). Paper. Immersive musical learning with children with autism spectrum disorder: The EcoSonic Playground Project at ABATEC Boston. Massachusetts Music Educators Association, All State Conference. Marlborough, MA.
• Johnson-Green, E. (April 2021). The EcoSonic Playground Project: An immersive music education-focused, open-access, multidisciplinary learning experience. Paper presented for the Twelfth International Research in Music Education Conference, Society for Education, Music, and Psychology Research. Conference online.
• Johnson-Green, E. (April 2021). Children’s authentic self-assessment with mobile technology. Paper presented as part of a symposium, Gena Greher and Suzanne Burton, chairs. The Twelfth International Research in Music Education Conference, Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research. Conference online.
• Johnson-Green, E. (August 2020). The EcoSonic Playground Project: Impact of an open-access, community outreach, music education program. Paper accepted for the International Society of Music Education: Visions of Equity and Diversity. Helsinki, Finland. (Conference postponed due to COVID-19.)
• Johnson-Green, E. (July 2020). Composing for inclusion: Immersive music education in a kindergarten general music classroom. Poster accepted for the Early Childhood Music Education Commission, International Society of Music Education: Visions of Equity and Diversity. Helsinki, Finland. (Conference postponed due to COVID-19.)
• Johnson-Green, E. & Rosales, R. (April 2020). The EcoSonic Playground Project: STEAM education for children with ASD. Paper accepted for the ABLE Assembly: Arts Better the Lives of Everyone. Boston, MA. (Conference postponed due to COVID-19.)
• Johnson-Green, E. (July 2022). Poster. Keep singing out: Families’ use of popular music as a resource for raising resilient children. Early Childhood Music Education Commission, International Society of Music Education. Virtual conference.
• Johnson-Green, E. (Submitted). Paper. The EcoSonic Playground Project: Immersive, interdisciplinary learning through music in pre-school. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Washington, D.C.
• Johnson-Green, E. and Lee, C. (April 2022). The EcoSonic Playground Project. Maker Music Festival, Room C418. Award of Merit.
• Johnson-Green, E. and Kiberstis, M. (March 2022). Paper. Immersive musical learning with children with autism spectrum disorder: The EcoSonic Playground Project at ABATEC Boston. Massachusetts Music Educators Association, All State Conference. Marlborough, MA.
• Johnson-Green, E. (April 2021). The EcoSonic Playground Project: An immersive music education-focused, open-access, multidisciplinary learning experience. Paper presented for the Twelfth International Research in Music Education Conference, Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research. Conference online.
• Johnson-Green, E. (April 2021). Children’s authentic self-assessment with mobile technology. Paper presented as part of a symposium, Gena Greher and Suzanne Burton, chairs. The Twelfth International Research in Music Education Conference, Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research. Conference online.
• Johnson-Green, E. (August 2020). The EcoSonic Playground Project: Impact of an open-access, community outreach, music education program. Paper accepted for the International Society of Music Education: Visions of Equity and Diversity. Helsinki, Finland. (Conference online due to COVID-19).
• Cali, C., Sole, M., & Johnson-Green, E. (August 2020). Observing children's spontaneous music making: Current developments and impact on research and teaching. Symposium accepted for the International Society of Music Education: Visions of Equity and Diversity. Helsinki, Finland. (Conference online due to COVID-19).
• Johnson-Green, E. (July 2020). Composing for inclusion: Immersive music education in a kindergarten general music classroom. Poster accepted for the Early Childhood Music Education Commission, International Society of Music Education: Visions of Equity and Diversity. Helsinki, Finland. (Conference online due to COVID-19).
• Johnson-Green, E. & Rosales, R. (April 2020). The EcoSonic Playground Project: STEAM education for children with ASD. Paper accepted for the ABLE Assembly: Arts Better the Lives of Everyone. Boston, MA. (Conference postponed due to COVID-19).
• Johnson-Green, E. (March 2020). Building Immersive Musical Experiences through the EcoSonic Playground Project. Workshop presented at the Massachusetts Music Educators Association, All State Conference. Boston, MA.
• Johnson-Green, E. (October 2019). Music at the Center: Creating Meaningful and Relevant Music Education through STEAM Immersion Learning. Paper presented at the Association of Technology in Music Instruction: The College Music Society, National Conference. Louisville, KY.
• Johnson-Green, E. (May 2019). Children's musical development in a composition-focused, STEAM- integrated immersion learning environment: Results from a four-year study. Paper presented at the Visions of Research in Music Education, the Conference. Princeton, NJ.
• Johnson-Green, E. & Lee, C. (May 2019). The EcoSonic Playground: Social action through music education, sustainability, and STEAM immersive learning. Paper presented at the Visions of Research in Music Education, the Conference. Princeton, NJ.
• Johnson-Green, E. (March 2019). Music at the foundation of being human: Studying children's development in and through music. Talk given at University of Massachusetts Lowell River Talks Symposium. Lowell, MA.
• Johnson-Green, E. (October 2018). iAssess: iPads as a tool for self-assessment in a K-5 music composition curriculum. Paper presented at the Association of Technology in Music Instruction: The College Music Society, National Conference. Vancouver, Canada.
• Johnson-Green, E. (March 2018). "I went from not knowing to understanding:" Effective teaching in a music educator preparation program? Paper presented at the Massachusetts Music Educators Association, All State Conference. Boston, MA.
• Johnson-Green, E. (March 2018). The EcoSonic Playground: An immersive, music focused, STEAM integrated, environmentally conscious, inquiry-based community project - development and research. Paper presented at the Massachusetts Music Educators Association, All State Conference. Boston, MA.
• Johnson-Green, E. (March 2018). The EcoSonic Playground Project: Where music education meets sustainability and STEAM. Talk given at University of Massachusetts Lowell River Talks Symposium. Lowell, MA.
• Johnson-Green, E. (October 2017). The EcoSonic Playground: STEAM integration through musical instrument design. Paper presented at the Association for Technology in Music Teaching, College Music Society national conference. San Antonio, TX.
• Johnson-Green, E. (July 2017). Structure and play: Teaching engineering through music composition. Paper presented at the National Science Teachers Association, STEM Symposium. Orlando, FL.
• Johnson-Green, E. (June 2017). The EcoSonic Playground: Project description and development. Paper presented at the Music Educators and Researchers of Young Children (MERYC) Conference. Cambridge University, England.
• Johnson-Green, E. (March 2017). The EcoSonic Playground. Paper presented at the Massachusetts Music Educators Association, All State Conference. Boston, MA.
• Johnson-Green, E. (July 2016). Patterns and play: Teaching kindergarteners music composition through musical-mathematical design. Paper presented at the International Society for Music Education. Edinburg, Scotland.
• Johnson-Green, E. (July 2016). It's Greek to me: Subject integrated, project-based education in a fifth-grade music classroom. Poster presented at the International Society for Music Education. Edinburgh, Scotland.
• Johnson-Green, E. (June 2016). Engaging hearts and minds: Collaborative composition as teaching, learning, and performing technique in a children's choral program. Webinar given for the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), In-service Conference.
• Johnson-Green, E. (March 2016). STEAM: Where A is for composition. Paper presented at the Massachusetts Music Educators Association, All State Conference. Boston, MA.
• Johnson-Green, E. (March 2016). The Musical Playground. Talk given and poster presented at the UMass Lowell Faculty Research Symposium. Lowell, MA.
• Johnson-Green, E. (February 2016). The Musical Playground (Pilot 1). Talk given at University of Massachusetts Lowell River Talks Symposium. Lowell, MA.
• Johnson-Green, E. (July 2015). This is your brain on music: The emotional/social/cognitive outcomes of musical participation from prenatal to kindergarten. Paper presented at the National Association for the Education of young Children: The Power of The Profession, Orlando, FL.

Selected Artistic and Professional Performances and Exhibits

Johnson-Green, E. & Beatrice, A. (2018). Juried competition. The EcoSonic Playground Project sound sculpture installation at a public-school bus stop at the intersection of Geneva Avenue and Westville Street, Dorchester, MA. The Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics Play Around the City initiative.

Director of Research and Executive Producer of "We’ve got the world on a string," Documentary film on the Lowell String Project Community premiere at the Luna Theater, Lowell, MA April 2017

Selected Contracts, Fellowships, Grants and Sponsored Research

Grants:

2025-2027
National Endowment for the Arts (submitted)
Rocio Rosales, Co-PI
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Grant: $100,000.00

2023-2025
University of Massachusetts Lowell, Seed Grant Program
Jiabin Shen, Co-PI
In support of The Music of Safety: Integrating Music-Based Learning for Childhood Unintentional Injury Prevention
Grant: $15,000.00

2023-2024
UML ADVANCE Office for Faculty Equity Collaborative Mentoring Seed Grant
Cohort Member
Urmitapa Dutta, Cohort Leader
Project: Toward a Sustainable Framework for Community-engaged Scholarship
Grant: $2000.00

2023-2024
UML Center for Excellence in Learning & Teaching: Contemplative Pedagogy Mini-Grant
In support of course re-design
Grant: $1000.00

2021-2023
University of Massachusetts Lowell, Seed Grant Program
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Grant: $10,000.00

2021-2023
Emerging Scholars Program
UML Sociology Department, Center for Women and Work
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Provided an undergraduate research assistantship: $3000.00 (for each year of participation)

2020-2021
The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Grant: $5000.00

2019-2020
International Society for Music Education Research Grant
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Grant: $6000.00

2018
Boston Mayor's Office Urban Planning Commission: Play Around the City Community installation of the EcoSonic Playground Project in Dorchester, MA
Juried Selection
Grant: $2000.00

2018
UML 2020 Community Impact Grant
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Girls Incorporated of Greater Lowell
Grant: $2000.00

2017-2018
University of Massachusetts Sustainability Grant
In support of the EcoSonic Playground project international partnership with Michael Flannery of the Marino Institute of Education, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
Grant: $8500.00

2017
The Thelonious Monk Foundation
Support to develop a website for the EcoSonic Playground Project
Gena Greher, PI
Grant: $1500.00

2016
University of Massachusetts Lowell Internal Seed Grant
Supporting funds for The Lowell String Project Documentary
Grant: $5000.00

2016
Lowell Cultural Council Grant
Supporting funds for The Lowell String Project Documentary
Grant: $1500.00

2015-2016
University of Massachusetts Lowell Chancellor's 2020 Challenge Grant
Start-up grant for The Musical Playground project
Grant: $1000.00

Fellowships

2016-2018; 2019-2021
Emerging Scholars Program
UML Sociology Department, Center for Women and Work
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Undergraduate research assistantships totaling: $10,500.00

Summer 2020
Immersive Scholars Program
UML Provost's Office of Signature Programs and Experiential Learning
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Undergraduate research assistantship: $4000.00

Spring 2020
FAHSS Student Assistantship Program
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Undergraduate research assistantship: $1530.00

2019-2020
Honors College Fellowship
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Undergraduate research assistantship: $1200.00

2017-2019
Community Engaged Scholars Program
Interdisciplinary, research development peer cohort
The EcoSonic Playground Project: 2018-2019
We've got the world on a string documentary film: 2017-2018
Grants totaling: $2000.00

2016
Service-Learning Integrated throughout the College of Engineering (SLICE) Co-op Fellowship
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Undergraduate research assistantship: $2500.00

2015
University of Massachusetts Lowell FAHSS Honors College Fellowship
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Undergraduate research assistantship: $1000.00

Sponsored Programs

2023-2025 River Hawk Scholars Academy
Undergraduate research assistantship
In support of The Music of Safety: Integrating Music-Based Learning for Childhood
Unintentional Injury Prevention

2016-2025 Emerging Scholars Program
UML Sociology Department, Center for Women and Work
In support of The Music of Safety: Integrating Music-Based Learning for Childhood Unintentional Injury Prevention
Provided an undergraduate research assistantship.

Summer 2020 Immersive Scholars Program
UML Provost’s Office of Signature Programs and Experiential Learning
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Undergraduate research assistantship.

Spring 2020 FAHSS Student Assistantship Program
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Undergraduate research assistantship.

2019-2020 Honors College Fellowship
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Undergraduate research assistantship.

2017-2019 Community Engaged Scholars Program
Interdisciplinary, research development peer cohort
The EcoSonic Playground Project: 2018-2019
We’ve got the world on a string documentary film: 2017-2018

2016 Service-Learning Integrated throughout the College of Engineering (SLICE) Co-op
Fellowship In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Undergraduate research assistantship.

2015 University of Massachusetts Lowell FAHSS Honors College Fellowship
In support of the EcoSonic Playground Project
Undergraduate research assistantship.

Research Currently in Progress

Inventor, Project Lead, and Lead Investigator
The EcoSonic Playground Project (ESPP)
The ESPP focuses on working with children of all ages to design, build, and play large-scale, multi-player musical instrument structures made from reusable materials. It fully integrates musical exploration, engineering, science, math, design thinking, social emotional learning, and open creativity into an immersion learning curriculum. The ESPP is open access; materials and teaching are provided at no cost to project partners. To date, I have implemented the ESPP with 25 schools and programs in the US, Canada, and Ireland. Research on the ESPP focuses on its impact on participating students and communities.

Lead Investigator
The EcoSonic Playground Project with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Co-Lead Investigator: Rocio Rosales, Associate Professor of Psychology
Presently, we are in the process of adapting and developing the ESPP for children with ASD and their teachers. We have completed three iterations with plans to continue implementing this program in Lowell and the surrounding areas.

Lead Investigator
Music’s Role in Teaching Injury Prevention Skills
Co-Lead Investigator: Jiabin Shen, Assistant Professor of Psychology
The goal of this proposed project is to develop and evaluate the efficacy of a music-enhanced educational program for dog-bite injury prevention among young school- aged children. The specific objectives are (1) To compose original musical pieces attuned to an existing testimonial-based storytelling video educational program for childhood dog-bite injury prevention; (2) To examine the safety and efficacy of this music-enhanced educational intervention by conducting a three-part, parallel-group randomized controlled trial (pilot, beta-testing, and testing); and (3)To explore the feasibility of using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to assess core brain activities during intervention implementation. Ultimately, we want to discover whether the addition of music to these educational videos enhances participant children’s ability to retain information and skills around preventing injury.

Lead Investigator
MusicBeing: A New Philosophy of Music’s Role in the Development of Humanity
Co-Lead Investigator: Silke Schmid, Associate Professor of Music, University of Freiburg, Germany
We are examining music’s essential role in human development and how it underlies our humanity. While many researchers and philosophers have studied core musicality from various perspectives, we see a need to cohere this work and to develop curriculum for teachers in k-12 music education founded on it.

The EcoSonic Playground Project (501c3) is a socially-oriented, music-focused, STEM+Design, sustainability education program for children of all ages and learning abilities. It is an immersive learning program where children design and play large-scale musical instrument structures, which they build out of reusable materials and PVC pipe. The ESPP team "lives-in" with groups of children and their teachers for several weeks and works with them through a four-part curriculum. The curriculum comprises a balance of structured skill building and creative freedom to encourage children’s deep learning and artistic expression. The ESPP is adaptable to any learning environment and the curriculum is flexible to meet our participants’ needs. Further, it is open access and fully grant supported to remain accessible to any community that expresses interest in participation (our participants are self-selecting; we do not solicit groups for inclusion). Since 2016, I have implemented 18 ESPP programs in the US, Canada, and Ireland. The latest iteration is a collaboration with Rocio Rosales (Associate Professor of Psychology): it focuses on working with children with autism spectrum disorder, their siblings, and caregivers.