The oval at Ohio State

The Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology Awarded $32M in Grants in FY20 Fiscal Year

Section Items

In FY20 (July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020), faculty, staff and student researchers at The Ohio State University, College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE) were awarded $31,916,029. This is a $10 million increase in EHE PI-led grant awards over FY19.

Grants are listed based upon the quarter in which they were awarded. Abstracts are included when available. Click on the PI’s name for their contact information and to learn more about their research.

All past awards can be found at our awards archive.

Section Items
Grid Items

July – September 2019


Do excessive school absences link to children's social behavioral development and executive functioning?

PI: Arya Ansari
Amount: $169,775
Sponsor: NIH
Department: Human Sciences

This study will determine if: (1) at the start of formal education (i.e., kindergarten), there are identifiable malleable and policy-relevant school and classroom factors that influence children’s school absences; (2) kindergarten absenteeism is linked with children’s social-behavioral engagement and executive functioning; (3) these associations vary by child/family characteristics and their experiences in school; and (4) these patterns, correlates, and outcomes vary across grade levels. Our project will examine these issues by relying on nationally representative and longitudinal data (ECLS-K: 2011) in which each child during each wave was assessed and linked to the characteristics of their schools, families, and neighborhoods, which allows for methodological rigor. When taken together, this investigation will generate new information that can inform policies and interventions designed to address school absences—a growing public health issue—and also shed light on the links between school absences and children’s social-behavior and executive function skills, which have long-term implications for students’ well-being and educational success.


FY 20 Technical Testing Project

PI: James Austin
Amount: $1,362,911
Sponsor: Ohio Department of Education
Department: CETE

The Technical Testing Project is a statewide system that develops and delivers tests to provide data on secondary student technical skill attainment. This data supports strategic objectives of the Ohio Department of Education Office of Career-Technical Education (ODE-CTE). The testing system is aligned to the vision and mission of the Office as articulated in the strategic plan, including graduation options, postsecondary transitions, local district report cards, and Federal reporting. The test delivery system is served to test-takers and stakeholders across Ohio through an online portal (WebXam) operated by the Center on Education and Training for Employment.


Expansion and Refinement of the Virtual Lab School, an Innovative Professional Development and Training System for Childcare Professionals FY19-20

PI: Cynthia Buettner
Amount: $3,000,000
Sponsor: USDA
Department: Human Sciences


The OSU Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership

PI: Donald Fuzer
Amount: $2,882,028
Sponsor: US Department of Health and Human Services-Office Of Head Start
Department: CCEC


Micronutrients for ADHD in Youth: The MADDY Study

PI: Irene Hatsu
Amount: $3,605
Sponsor: Calgary Foundation
Department: Human Sciences


The All-or-Nothing Marriage? Marital Functioning and Health among Individuals in Same and Different-Gender Marriages

PI: Claire Kamp-Dush
Amount: $2,400,258
Sponsor: NIH
Department: Human Sciences

This project will identify key changes in marital functioning and individual health and wellbeing in the U.S. over the past four decades in different gender spouses, and benchmark these for same-gender spouses. Our approach will be to generate a third repeated cross-section (i.e. a third wave) of the Work and Family Life Study data, complementing and extending cross-sectional data collected in 1980 and 2000. We propose: Aim 1. Identify age, period, and cohort trends in marital functioning (e.g. marital happiness and conflict, divorce proneness) over the past 40 years among different gender spouses, and test for race and social class differences. Aim 2. Examine age, period, and cohort trends in the association between marital functioning and adult physical and mental health over the past 40 years among different gender couples, by race and social class. Aim 3. Examine the association between marital functioning and adult physical and mental health in individuals in same-gender marriages by race and social class, and compare the magnitude of these associations with individuals in different-gender marriages.


Buckeye Behavior Analysis - FCBDD

PI: Helen Malone
Amount: $66,892
Sponsor: Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Ohio
Department: Educational Studies


CAHSI INCLUDES Community Workshop on Building CISE Research Capacity at Hispanic-Serving Institutions

PI: Ann-Marie Nunez
Amount: $61,936
Sponsor: University of Texas El Paso UTEP (NSF)
Department: Educational Studies


Corrections Consultant Project

PI: Rebecca Parker
Amount: $99,407
Sponsor: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC)
Department: CETE

This project involves traveling to all ODRC facilities to provide support to DRC educators. The staff consultant will provide DRC teachers new to a correctional setting with support structures through this position that is consistent with corrections education practices and policies as well as compliance with the licensure requirements of the Ohio Department of Education. This staff consultant also will provide face-to-face school classroom visits. Additional duties include consultation concerning career-technical licensure, consultation with the career-technical licensure universities as needed, curriculum development assistance, prepare reports, evaluate effectiveness, advise and makes recommendations to the leadership of the school districts within the DRC and professional development assistance and attend DRC meetings as needed.


Language Gains during Early Childhood: Prediction of Later Outcomes and Multiple-Methods Exploration of Relevant Classroom Factors

PI: Shayne Piasta
Amount: $1,399,996
Sponsor: US Department of Education; Institute for Education Sciences (IES)
Department: Teaching and Learning


Classroom Age Composition and Children's Early Learning: Understanding the Role of Classroom Practices

PI: Kelly Purtell
Amount: $1,399,989
Sponsor: US Department of Education; Institute for Education Sciences (IES)
Department: Human Sciences


Prevention of OUD: The HOME (Housing, Opportunities, Motivation and Engagement) Randomized Trial

PI: Natasha Slesnick
Amount: $704,941
Sponsor: NIH
Department: Human Sciences


Improving Literacy Outcomes for Children with Communication Impairments: A Caregiver-implemented Printed Knowledge Intervention

PI: Sherine Tambyraja
Amount: $168,416
Sponsor: NIH
Department: CCEC


2019 Fulbright FLTA Orientation Program

PI: Francis Troyan
Amount: $58,490
Sponsor: Fulbright Scholar Program, US Department of State
Department: Teaching and Learning

Forty-five language teachers from around the world came to Ohio State to learn about world language teaching methods in U.S colleges and universities, life and culture in the U.S., implicit bias in the classroom, and Title IX. Maura Eze (Department of Teaching and Learning), Preshuslee Thompson (Kirwin Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity), and Leigha Grosh (Title IX Office) collaborated to present the orientation content.


Characterizing the Metabolome and Volatilome of Gut Microbiome

PI: Jiangjiang Zhu
Amount: $1,430,268
Sponsor: NIH
Department: Human Sciences


Career-technical Education (CTE) Teacher Education Programs FY2020 Funding

PI: Christopher Zirkle
Amount: $112,000
Sponsor: Ohio Department of Educational
Department: Educational Studies

October – December 2019


Present, Engaged, and Ready to Learn: The School Absences of America's Youngest Children

PI: Arya Ansari
Amount: $29,164
Sponsor: Spencer Foundation
Department: Human Sciences


Coordination of Regional Family-community Engagement Network: IDEA Parent, Community, and Educator Collaboration FY 20

PI: Barbara Boone
Amount: $174,000
Sponsor: Ohio Department of Education
Department: CETE


SPDG Family & Community Engagement for Early Language and Literacy

PI: Barbara Boone
Amount: $100,000
Sponsor: Ohio Department of Education
Department: CETE


Achieving Nutritional Adequacy of Vitamins E and K with an Egg/Plant-Based Food Pairing

PI: Richard Bruno
Amount: $319,680
Sponsor: American EGG Board/Egg Nutrition Center
Department: Human Sciences


Refining and Expanding HEROES: A Literacy Intervention for Young Students with IEPs

PI: Jerome D’Agostino
Amount: $8,000,000
Sponsor: US Department of Education
Department: Educational Studies


State Youth Treatment - Implementation (Part 6)

PI: David Julian
Amount: $78,000
Sponsor: OH Department Of Mental Health & Addiction Services
Department: CETE


SES-Related Disparities in Early Language Development and Child Risk for Developmental Language Disorder

PI: Laura Justice
Amount: $2,984,551
Sponsor: NIH
Department: CCEC


Early Start Columbus: Schoenbaum Family Center School for Early Learning Preschool Expansion Grant - School Year 2019-2020

PI: Laura Justice
Amount: $80,000
Sponsor: City of Columbus
Department: CCEC


Child Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Renewal 2019-2020

PI: Laura Justice
Amount: $23,172
Sponsor: Ohio Department of Education (USDA)
Department: CCEC


VLS Momentum Project with Future Ready Columbus

PI: Sarah Lang
Amount: $280,000
Sponsor: Future Ready Columbus
Department: Human Sciences

VLS Momentum was created to increase the number of highly-qualified and credentialed childcare staff, that serve children receiving publicly funded care, to support best practices in programs and classrooms, provide top quality care to children and parents, assist programs in meeting SUTQ criteria, retain the ability to receive public subsidy, and improve reimbursement rates.


FY 2020 The Ohio State University Services to Support the Ohio Aspire Professional Development Network

PI: Traci Lepicki
Amount: $293,867
Sponsor: Kent State University
Department: CETE


Archiving, Enhancing, and Expanding the Cross-national Equivalent Files

PI: Dean Lillard
Amount: $156,000
Sponsor: NIH
Department: Human Sciences

In this project, the project team will support, enhance, and expand the Cross-National Equivalent Files (CNEF). The CNEF is a cooperative effort of individuals and institutions that, as of 2019, compiles panel survey data from nine countries. The studies include the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), UK British Household Panel Study (BHPS), Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA), Japan Household Panel Survey (JHPS), Korea Labor and Income Panel (KLIPS), Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Study-Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE), Canadian Survey of Labor and Income Dynamics (SLID), German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), and Swiss Household Panel (SHP). The CNEF harmonizes data common to two or more of the country-based surveys, allows researchers access to both the harmonized and original data, provides all harmonization algorithms, and focuses on some of the most successful nationally representative ongoing longitudinal micro-data sets in the world.


Developing Talkers: Building Effective Teachers of Academic Language Skills

PI: Jessica Logan
Amount: $602,500
Sponsor: University of Texas (IES)
Department: Educational Studies


Multilingual Mexico: The Linguistic, Cultural, and Educational Spaces of Oaxaca

PI: Peter Sayer
Amount: $98,520
Sponsor: Fulbright-Hays, US Department of State
Department: Teaching and Learning


STAR at Home: Using Shared Book Reading to Facilitate Family Engagement in Preschool Classrooms

PI: Sherine Tambyraja
Amount: $43,534
Sponsor: Mahoning County, Ohio
Department: CCEC


City of Columbus' Pre-kindergarten Initiative 2019-2020: Ready4Success

PI: Sherine Tambyraja
Amount: $268,000
Sponsor: City of Columbus Ohio
Department: CCEC


Assessment of Students' Social Emotional Skills in Academic Setting

PI: Kui Xie
Amount: $73,151
Sponsor: Mayfield Ohio School District
Department: Educational Studies

This project is a collaboration between Research Laboratory for Digital Learning (RLDL) at OSU and Mayfield School District. Under the leadership of Dr. Kui Xie, the team will begin implementation of a district-wide system designed to evaluate students’ social-emotional factors and school contextual factors that influence students’ academic performance in schools, and provide school-specific assessment reports to support student academic success and social-emotional well-being, as well as classroom technology integration.

Grid Items

January – March 2020


Program for Preparation of Orientation & Mobility Specialists: 2019-2020

PI: Patti Brosnan
Amount: $161,717
Sponsor: University of Cincinnati
Department: Teaching and Learning


CAREER: Digital Mathematics Storytelling from Communities of Color

PI: Theodore Chao
Amount: $817,220
Sponsor: NSF
Department: Teaching and Learning

The goals of this project are to (1) develop a digital mathematics storytelling protocol for all teachers to use, (2) understand the effects of digital storytelling on children’s mathematical identities, fraction knowledge, and digital literacies, (3) understand how using digital mathematics storytelling effects mathematics instruction, the level of equity in the classroom, and the level of connectedness that teachers feel to their communities, and (4) create a nationwide, online community space for all teachers to learn how to use digital mathematics storytelling. In terms of research methods, a Participant Design Research methodology will be used so that students, their families, and community members will have a voice in developing the digital mathematics storytelling protocol.


Training Leaders to Improve Education and Health Outcomes of Individuals Served by IDEA: A Multi-institution Mentorship Consortium

PI: Samuel Hodge
Amount: $814,992
Sponsor: East Carolina University (US Department Of Education)
Department: Human Sciences


Early Childhood Education Expansion Grant - Year 2019-2020

PI : Laura Justice
Amount: $60,000
Sponsor: Ohio Department of Education
Department: CCEC


Investing in Student Wellness: Case Studies to Examine and Improve Impact

PI: Ann O’Connell
Amount: $21,63
Sponsor: Miami University
Department: Educational Studies


The Link between Career and Technical Education and Criminal Behavior

PI: Jay Plasman
Amount: $34,000
Sponsor: Charles Koch Foundation
Department: Educational Studies

The relationship between general education and criminal behavior will be investigated. Specifically, the following questions will be addressed: Are students who participate in CTE less likely to participate in criminal behaviors? And second, can CTE help reduce the chances of repeated criminal behavior?


Head Start Collaboration

PI : Melissa Ross
Amount: $30,000
Sponsor: Ohio Department of Education
Department: CETE


APS (Adult Protective Services) Research Project

PI: Kenneth Steinman
Amount: $99,998
Sponsor: Ohio Department Of Job And Family Services
Department: Human Sciences


Evaluation of OCTF Central Ohio Regional Prevention Council (CORPC)

PI : Kenneth Steinman
Amount: $41,981
Sponsor: Nationwide Children's Hospital
Department: Human Sciences


Women and Ketogenic Diet: Clinical Biomarkers that May be Predictive of Resistance to Beneficial Metabolic Outcomes in Overweight Women

PI : Jeff Volek
Amount: $560,738
Sponsor: Metagenics, Inc.
Department: Human Sciences

April – June 2020


The IT College and CAREERS Readiness Project: Career Academy Research on Educational Experiences and Related Successes

PI : Edward Fletcher
Amount: $121,230
Sponsor: NSF
Department: Educational Studies


The Ohio State University Early Head Start Dental Partnership

PI: Donald Fuzer
Amount: $1,000
Sponsor: Delta Dental Foundation
Department: CCEC


Portland Community College (DACUM)

PI: John Moser
Amount: $16,600
Sponsor: Portland Community College
Department: CETE


Determining Optimal Treatment Intensity for Children with LI

PI: Sherine Tambyraja
Amount: $209,870
Sponsor: University of Texas (NIH)
Department: CCEC

All past awards can be found at our awards archive.