Allison Bradford

Allison Bradford is a doctoral student in the Learning Sciences and Human Development Cluster within the School of Education. She received her BS in Physics from the University of Maryland, and was a high school math and science teacher before attending graduate school.

She currently engages in design-based research in partnership with teachers from several Bay Area school districts. Her current research is centered on teacher customization of middle school science curriculum in response to their students’ ideas and learning needs. Her studies focus on teacher customization, both as it occurs in-the-moment as teachers review learning analytics and during summer professional development workshops designed to guide teacher refinement of the curriculum.

Allison aims to understand how the design of learning analytics can lead to actionable insights for teachers and how their response influences student learning. She is particularly interested in increasing partnership between teachers and researchers in the space of learning analytics with the aim of making learning analytics that are more practically important to teachers, better grounded in theories of learning, and more connected to the full range of ways students express their understanding. Allison also engages in design research to refine workshop activities and understand the impact they have on teachers’ customization and classroom approach.

Her other research projects include designing curriculum that leverages choice to support students to become more self-directed learners and helping teachers to integrate open educational resources that promote the exploration of issues of environmental and racial justice into their NGSS-aligned science curriculum. Allison is still passionate about teaching and connecting with students, and currently serves as a GSI in the CalTeach minor program. Outside of the BSE, Allison is an avid runner who enjoys exploring all the trails and natural beauty that California has to offer.