Brigid Barron
Margaret Jacks Professor of Education
Graduate School of Education
Bio
Dr. Barron is a developmental psychologist who studies processes of collaborative learning in and out of school. Her research investigates interest-driven learning with a focus on how digital technologies can serve as catalysts for collaborative learning across home, school, and community settings with the goal of creating more equitable opportunities for the development of expertise. The theoretical goal of this work is to articulate conditions that lead to the diversification of a child's learning ecology through increasing activity in learning activities across settings. Current projects include the longitudinal documentation of learner pathways to engagement, studies of families as technology-supported learning teams, and the roles that personal learning networks play in catalyzing and sustaining interest-driven learning She is founder of the YouthLAB at Stanford, and a co-lead of TELOS, a Stanford Graduate School of Education Initiative to investigate how technologies can provide more equitable access to learning opportunities. She was a lead researcher in the NSF-funded LIFE Center (Learning in Informal and Formal Environments), investigating the social foundations of learning across diverse communities, contexts, and domains.
Administrative Appointments
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Professor, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University (1996 - Present)
Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations
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Editorial Board Member, Journal of the Learning Sciences (2011 - Present)
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Editorial Board Member, Cognition and Instruction (2014 - Present)
Professional Education
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BS, University of California at Santa Cruz, Psychology (1984)
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MA, Vanderbilt University, Psychology (1989)
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PhD, Vanderbilt University, Clinical and Developmental Psychology (1992)
Research Interests
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Child Development
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Collaborative Learning
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Diversity and Identity
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Equity in Education
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Gender Issues
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Lifelong Learning
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Parents and Family Issues
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Poverty and Inequality
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Technology and Education
Current Research and Scholarly Interests
Current projects include the longitudinal documentation of learner pathways to engagement, studies of families as technology-supported learning teams, and the roles that personal learning networks play in catalyzing and sustaining interest-driven learning She is founder of the YouthLAB at Stanford, and a co-lead of TELOS, a Stanford Graduate School of Education Initiative to investigate how technologies can provide more equitable access to learning opportunities.
2024-25 Courses
- Child Development and New Technologies
EDUC 342 (Win) - Learning Sciences and Technology Design Research Seminar and Colloquium
EDUC 291 (Aut) -
Independent Studies (8)
- Directed Reading
EDUC 480 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Directed Reading in Education
EDUC 180 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Directed Research
EDUC 490 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Directed Research in Education
EDUC 190 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Honors Research
EDUC 140 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Master's Thesis
EDUC 185 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Practicum
EDUC 470 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Supervised Internship
EDUC 380 (Aut, Win, Spr)
- Directed Reading
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Prior Year Courses
2023-24 Courses
- Child Development and New Technologies
EDUC 342 (Win) - Learning Sciences and Technology Design Research Seminar and Colloquium
EDUC 291 (Aut) - Learning in Formal and Informal Environments
EDUC 366 (Aut)
2022-23 Courses
- Child Development and New Technologies
EDUC 342 (Win)
2021-22 Courses
- Learning in Formal and Informal Environments
EDUC 366 (Win)
- Child Development and New Technologies
Stanford Advisees
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Doctoral Dissertation Reader (AC)
Archana Kannan -
Master's Program Advisor
Ana Marini, Anchal Sayal -
Doctoral (Program)
Maria Romero
All Publications
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Implications for educational practice of the science of learning and development
APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE
2019
View details for DOI 10.1080/10888691.2018.1537791
View details for Web of Science ID 000486954100001
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Latino immigrant families learning with digital media across settings and generations
DIGITAL EDUCATION REVIEW
2018: 150–69
View details for Web of Science ID 000437493300011
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Conducting Video Research in the Learning Sciences: Guidance on Selection, Analysis, Technology, and Ethics
JOURNAL OF THE LEARNING SCIENCES
2010; 19 (1): 3-53
View details for DOI 10.1080/10508400903452884
View details for Web of Science ID 000274736100002
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Predictors of creative computing participation and profiles of experience in two Silicon Valley middle schools
COMPUTERS & EDUCATION
2010; 54 (1): 178-189
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.compedu.2009.07.017
View details for Web of Science ID 000272310100017
- Parents as learning partners in the development of technological fluency International Journal of Learning Media 2009
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A CULTURE OF SHARING A Look at Identity Development Through the Creation and Presentation of Digital Media Projects
1st International Conference on Computer Supported Education
INSTICC-INST SYST TECHNOLOGIES INFORMATION CONTROL & COMMUNICATION. 2009: 167–174
View details for Web of Science ID 000267757200032
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Sparking self-sustained learning: report on a design experiment to build technological fluency and bridge divides
International Conference on Technology Education in the Asia Pacific Region (ICTE)
SPRINGER. 2007: 75–105
View details for DOI 10.1007/s10798-006-9002-4
View details for Web of Science ID 000244821800007
- Staying the course with video analysis Video research in the learning sciences 2007: 101-113
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Images of self and others as computer users: the role of gender and experience
JOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING
2006; 22 (5): 335-348
View details for Web of Science ID 000240318800003
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Interest and self-sustained learning as catalysts of development: A learning ecology perspective
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
2006; 49 (4): 193-224
View details for DOI 10.1159/000094368
View details for Web of Science ID 000241280600001
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Design theories of interest, motivation, and engagement for the learning sciences
6th International Conference of the Learning Sciences
LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOC PUBL. 2004: 8–11
View details for Web of Science ID 000222781900003
- Learning ecologies for technological fluency: Gender and experience differences Journal of Educational Computing Research 2004; 31 (1): 1-36
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Equity and the development of technological fluency
6th International Conference of the Learning Sciences
LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOC PUBL. 2004: 585–585
View details for Web of Science ID 000222781900081
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When smart groups fail
JOURNAL OF THE LEARNING SCIENCES
2003; 12 (3): 307-359
View details for Web of Science ID 000183896600001
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Creative work in relational context and its developmental significance
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
2002; 45 (5): 367-371
View details for Web of Science ID 000177906100005
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Problem solving in video-based microworlds: Collaborative and individual outcomes of high-achieving sixth-grade students
JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
2000; 92 (2): 391-398
View details for DOI 10.1037//0022-0663.92.2.391
View details for Web of Science ID 000087775200015
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Achieving coordination in collaborative problem-solving groups
JOURNAL OF THE LEARNING SCIENCES
2000; 9 (4): 403-436
View details for Web of Science ID 000089703800002
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Doing with understanding: Lessons from research on problem- and project-based learning
JOURNAL OF THE LEARNING SCIENCES
1998; 7 (3-4): 271-311
View details for Web of Science ID 000076187300002
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A THROWER-BUTTON OR A BUTTON-THROWER - CHILDRENS JUDGMENTS OF GRAMMATICAL AND UNGRAMMATICAL COMPOUND NOUNS
LINGUISTICS
1988; 26 (1): 3-19
View details for Web of Science ID A1988M401100001