Research in Education and Learning Lab
What We Do
The Research in Education and Learning Lab at UVA, directed by Jamie Jirout, focuses on questions related to STEM learning and motivation from a cognitive developmental perspective.
Visit the Full REAL Lab website.
Our Focus
Current projects examine the development of curiosity, including how instructional practices influence curiosity, and how curiosity influences learning. We also are interested in other intellectual character virtues, such as creativity and open-minded thinking.
Additional Work
Another research area in the lab is children’s playful learning, especially how children learn from spatial play and the development of different play behaviors and beliefs about play and toys. We currently partner with the Virginia Discovery Museum's Learning Lab and Living Lab.
REAL Lab News
Professor Jirout Among Record Number of UVA Early Career Award Recipients
Jamie Jirout has been awarded the prestigious CAREER award from the National Science Foundation to support her research on curiosity.
Our Team
Ryan Burke
- Ph.D. Student
- VEST Fellow
Jamie J. Jirout
- Associate Professor
Virginia E. Vitiello
- Research Associate Professor