Education Researcher, SRI Education
Claire Christensen, PhD, is a senior education researcher in SRI’s Education Division. She is an expert in educational media for young children, specializing in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and social and emotional learning.
At SRI, Christensen leads rigorous evaluations of educational media, ranging from randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies to mixed-methods formative evaluations. For example, she co-leads summative and formative evaluations of PBS KIDS apps and videos for the Ready to Learn Initiative. She is also principal investigator of an National Science Foundation-funded program of research to develop AI-based tools for understanding young children’s exposure to videos online. Christensen’s other clients include Sesame Workshop, the Jim Henson Company, Amira Learning, and EdSurge.
Before joining SRI, Christensen conducted research and evaluations on educational programs in STEM and social and emotional learning. She was a research intern at the Center on Media and Child Health at Boston Children’s Hospital, as well as at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Christensen earned her MA and PhD in community and prevention research, with a minor in evaluating educational programs, from the University of Illinois Chicago. She holds a BS in mass communication, specializing in educational media, from Illinois State University.
Current projects
- Evaluation of the Ready To Learn Initiative
- Assisting Parents to Review Online Videos for Education (APPROVE)
- Formative Research to Support Sesame Workshop and UnitedHealthcare’s Healthy Habits Initiative
- Evaluation of Yixue Adaptive Learning
- IDEAS 2: Inventing, Designing, and Engineering on the Autism Spectrum Expansion Project
Recent publications
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YouTube’s ABCs and 123s: Describing the quality of early literacy and math videos on YouTube
This paper describes the quality of educational videos for young children on YouTube.
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An Evaluation of a First-of-its-kind Hybrid Law Degree Program
There are few published studies investigating the effectiveness of hybrid formats at the program level in graduate legal education. A hybrid Juris Doctorate (J.D.) program launched by a Midwestern institution…
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Sparking Connections: Evaluations of Mobile Messaging on Responsive Caregiving
Mobile messaging programs are a low-cost, scalable approach to building parents’ knowledge and capacity to support their children’s development. These programs directly deliver simple and straightforward information, tips, and activities…
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The Efficacy of Digital Media Resources in Improving Children’s Ability to Use Informational Text: An Evaluation of Molly of Denali from PBS KIDS
Two nine-week trials with a national sample of 263 first-graders examined whether free educational videos and digital games supported children’s ability to use informational text to answer real-world questions.
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Comparing Parent Report and Telemetry Measures of Child Media Use
Accurate measurement of children’s media use is critical for understanding media effects on child outcomes.
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When adaptive learning is effective learning: comparison of an adaptive learning system to teacher-led instruction
Adaptive learning systems personalize instruction to students’ individual learning needs and abilities. Such systems have shown positive impacts on learning. Many schools in the United States have adopted adaptive learning…
For a full list of her work visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairegchristensen/