Playing for Change - YEDI Affiliated Project
Jennifer Skeem, Professor
Social Welfare
Applications for Fall 2024 are closed for this project.
Risk-Resilience Research (RRR) is a fun, dynamic, interdisciplinary team of students, staff, and scholars at the University of California, Berkeley. Our mission is to improve justice, safety, and well-being for people and communities at risk, through policy-relevant research. The RRR lab is directed by Professor Jennifer Skeem, a psychologist affiliated with the Goldman School of Public Policy and School of Social Welfare. For more about us and our work, please see: http://risk-resilience.berkeley.edu/
In our Playing for Change project, we have partnered with local youth agencies and schools, and international experts to build a fun and helpful game to prevent aggression and promote prosocial development that can expand the reach of current prevention efforts. We are currently conducting an RCT to test its fun and effectiveness.
See this video clip about our work:
https://tinyurl.com/P4Csummary
If you are selected for this research project, you will be given the opportunity to join the Youth Equity Discovery Initiative (YEDI) program, although it is not a requirement. YEDI is a research apprenticeship and mentorship program that supplements your URAP research work with weekly workshops in both Fall and Spring semesters. YEDI creates a cohort of undergraduate scholars (usually around 20-30, many from underrepresented backgrounds) that are working on youth equity research projects, such as this one. The year-long program utilizes cascading mentorship, skill-building workshops, and professional development to provide supportive pathways into research careers, service, and leadership addressing adolescent inequities and well-being. Scholars greatly benefit from (and enjoy!) the extra training and support, as well as the professional development opportunities (including faculty guest speakers, graduate student and practitioner panels). The program culminates in a research presentation at the end of the program. The 2024-2025 YEDI cohort will meet on Tuesdays from 4:30 - 6:00pm beginning September 24th. In order to take part in the YEDI program, you MUST be able to attend the workshops at this time. As a YEDI scholar, you will sign up for a PH198 class and receive 1 unit. This is in addition to the units you receive for your URAP research project. For any questions about YEDI, please contact Marieka Schotland at mschotland@berkeley.edu or visit their website here: https://i4y.berkeley.edu/youth-equity-discovery-initiative-yedi-program
Role: We are looking for a student Research Assistant (RA) to join our team. The student RA will assist and support RRR faculty and staff on the Playing for Change project. This study involves working with local youth (9-12 years old) to implement and evaluate a videogame-supported afterschool program designed to prevent aggression and promote positive development among early adolescents.
A significant portion of this role involves fieldwork, where the RA will engage directly with youth in various school settings. Responsibilities include assisting in the implementation of a highly structured group intervention. This includes supporting the lead facilitator by supervising gaming sessions, troubleshooting technical issues, and supporting with classroom management. Additionally, the student RA will assist in tournaments, collaborating closely with other team members while interacting with up to 14 youths in competitive environments
Other duties may include data entry, data coding, assistance with administrative tasks and other duties related to the project as required.
Qualifications: Applicants must have a good GPA and relevant interests. They should be interested in involvement in our lab, including professional development activities, that can contribute to successful graduate school applications. Requires 8-10 hours/week availability. Student RAs need to be available for at least two of the following time periods: M: 1-5pm, Tu, Th: 1.30-5.30PM and W: 11.30 AM-3:30 PM
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Dr Sharon Farrell, Executive Director, Staff Researcher
Hours: 9-11 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: Accompanying team members to local schools will be required (schools TBD).
Related website: https://risk-resilience.berkeley.edu/
Social Sciences