The Child Development Lab provides opportunities for student and faculty researchers to conduct studies, pilot research protocols, and/or train research assistants. Our goal is to support an innovative research community with dynamic campus, local and national partnerships to generate new knowledge and train the next generation of researchers in developmentally-appropriate, relationship-based research practices to advance the field of developmental science.
Get Involved with CDL Studies: Current Research Opportunities for CDL Families
Learning, Cognition, and Development (LCD) Lab
Dr. Haley Vlach is a Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and the Primary Investigator of the Learning, Cognition, and Development (LCD) Lab.
The LCD Lab studies how children remember, learn new words, and organize the world into categories. We are currently seeking interested and 
dedicated families from the CDL community with children between the ages of 3 and 6 years (older than 36 months and younger than 72 months) to participate in an exciting new study. Future studies from the LCD Lab may also recruit children between the ages of 2 and 9 years.
The findings from LCD Lab studies aim to bridge traditional laboratory research on cognitive development with more applied settings, such as interventions and educational curriculum development. In this ongoing study, children will learn two novel categories of objects, and their memory for the objects will be tested. The session will not be recorded and will last approximately 25 to 30 minutes. As a thank-you gift, children will receive a storybook. Parents will also have the opportunity to complete a survey about your child, which includes basic demographic questions and a vocabulary checklist to assess how many words your child can produce.
All CDL parents who wish to participate will need to complete a consent form opting into the LCD studies.
For more information about our research, please visit our lab website: https://vlachlab.education.wisc.edu/ or email us at uwmadison.lcd.lab@gmail.com.
Recently Completed!
CAREER: Environmental Impacts of Closed Loop Food Production: Aquaponics as a Case Study
Research Team
Andrea Hicks, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Monica Rodriguez Morris, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
This study explores children’s concepts of different farming systems. Essentially all the different ways which food is grown, and how that awareness and conceptualization of food systems will change based on learning about aquaponics (a form of closed loop agriculture) in their classrooms.
Inclusion criteria, CDL students who are 24 months of age or older.
This study occured in the classroom setting, where each student was asked to ““Draw a picture of how food is grown”, and after the teacher prompted “Tell me about your drawing”, and recorded via a written note what the child said about their drawing. After the initial drawings, the classrooms was provided with a small aquaponics fish tank. After the tank has been in place for 1 month, students were asked to repeat the drawing exercise.
The incentives included a small can of playdough and ocean themed stickers. If you have any questions please email Professor Hicks at hicks5@wisc.edu.
https://directory.engr.wisc.edu/cee/Faculty/Hicks_Andrea/
The below study has completed their time at the CDL. They will continue working on research projects if you are interested in getting involved!
The CDL partnered with the Development of Intergroup Social Cognition (DISC) Lab this Spring 2025. The DISC Lab studies the mechanisms that underlie children’s evaluations of social life. The DISC Lab asks questions about how children think about similarities and differences, ingroups and outgroups, and preferences and interests. Please note the DISC Study that was hosted at the CDL Spring 25 recruited CDL children 4+ years old.
Approach as explained by the DISC Lab:
Dr. Ashley Jordan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Primary Investigator of the Development of Intergroup Social Cognition (DISC) Lab. The research of the DISC lab aims to understand how young children understand the world and the different groups around them. We’re interested in how kids fit or do not fit into different social groups. We are looking for interested and dedicated CDL families with children who are 4 years of age or older to participate in this exciting new study! Future studies from the DISC lab may recruit children from 2-12 years of age.
Findings from the DISC studies could inform improved interventions for children across many different backgrounds that will foster inclusion and acceptance. This is an ongoing study in which children’s responses to images, stories, and games will be recorded. Parents also have the opportunity to participate via survey completion about your child and how adults think about children. If parents also choose to participate by filling out those surveys, they will be eligible for a $5 gift card!
All CDL parents will need to fill out a consent form opting in to or out of the DISC project.
Who is involved?
To the left: Scholar and Principal Investigator Dr. Ashley Jordan, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, School of Letters and Science, UW-Madison
To the right: DISC Team, including Lab Manager Sarah Ramsey and Research Assistants
DISC Study Informational Meeting for CDL Parents (2.28.25) & PDF of Meeting Q&As:
Current Online Research Opportunities
Online Research Studies at UW-Madison:
- Lucretia Fairchild, a PhD student in Human Development & Family Studies, is offering free training for parents and caregivers of toddlers who are 12 to 48 months old. Participate online via video conferencing to learn strategies for particular aspects of promoting your child’s development, keeping your toddler safe and healthy, and having quality interaction with your toddler. The training session will take approximately 2 hours. Additionally, follow-up for 2 weeks afterward consists of a daily log, online questionnaires, and 2 phone calls with the researcher. You will receive $70 if you complete the full study. Currently, trainings for January-March are being scheduled. Email toddlerparent@sohe.wisc.edu to sign up!
- Dr. Seth Pollak’s Child Emotion Lab is also recruiting 10- to 13-year-olds for a study about how children use reward information to make decisions, sign up here.
- Dr. Martha Alibali’s Cognitive Development & Communication Lab is inviting children in grade 7 to participate in a study that explores how children think about data. To learn more or sign up for this Interpreting Data study, please email cogdevmath@psych.wisc.edu.
Online Research Beyond UW-Madison:
- Children Helping Science is a website that studies parents and children can participate in from home, from universities all around the world. Visit their website to find studies for children between 0-17 years of age, as well as studies for parents.
Current Research Studies Outside the CDL
Please contact the Women’s Mental Health Program at 608-265-0767 or womensmentalhealth@psychiatry.wisc.edu for more information and to see if you qualify for participation.
The Infant Learning Lab
Interested in helping us study how children learn language?
Participants include children from 6 months to 6 years of age.
- Most studies take just 20 minutes.
- Sessions take place at the Waisman Center at UW-Madison.
- We provide childcare for siblings & free parking.
- Families will receive a thank you gift (cash, t-shirt, or book).
- You will be with your child the whole time!
Check out this flyer to learn more: ILL Digital Flier
ECHO Study
Dr. Anne Marie Singh and the University of Wisconsin Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine are looking for expectant parents to join the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Study. ECHO is looking at how early life environments and experiences affect childhood development. Expectant parents who meet the following criteria may be eligible to enroll: are 18 years of age or older, are less than 20 weeks pregnant and plan to deliver in Madison, WI. For more information about ECHO or to enroll in the study: call us at (608) 228-9590, email ECHO@medicine.wisc.edu or fill out the intake questionnaire.
Ongoing Research Studies Outside of the CDL from Prior Years
Dr. Julie Poehlmann and Dr. Douglas Dean with the Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study are looking for several babies between the ages of 3-months-old and 9-months-old to come to the Waisman Center at UW-Madison for a 1-hour practice EEG session. The purpose is to practice applying the cap-like EEG net on babies of different ages as well as running the 4 EEG tasks. If interested, please email hbcd@bi.wisc.edu or call 608-265-6541.
Dr. Douglas Dean’s research lab at the Waisman Center is recruiting infants between 1-24 months with and without an older sibling with autism for a study on early brain and behavior development. For additional information about this study, please email babysibs@bi.wisc.edu or call 608-262-6706.
Dr. Martha Alibali’s Cognitive Development & Communication Lab is recruiting kindergarteners, 1st graders, and 2nd graders to participate in a study that looks at how children think and learn about patterns with shapes and numbers. To learn more or sign up for the Patterns Perceptual Support study, please email cogdevmath@psych.wisc.edu.
Dr. Susan Ellis Weismer and Dr. Jenny Saffran are looking for children to participate in research on the UW-Madison campus about how toddlers learn language. They are looking for typically developing children 18-24 months old and children with diagnosed or suspected ASD between 24 and 35 months. Complete this online sign-up to participate.
The Women’s Mental Health Program (WMHP) is led under the direction of Dr. Stowe within the Dept. of Psychiatry at UW-Madison. Dr. Stowe conducts psychological research with pregnant women, new mothers, and their children. The primary goal of WMHP is to understand the transgenerational effects maternal mental health and trauma exposure can have on the behavioral, neural, and psychological development of her child. To inquire about current research projects please email womensmentalhealth@psychiatry.wisc.edu.
UW-Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds often recruits people from all ages and backgrounds to improve well-being. If you are interested in participating in research at the Center, you can join the participant registry.
If you’d like the CDL to post your online or outside research opportunities on this page, please email the CDL Teaching and Research administrative assistant at cdlresearch@sohe.wisc.edu. If you are a researcher interested in conducting your study at the CDL, please see https://childdevelopmentlab.wisc.edu/prospective-research/.