Our School

Current Projects

The Cognitive Neuroscience Group at MGH Institute of Health Professions

Lead Researcher, Lauren Baron, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

Development of a Classroom-Based Intervention for Inner Speech
In the classroom environment, our internal self-talk or inner speech is a powerful tool for supporting executive function skills, such as remembering instructions, staying focused, and guiding behavior in real time. While many children naturally use inner speech to reflect and plan, children with language-based learning disabilities often have reduced access to this important self-regulatory strategy.

This project aims to develop a classroom-based approach that will help teachers model and support effective inner speech during everyday instruction. Led by researchers at The Cognitive Neuroscience Group at MGH Institute of Health Professions, this project will combine educator input, student feedback, and classroom observations to inform the design and practical use of this approach.

Past Projects

BEAM Lab

Lead Researcher, Dr. Joanna Christodoulou

In this 10-year self study, researchers at the Brain, Education, and Mind (BEAM) Lab, under the direction of lead researcher, Dr. Joanna Christodoulou, are exploring the intersectionality of reading comprehension, social-emotional learning (SEL), and executive function. Researchers are gathering data on measures of reading comprehension, executive function, and social-emotional learning (SEL), and that data will inform best instructional practices on Landmark’s Elementary•Middle school and High School campuses.

EdTogether & Child Study Center Yale University

Lead Researchers, Dr. Gabriella Schlictman and Dr. Samantha Daley

This project explores exactly how Landmark explicitly builds student self-concept and social awareness so as to create resilience and a responsive defense to stigma (like an inoculation) that they are likely to experience in the wider world about their learning disability.

Intrinsic Motivation in Science Museums

In the multidisciplinary study, “Intrinsic Motivation in Science Museums,” researchers from the University of Rochester, Rochester Museum and Science Center, EdTogether, and the Museum of Science, Boston, are investigating ways to broaden the participation of youth with learning disabilities (LD) in informal science learning (ISL). Lead researchers are Dr. Gabriella Schlictman and Dr. Samantha Daley. Landmark students will visit the Museum of Science, Boston, engage with specific exhibits, and meet with researchers to discuss how the language demands of the exhibit enhanced or diminished their experience at the museum. Additionally, Adam Hickey, the research coordinator at Landmark School, is serving as senior project advisor on the project.

Landmark Collaboration with Google

Landmark is working with senior interaction designers/accessibility teams at Google to modify the Chrome OS operating system to design and adapt features for all users through the lens of users with specific learning disabilities.

Check out an update on this project (#4 in the article).

Senior Project Advisor Projects

Adam Hickey is serving as senior project advisor to the following projects: 

Institute of Education Sciences: “A Research-Practice-Policy Collaboration to Accelerate Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Access and Outcomes for Students with Learning Disabilities." Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence (YCEI; Research), EdTogether (Practice), and the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD; Policy)

Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence/Yale Child Study Center: SEL for ALL: Measuring Up RULER to Promote SEL Access and Outcomes for All Learners

Boston Museum of Science, EdTogether, University of Rochester: Intrinsic Motivation in Science Museums: Learning from and Broadening the Participation of Visitors with Learning Disabilities

Published Works 

Christodoulou, J.A., Mesite, L. and Hickey, J.A. (2025), Timing Matters: Leveraging Temporal Contexts for Interpreting Reading Progress. Mind, Brain, and Education.