Professional Development Academies in Education

Professional Development Programs in Information Studies

UCLA’s School of Education & Information Studies is home to two departments. Each is a leader in their field, helping to pioneer what's next in the Education and Information worlds.

UCLA Ed&IS faculty are at the forefront of their fields, addressing issues of equality, access and social justice in the fields of education and information. Their scholarship has an international reputation for excellence and commitment to addressing the most critical issues facing our society.

An ecosystem of K-12 teaching schools where UCLA partners to develop, study, share, and advance innovative best practices.

The work at UCLA Ed&IS is guided by the principles of individual responsibility and social justice, an ethic of caring, and commitment to the communities we serve. Learn more about our mission and values, our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in our faculty and students, our history and more.

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are defining features of UCLA Ed&IS and we embrace them as a source of strength.

Department of Education 2023 Information Sessions

Department of Information Studies Programs

Department of Information Studies 2023 Information Sessions

Learn more about the undergraduate and graduate academic programs we offer, when program information sessions are being offered and how to apply.

Nikki Barry (McDaid) is a citizen of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Fort Hall, Idaho and is also of Paiute and Irish descent. Her research is three-pronged and includes engaging in: 

1) psychological research about the cognition of human reasoning and decision-making regarding environmental issues and applying these findings to the design of learning environments that support learners to build better climate futures.

2) community-based design research with Indigenous communities to co-design learning environments that support Indigenous learners as we – intergenerationally – continue leadership in addressing climate change and environmental problems.

3) community-based design research to build learning environments where Indigenous, Black, Latin@ and Asian/Asian-American students are seen, heard, supported, believed, and loved toward socio-ecologically just world-building. 

Nikki earned her PhD in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University, her MA in Teaching from Pacific University and her BS in Sociology from Northeastern University. She also is a parent of three young children and a former middle school and high school teacher.

Indigenous Education

Learning

Teaching

Nicole Barry  (McDaid)

Learning Sciences at UCLA

PhD in Learning Sciences, Northwestern University

Spencer/National Academy of Education dissertation fellowship

Center for Native American and Indigenous Research fellowship (Northwestern)

Top Scholar Program fellowship (University of Washington)

McDaid Barry, N. & Bang, M. (2023). Then the Nettle People won’t be lonely: Recognizing plant personhood in an Indigenous STEAM summer program. Cognition and Instruction.

Bruce, F., Bang, M., Lees, A., McDaid, N., Peters, F., & Bushnell, J. (2023). Indigenous Water Pedagogies: Cultivating Relations Through the Reading of Water. Occasional Paper Series, (49).

Bang, M., McDaid-Morgan, N., & Tsoodle, A. (2020). Creating science learning environments in which Indigenous students can thrive. National Science Teaching Association Blog.

Marin, A., Ambo, T., McDaid-Morgan, N., White Eyes, R., Bang, M. (2020). Enacting Relationships of Kinship and Care in Educational and Research Settings. In: Arshad Ali and Teresa McCarty (Eds) Critical Youth Research in Education: Methodologies of Praxis and Care. Routledge.

Bang M., Montaño Nolan C., McDaid-Morgan N. (2018). Strong Families, Strong Nations: Indigenous family engagement. In McKinley E. & Smith L. (eds) Handbook of Indigenous Education. Springer, Singapore.