ACCESS

The BRIDGES Lab is collaborating with Dr. Daniel Espinas at George Mason University to conduct a school-based randomized controlled trial evaluating ACCESS (All Children Critically Examining Sources in Social Studies), a social studies intervention designed to promote disciplinary literacy practices among middle school students in grades 6 and 7. The intervention focuses on helping students critically evaluate and integrate multiple sources while using evidence to support historical reasoning and written argumentation. This study examines the effects of ACCESS on students’ epistemic beliefs about history, the quality of their writing, and the social validity of the intervention, with the broader goal of strengthening disciplinary literacy practices that support success in content-area learning.