Rachel Griffin

I am a senior researcher at the EdPlus Action Lab at Arizona State University. Action Lab is a data-driven, research-focused service organization that supports ASU and EdPlus initiatives by equipping leaders with the insights and analyses they need to make informed, evidence-based decisions. Action Lab drives transformational change in education through data and research, focusing on learner behaviors and the factors that drive success. Our goal is to improve access and achievement while bolstering the development of quality education for all learners. 

My research expertise is informed by my background in sociocultural anthropology (participant observation, interviews, focus groups, text and document analysis). I am passionate about centering students' voices and experiences in research that contributes to changes in ASU courses and policies to bolster student success. With a strong belief in higher education's transformative power, I critically look at what barriers still exist at ASU, both at the course and university levels, and provide research-informed recommendations for improvement. 

My dissertation research focused on the identity and transnational connections of an immigrant group in Canada. I was a research assistant for the Social Entrepreneurship and Career Pathways Study (SECPS), a project that provided entrepreneurship training to community college students in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. I also have experience in project evaluation, including creating logic models.

Within ASU, I have worked with campus immersion and digital immersion students and investigated high-enrollment undergraduate classes. I provide qualitative research leadership for multiple collaborative research projects that support student success across the university, including research on Dreamscape Learn, a collaboration between ASU and Dreamscape Immersive that integrates narratively-driven virtual reality experiences in the classroom. 

I thrive in interdisciplinary and collaborative research environments, where researchers with different expertise work together toward the same goal. I am currently leading the qualitative team at Action Lab to expand research capabilities and continue to provide high-quality research findings that support ASU's goals.