As a Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Investigator (CI), Dr. Jia Li has obtained over $300,000 CAD of research grants, research scholar awards and followships, including multiple competitive external grants to conduct research focusing on digital technologies supported language and literacy instructional interventions with major student groups, i.e., Black adolescents, diverse immigrant and refugee students from low-income families, Indigenous youth, and linguistically and culturally diverse English language learners in university.
These grants include an Insight Development Grant and a Standard Research Grant from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and a Canada-U.S. Fulbright Research Scholar Award at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a John A. Sproul Research Fellowship at the University of California Berkeley.
Digital Technology-Based Intervention Studies for Black and Indigenous Youth
2024-2025
Dr. Jia Li, Principal Investigator. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada, Explore Grant
Project: A community-based sport engagement case study for Black and Indigenous youth: Skate towards multiliteracy competence, academic success, and wellbeing aspirations
2018–2023
Dr. Jia Li, Principal Investigator. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada, Insight Development Grant (with Dr. Esther Geva, OISE/UT, Co-Investigator, and Dr. Catherine Snow, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Dr. Carrie Demmans Epp, Department of Computing Science, University of Alberta, Dr. Andrew Biemiller, School of Child Study at the University of Toronto, Dr. Todd Cunningham, OISE/UT, Kyle Peter, Pikangikum Educational Authority, Collaborators)
Project: A multidisciplinary approach to developing and evaluating a mobile technology-supported, culturally responsive vocabulary intervention for Aboriginal students
2020–2021
Dr. Jia Li, Principal Investigator. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada, COVID-19 Supplement Grant (with Dr. Esther Geva, OISE/UT, Co-Investigator, and Dr. Catherine Snow, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Dr. Carrie Demmans Epp, Department of Computing Science, University of Alberta, Dr. Andrew Biemiller, School of Child Study at the University of Toronto, Dr. Todd Cunningham, OISE/UT, Kyle Peter, Pikangikum Educational Authority, Collaborators)
Project: A multidisciplinary approach to developing and evaluating a mobile technology-supported, culturally responsive vocabulary intervention for Aboriginal students
Digital Technology-Based Intervention Studies for Urban Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students
2016-2017
Dr. Jia Li, Principal Investigator. SSHRC Small Grant
Project: Words on the move: Evaluating innovative, technology-supported vocabulary interventions for adolescent English language learners
2012-2015
Dr. Jia Li, Principal Investigator. Ontario Tech University Start-Up Grant
Project: Academic vocabulary intervention with urban linguistically diverse adolescents in Toronto and Boston through annotated digital video instruction
2011-2012
Dr. Jia Li, Recipient and Principal Investigator. Canada-U.S. Fulbright Research Scholar Award, Fulbright Canada, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Project: Cross-border literacy intervention using integrative technologies and social networking media for linguistically diverse students in North American inner-city schools
2009-2010
Dr. Jia Li, Recipient and Principal Investigator. Queen’s University, Faculty of Education International Postdoctoral Fellowship Award
Project: Vocabulary assessment and intervention for secondary school English language learners (ELLs) in Canadian urban schools
Digital Technology-Based Intervention Studies for University Students and English Language Learners
2021-2022
Dr. Jia Li, Principal Investigator. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada, Explore Grant
Project: Collaboration using mind mapping apps: Enhancing undergraduate students’ academic writing skills across curriculum and in discipline
2018–2020
Dr. Jia Li, Principal Investigator. Ontario Tech University’s Teaching Innovation Fund (with Dr. Maurice DiGiuseppe and Dr. Bill Muirhead, Ontario Tech University, Collaborators)
Project: Action research: A case study approach to developing an in-depth understanding of and effective writing skills for professional purposes using roleplaying and multimodal content
2011-2014
Dr. Jia Li, Principal Investigator. SSHRC Standard Research Grant (with Dr. Jim Cummins, OISE/UT and Dr. Liying Cheng, Queen’s University)
Project: Words that matter: Vocabulary intervention using integrative technologies and social networking media for English Language Learners (ELLs)
New Media literacies, Multiliteracies and Multicultural Education for Diverse University Students across Borders and Continents
2018–2019
Dr. Jia Li, Recipient and Principal Investigator. John A. Sproul Research Fellowship, the University of California, Berkeley with Dr. Richard Kern, UC Berkeley, Collaborator)
Project: Understanding Canadian culture and language: A critical analysis of cinematography and language use in modern Canadian and American films
2013-2014
Dr. Jia Li, Principal Investigator. SSHRC Small Grant
Project: Transnational exploration of English education: Canadian and Hong Kong English student teachers connected through open educational resources
Bilingual Education and Emergent Bilingualism for Young Children
2012-2013
Dr. Jia Li, Co-Investigator. Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board Research Grant, Ontario Ministry of Education (with Dr. Jim Cummins and Dr. Becky Chen-Bumgardner, OISE/UT, Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator)
Project: Evaluation of an English-Mandarin bilingual transition program (Stage II)
English Language Acquisition of Refugee Immigrants
2018-2019
Dr. Jia Li, Co-Principal Investigator. SSHRC Small Grant (with Dr. Allyson Eamer, Ontario Tech University, Principal Investigator)
Project: The impact of the refugee experience on language learning and acculturation
