Emma Barr
I am originally from Huntsville, Alabama, where I worked as a behavior therapist for children with autism. I am working towards a master’s degree in educational psychology, with a specialization in applied cognition and development. I am currently working with Dr. Schwanenflugel to evaluate the educational potential of iPad applications aimed at teaching vocabulary to toddlers. Evaluation criteria will be based on relevant aspects of cognitive and linguistic development that are characteristic of children around age 2.
Quincy Brewington
Greetings and salutations, I am Quincy L. Brewington from Greensboro, North Carolina. I am pursuing a master’s degree in educational psychology from the University of Georgia focusing on motivation. I received a bachelor’s degree in History concentrating in secondary education becoming a certified social studies teacher (grades 6-12) at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Under the supervision of Dr. Louis Castenell, my research interests are in exploring and understanding the motivation of African American and Hispanic males in secondary education as well as offering practical tools for the educator.
Shawn Fowler
My primary research interest is motivation in online educational environments. As cost-cutting measures and advances in technology increase adoption of online classes, we need to attain a greater understanding of how motivational factors differ in this educational context. Additionally, I am interested in the way that culture influences the motivation to learn; specifically the ways in which educational motivation differs from culture to culture.
Kristi Fultz-Butts
I am a lifelong Georgian having been born, raised, and educated in the Great Peach State. Dr. Louis Castenell is my major professor, and I have a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Spelman College, and a Master of Public Health degree from Mercer University School of Medicine. Academic motivation of low-income African Americans towards STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields to reduce health disparities is my research interest. The topic results from former employment at The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where I served as a Health Scientist for many years. Low educational attainment is a long-standing risk factor for poorer health outcomes among minorities as compared to non-minorities. Overall, I seek to evaluate instructional strategies’ effectiveness in motivating high academic achievement among this population.
Rebecca Gokee
Originally from Orlando, FL, I received my Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Spanish from Flagler College in St. Augustine Florida before spending time abroad in Malawi, Africa as an Education Consultant. I recently completed my M.Ed. at the University of Georgia in the Applied Cognition and Development Program and am continuing on as a doctoral student in the same program. My research interests include improving the teaching and learning of at-risk students in both domestic and international contexts. I am currently working on a research project focused on improving the teaching and learning of English Language Learners in northeast Georgia, as well as developing teacher modules for an international non-profit that are focused on teacher improvement in developing countries.
Erin Horan
I am a third year PhD student in the Educational Psychology department – Applied Cognition and Development. Major Professor – Dr. Marty Carr. My research interests are in early elementary school mathematics. I am currently focused on how number sense and strategy use develop and are related to each other, as well as how to teach these skills to students. I received my master’s and bachelor’s degrees in psychology from Stony Brook University in New York.
Christopher Johnson
I am from Altamonte Springs, Florida. I am currently a fourth year PhD candidate who is studying under Dr. Louis Castenell. My study focuses on negotiating Black male identity while navigating predominately white institutions. My ultimate goal is to provide an in-depth look into the experiences of Black male doctoral students at Predominately White Institutions and determine how they were able to reject certain microaggressions and negative stereotypes previously made about them and still do well in this environment. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University and a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Georgia. My research interests include identity, racial identity, motivation, and interracial communication.
Beryl Otumfor
Beryl A. Otumfuor is a doctoral candidate in the ACD program. She received her M.Ed. in Quantitative Methods from The University of Georgia; a B.S. in Psychology and minor in Philosophy from Clarion University and a post-baccalaureate from Penn State University. Her overarching research interests are in spatial ability and teacher mathematics knowledge in geometry. She is currently working on her dissertation entitled “The Relationship between Teacher Spatial Skills and Spatial Instruction” and is expected to graduate in December 2013. Beryl has also worked as a statistical analyst for external grants at USG Board of Regents, GA Department of Education.
Lisa Rohde
I am originally from Dallas, Texas. I am currently a doctoral candidate in Educational Psychology at the University of Georgia, where I also earned my master’s degree in the same field. I earned my bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Elon University. With the assistance of my major professor, Dr. Nancy Knapp, my dissertation research focuses on examining the past K-12 school experiences of preservice teachers and how these experiences may influence their ideas and beliefs about students and their expectations of teaching. Ultimately, I hope that by better understanding the experiences preservice teachers had as students, teacher educators can better prepare them for the diverse environments they may enter as teachers, especially when those differ from their own experiences.
William Mira
I was born in Baltimore, MD, grew up in Cincinnati, OH, went to high school in Lubbock, TX, went to college in Charlottesville, VA, and now I’m here in beautiful Athens GA! I got a BA in Anthropology from the University of Virginia, an MA in Educational Psychology from the University of Georgia, and now I’m working on my PhD in Educational Psychology from the same fine institution. My research focuses on combating the achievement gap between non-Hispanic whites and Latinos(as). More specifically, I am interested in examining the effect of tutoring programs on the academic and affective outcomes of elementary-age Latinos. I am thrilled to work with a great group of people at the Center for Latino Success in Education to make this research a reality. Dr. Pedro Portes serves as my major professor.
Jennifer Roth
I was a high school mathematics teacher for 11 years and a mathematics instructional coach for 3 years. Through my experiences as a high school mathematics educator, I became very interested in student motivation. Therefore, I decided to go back to school to work on my Ph. D. in Educational Psychology to learn as much as I could to help support the learning of high school mathematics. I am extremely interested in all aspects of the self-regulation of high school mathematics students.
Karen Thrasher
I am a new student and am in the Applied Cognition and Development PhD program. I have masters and specialist degrees in school psychology from Georgia State University and have been a school psychologist for 13 years. My research interests include the impact of early language upon academic achievement later in life as well as the importance of classroom instruction that is based on making language connections and uses social language to facilitate learning. I am currently focused on populations whose early language development is different than peers from middle class and/or monolingual homes. These populations of focus include, but are not limited to, low SES and ELL populations as well as children with language disorders and children who are verbally advanced. I am also currently following Dr. Pedro Portes’ work in Instructional Conversations. I look forward to narrowing my research interests over my first year of study.
Alicia Welch
I moved from Texas to pursue my Ph.D. here at UGA and am enjoying every minute! My research interests include the development of metacognition, in general, and response inhibition and selective attention, in particular. Guided by Dr. Martha Carr, I look to study early childhood interventions to encourage development of such skills. I was a musician (percussion) and music educator for many years and, given these experiences, I am also quite interested in further exploring music education’s role in cognitive development.
Guoguo Zheng
I am a second-year master’s student in the Applied Cognition and Development program. Currently, other than taking classes to enhance fundamental knowledge and skills in this area, I am also working on my thesis proposal that is on emergent reading motivation with the guidance of Dr. Schwanenflugel. My research interests include many domains in child development such as language and literacy, spatial ability, and the role of music education or training. In my spare time I enjoy jogging and listening to both pop and classic music.
Megan White
I am currently a graduate student working towards my Education Specialist Degree in Applied Studies and Cognition. I am new to the University of Georgia, completing both my undergraduate and Master’s degree at the University of Memphis. My interests include children’s behaviors, both in terms of their academic and social development, as well as researching the ways in which children learn best.
Sara Woodruff
My research interests have evolved over the past few years—shifting from mathematics cognitive strategy use to assessment validity. My dissertation is a validity study of two early screening measures for mathematics difficulty in kindergarten. I am also interested in how these assessments perform across racial and ethnic groups, and the validity of the inferences that are made about these populations based on assessments. My long-term interest is in using assessment as a tool to increase equity and access to quality mathematics instruction for students across racial and economic groups—particularly for young children. Lastly, I am generally interested in advocating for research-based instructional practices that are responsive to the racial, ethnic, language, and economic backgrounds of the students that are being served in today’s classrooms.
Marisa Schlieber
I am a current doctoral student in the Applied Cognition and Development program. I received my MA at UGA and my BA from Gettysburg College. My research interests relate to the influence of environmental neurotoxins, specifically lead, on children’s academic outcomes. The primary focus is to understand the impact of the environment on a child’s developmental trajectory. Another research interest is the impact of poverty on academic achievement.
Nicole Barned
I am originally from Jamaica and a doctoral student in the ACD Program. I received my B.S. in Psychology from the University of West Indies, and an M.A. in Educational Psychology from the University of Georgia. My broad area of research is Autism Spectrum Disorder. Under the direction of Dr. Stacey Neuharth-Pritchett, my dissertation will examine the effects of social stories on the behavior of pre-kindergarten students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I am also working on a longitudinal research project that explores 3-D spatial skills in second grade students with Dr. Martha Carr. My anticipated graduation is August, 2014.
Liz Speelman
I am orginally from Toronto, Canada. I currently teach in the Outdoor Education program at Georgia College & State University where I earned my master’s degree in Outdoor Education Administration. Additionally I have an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from the University of Guelph in Canada. My research interests include the use of group development activities and low and high challenge course experiences for educational and development training. Under the direction of Dr. Nancy Knapp, I am conducting a meta-analysis in challenge course research.
Lu Wang
I am a doctoral student from the applied cognition and development program, with a research interest in spatial ability and mathematical achievement. I am also interested in understanding the nature of creativity across knowledge domains. In my spare time, I enjoy playing the violin and engaging in any music-related activities.
Samantha Rogers
My name is Samantha Rogers. I am from Buford, Georgia, and I have been at UGA since 2010. I received my undergraduate degrees in psychology and sociology, and I am now pursuing a M.Ed in Educational Psychology. My research interests include language development and cognition as it progresses developmentally in general. One of my hobbies outside of the classroom is composing both written works and musical pieces. I also enjoy traveling.
Stephanie Lai
Broadly speaking, my research focuses in the area of applied cognition and development with an emphasis on quantitative methods. More specifically, I am interested in the cognitive processes involved in reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition in young children. Most recently, I was the Program Coordinator for Georgia’s Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests – Modified (CRCT-M) for Georgia Center for Assessment at UGA. I oversaw the processes for item development, test form creation, test administration, and scoring and reporting. It was during that time that my interests broadened to include the development of valid and reliable assessments and policy. After recently changing topics, my dissertation will focus on validating child language samples in pre-kindergarten students as a means to measure vocabulary knowledge similar to the Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT) using an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) data set.
Patricia Ellis
Masters with emphasis in Applied Cognition and Development. Continuing to study Educational Psychology and Workforce Education. My goal is to work with secondary and post-secondary students in the Appalachian region once I have completed my doctorate. I want to work with groups to improve the graduation rates and to increase the number of students that will attend college and post-secondary education.