I completed my PhD degree in Educational Psychology at The Ohio State University. My research looks at the incorporation of cooperative learning processes in technology-supported classrooms and the reformulation of systems to allow both individual and collective agency for students using technology to learn. My work draws largely on the theories of John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky and critical theorists such as Habermas, and lies at the crossroads of sociopolitical critique and participatory action, aimed at bridging the research-practice gap that exists in education.

I earned my PhD degree at The Ohio State University. I was trained as an elementary math teacher while I was an undergraduate, I was fascinated about learning more about how students learn and how to keep them motivated to learn better. As I progress towards my master’s degree, I have come to realize that apart from investigating how students cognitively process and construct knowledge, social others are also crucial elements of influencing students’ motivation. My primary research interest focuses on how parents’ and teachers’ perceptions shape adolescents’ own beliefs towards learning, which in turn impact students’ motivation and achievement. During my free time, I love building Lego, especially the Disney sets.

I have a general interest in understanding how motivation develops in young students and how their interactions with their teachers and classmates might shape their academic motivation and subsequent learning outcomes. Prior to starting my doctoral program, I completed a Master's in Educational Psychology at the University of Virginia where I was able to become immersed in applied research. I began to ask how my research and the knowledge I have can be pieced together to create something tangible and feasible to be brought into the classroom. I hope to continue working closely with educators and students to bridge the gap between research and practice, and help build an environment where students are excited to learn and prepared to engage with the world around them.  

My research interests include prosocial norms, social engagement, and emotional development. I joined the Collaborative Social Reasoning Project led by my faculty mentor Tzu-Jung Lin, associate professor of educational psychology, to study instructional methods that foster social reasoning and interpersonal skills. My life's project is to connect one's worldview, psychological dynamics, and academic behaviors (e.g., how one's world view can help to search the meaning of life and lead to the purpose-driven academic behaviors).  

I completed a PhD degree at The Ohio State University. Before, I would have never guessed that I would be pursuing a PhD in Educational Psychology. I completed my master’s in clinical psychology and worked in hospitals. Over a period of time, I realized the importance of mental wellbeing and inculcating healthy coping patterns from a young age. I started exploring the application of psychology in the field of education. I completed my master’s thesis on the role of test anxiety and how that negatively impacts students’ performance. I soon started developing a great interest in the social emotional wellbeing of students and applied for PhD program in the US. Now, I aim to develop intervention programs for adolescents that can enhance their emotional and social regulatory skills, especially by using techniques such as mindfulness meditation, yoga and dialogic discussions.

I’m interested in how interventions from teachers and parents could impact on students' cognitive and academic development especially their motivation in learning. I really appreciate this opportunity to work with such a nice team and to investigate interpersonal competencies students would gain through blended learning. I hope I can better assimilate academic knowledge and aim to further improve current education system and to solve more real-world problems confronted by today’ students. In my spare time, I enjoy playing with my cat, playing the piano, and watching animations.

I am interested in motivation and achievement, with a focus on underserved and underrepresented populations. I hope to create equitable practices in higher education institutes. Prior to joining the Ph.D. program at The Ohio State University, I received my Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Santa Clara University. My previous research has included studying mood attribution and studying achievement goal theory. This research is what led me to pursue further research examining student motivation and to focus on enacting actual change in our educational systems that lead to more equitable practices. This project has fueled this personal priority in translating research and theory into tangible interventions for teachers. Doing research with these students is constantly inspiring and shows how important it is to continue to build these researcher and teacher relationships.

My research interests include Game-Based Learning and fostering academic achievement within both formal and informal learning environments. I aim to develop unconventional interventions that will improve student learning and engagement and help teachers enhance their instructional methods. In my spare time, I enjoy playing chess, playing strategic video games, and watching action movies.

I love games, technology, teaching and language learning - and my research lies on the intersection of all of them. In my early academic career, I focused on using Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) to create Deweyan, democratic classrooms, as well as the social network theory (I stumbled upon these topics by chance, but hey, it turned out great!). At one of the GDEX events (GDEX is the largest Mid-West gaming expo) where I worked as a volunteer, I met my future collaborators who were working on Virtual Reality in physics education. That's how I shifted to researching mobile Virtual Reality and visuospatial thinking. I remember how in one of the meetings with Michael, my adviser, I mentioned that my dream was to make a game for my dissertation. Five years later, I presented my own very first serious game at GDEX and made it the basis of my dissertation visuospatial intervention. Now I'm working on understanding serious games from the educational and curricular design perspectives and developing more serious games as a game designer! 

As a linguist by my undergraduate degree and an avid language learner (I speak Russian, English, Spanish and anime Japanese), I am looking to apply my serious games and technology expertise in the field of language teaching and learning, particularly focusing on language learning communities and language learning application design.

I am a doctoral student who is fascinated by academic motivation and learning. My research interests include how students learn, how academic motivation helps students learn, and, as a consequence, how we should teach students. I am passionate about helping students’ learning by improving their academic motivation where teachers, parents, peers, schools, and communities can all make a difference. I received my Master’s degree in Educational Psychology from the University of California, Riverside. Since then, I have become very interested in exploring how students, as active learners, can navigate themselves in social interactions as well as benefit from social support. I would love to use my knowledge and research to help students explore the fun parts of learning and enjoy their learning journey.

I graduated from the Ohio State University with a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education in 2016. After teaching elementary school in Columbus, Ohio and Charlottesville, VA, I chose to come back to Ohio State to pursue a master's degree in Educational Psychology. I plan on pursuing a Doctoral degree in this field and am interested in studying the cognition and motivation of elementary-aged students. Specific research interests include socio-cultural learning in diverse communities, epistemic cognition, and critical analytic thinking. I hope to continue working with teachers and students for a long time! In my free time, I enjoy reading, traveling to new places, hiking, and going on long walks with my husband and our large hound dog, Thompson.