Assistant Professor, Psychology
University of Indianapolis
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Past Research Experience
Project READI
University of Illinois Chicago
Learning Sciences Research Institute (LSRI)
Supervisor: Susan R. Goldman
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Project Description: Reading for Understanding Across Grades 6 through 12: Evidence-based Argumentation for Disciplinary Learning: Collaborative project with Northern Illinois University, Northwestern University, WestEd and Inquirium, LLC. Project READi is a 5-year study trying to improve students’ abilities to create arguments from multiple text sources within the content areas of history, science, and literature.
Primary Tasks: coding student essays for argumentation and literary reasoning, running experiments in the classroom, conducting think alouds and focused interviews with students grade 6-12, coding think alouds and text annotations for evidence of processing types, literary interpretations and notice of literary device.
Auto Mentor
University of Memphis
Institute for Intelligent Systems
Supervisor: Art Graesser
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Project Description: Collaborative project with University of Wisconsin, University of Maryland, University of Memphis, and Mass Audubon Society. Auto Mentor is an intelligent tutoring system designed to automate professional mentoring in epistemic games for STEM learning.
Primary Tasks: co-site manager, Coh-Metrix and LIWC analyses on chat logs, coding for SKIVE epistemic elements (i.e., Skills, Knowledge, Identity, Values, Epistemology) and evidence of personality traits
Operation ARIES!
University of Memphis
Institute for Intelligent Systems
Supervisor: Art Graesser
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Project Description: Operation ARIES! stands for Acquiring Research Investigative and Evaluative Skills. This was a collaborative project with Northern Illinois University, Claremont McKenna University, and University of Memphis. OperationARIES! is an intelligent tutoring system that teaches critical thinking skills in a game-like atmosphere.
Primary Tasks: coordinating the scheduling and running of participants, data organization and management, usability testing, writing/revising pedagogical agent scripts, testing and revising Regular Expressions.
Meta Tutor
University of Memphis
Cognition and Technology Lab
Supervisor: Roger Azevedo
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Project Description: Meta Tutor is a multi-agent, adaptive hypermedia-based intelligent tutoring system which scaffolds the use of self-regulated learning process during learning about complex science topics.
Primary Tasks: coordinating and running studies with complex experimental set-up, concurrent think-aloud protocols, log-file data, eye-tracking, and facial recognition for affect classification, transcription of experimental sessions, data organization and management, and creating data visualizations.