Steele Research Symposium

Chair: Dr. Sara Goldstein, Dept .of Human Development and Family Sciences 

*Lauren Baran, Neurosciences senior

Sleep Disparities in Adolescents: Does Stress on Sleep Change Brain Connectivity? 

Michelle Bailey, Ph.D. in Education Student (Socio-cultural and Community Approaches)

Latrice Marianno,  Ph.D. in Educational Statistics and Research Methods student

How Will We Know When They’re Ready?: Critically Examining State College and Career Readiness Definitions 

Kaitlyn Myers, Psychology senior 

Co-created Inclusive Sex Education on Instagram 

*Elizabeth Wroten, Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences student

Amish Culture, Parenting, and Practitioner Recommendations 

* applied for award consideration

Chair: Joshua Wilson

Discussant: Ethan Smith, Ph.D. in Education student (Mathematics Education)

Bataul Alkhateeb, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences)

Examining Teacher Educators’ Culturally Relevant Computational Modules for Preservice Teachers

Megan Botello, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences)

Teachers’ use of motivational messages while teaching fractions 

*Taylor-Paige Guba, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences)

Metacognitive Monitoring in Preservice Teachers During Fraction Comparison Tasks

* applied for award consideration

Chair: Laura Eisenman

Bryan Campbell, Ph.D. in Education student (Socio-cultural and Community Approaches)

Opposing views of teacher professionalism: Institutionalism versus ontological fiduciary agent 

*Thomas Maldonado-Reis, Ed.D. in Educational Leadership student  

Country-based Exemptions in English Language Proficiency Policies among Adult Continuing Education Programs in Higher Education 

*Bita Moradi, Ph.D. in Education student (Literacy)

Implementing Data-Driven Learning to Virtually Teach Cohesive Devices: The Case of EFL High School Students 

Amanda Nolte, Ph.D. in Education student (Socio-cultural and Community Approaches)

Community Engagement With a Library-Based Equity Initiative 

* applied for award consideration

Discussant: Haobai Zhang, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences)

Chair: Myae Han

Deborah Drain, Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences student

Early Head Start Home Visitor Perceptions of Program Environment and Leadership

*Cara Kelly, Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences student

Investigating Classroom Quality in a Head Start Context: Preliminary Findings 

Ray Patt, Ph.D. in Education Student (Learning Sciences)

A Psycholinguistic Analysis of Parents Questions During Shared Book Reading

Alexus Ramirez, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences)

Exploring Dialogic Interactions in Grandparent-Grandchild Conversations over Video Chat 

* applied for award consideration

Discussant: Matt Myers

Chair:  Florence Ran

*Kamal Chawla, Ph.D. in Educational Statistics and Research Methods student

IRT Score Error Estimates in Item Modeling- Analytical and Bootstrapping Methods 

Tania Cruz Cordero, Ph.D. in Educational Statistics and Research Methods student

Writing Motivation and Ability Profiles and Transition after a Technology-Based Writing Intervention 

*Elena Silla, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences)

Examining Variation in Procedural Flexibility Using Latent Profile Analysis 

* applied for award consideration

Bataul Alkhateeb, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences)
Examining Teacher Educators’ Culturally Relevant Computational Modules for Preservice Teachers 
Computational thinking (CT) is an important skill in classrooms. We developed a professional development (PD) program to support teacher educators’ CT integration into pre-existing course modules that were later implemented with preservice teachers. A total of eighteen educators completed the PD and produced twelve CT-integrated modules. Modules were analyzed for evidence of CT pedagogical practices, level of integration, and culturally-relevant practices. Further, interview data from teacher educators were analyzed to examine implementation of the modules. Findings revealed teacher educators were able to create equitable CT learning experiences for preservice teachers.

Lauren Baran, Neuroscience senior
Sleep Disparities in Adolescents: Does Stress on Sleep Change Brain Connectivity? 
Low sleep duration during adolescence results in an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders, cognitive problems, and diminished academic performance (Cheng et al., 2020). These findings are concerning for racial and ethnic minority adolescents due to their increased risk of low sleep duration (Singh et al., 2013). The current work aims to elucidate how the physiological impact of stress on sleep impacts the brain differentially by race and ethnicity.  Using data from the ABCD Study, resting-state connectivity was used to examine the intrinsic connectivity of the brain. Results provide evidence that stress and sleep are jointly and independently linked with intrinsic connectivity. These findings may bring to light protective factors that can reduce the effects of stress on sleep.

Megan Botello, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences)
Teachers’ use of motivational messages while teaching fractions 
In this study, we observed sixth grade teachers as they taught fractions to students in their mathematics intervention classes, to see whether they were including value-supportive messages within the framework of Situated Expectancy-Value Theory. Messages in the intervention lessons and teacher transcripts were explored and analyzed, comparing teachers taking part in a fractions intervention and teachers teaching fractions business-as-usual. The intervention fraction lessons and motivational messages were coded via teachers’ audio recordings over the span of 15 weeks (24 lessons). Findings revealed the frequency of motivational messages was predictive of students’ posttest scores and the use of motivational messages significantly differed between groups.

Bryan Campbell, Ph.D. in Education student (Sociocultural and Community Approaches)   Opposing views of teacher professionalism: Institutionalism versus ontological fiduciary agent *
The paper is an autobiographical exploration of the tension between an administrators’ institutionalist views of “teacher professionalism” and my ontological, fiduciary view as a high school teacher in the US. I examine differences between these contrasting views and their implications for diversity in both professional practice and students’ educational opportunities and expression. I develop an explanation of how an ontological, fiduciary view of teacher professionalism can better serve the different, emerging interests, needs and desires of students and can be threatening to administrators who rely on and support rigid, conventional, institutionalist views of professionalism that suppress diverse student and teacher voices.

Kamal Chawla, Ph.D. in Educational Statistics and Research Methods student 
IRT Score Error Estimates in Item Modeling- Analytical and Bootstrapping Methods 
Despite commonly used statistics in the Item Response Theory (IRT) framework, the computation of standard errors has received far less attention than other aspects of item modeling, especially when there is a variance in item parameters. In the current study, I focus on calculating the Mean Standard Error (MSE) estimates in item modeling using an analytical method without item model variation and comparing it with another analytical method with item model variation and a bootstrapping method. After deriving the closed-form equations for standard errors using Taylor series approximations with variations in item parameters, I validated the formula by comparing the analytic results with computationally intensive bootstrapping methods. I found that analytical methods produced better estimates.

Sarah Clerjuste, Ph.D. in Educational Statistics and Research Methods student  Opportunity to Revise: Effects of Corrective or Directive Feedback on Fraction Arithmetic Performance
Prior work demonstrates that providing feedback and the opportunity to revise leads students to correct their mistakes and improve performance. We build upon that work by examining the effects of feedback with the opportunity to revise on fraction arithmetic problems. This study investigated how preservice teachers solved and understood fraction arithmetic problems. The study followed a pretest – experimental manipulation – posttest design. The conditions in this study included directive feedback with  revisions, corrective feedback with revisions , and corrective feedback alone. Preliminary findings suggest that directive feedback is significantly more effective at improving a student’s fraction arithmetic performance than corrective feedback alone or with the opportunity to revise.

Tania Cruz Cordero, Ph.D. in Educational Statistics and Research Methods student  Writing Motivation and Ability Profiles and Transition after a Technology-Based Writing Intervention
We identified writing motivation and ability profiles and transition paths of 2,478 U.S. middle-school students participating in an automated writing evaluation intervention. Four motivation profiles emerged from a latent transition analysis with self-reported writing self-efficacy, attitudes toward writing, and writing ability measures: Low (20%), Low/Mid (38%), Mid/High (30%), and High (11%). The majority of students remained in the same profile throughout the school year. The next most common path was to transition one profile up. Transition paths did not differ by gender, priority population status and special education status. Likewise, assignment to intervention did not significantly influence transition paths. Implications for writing instruction and intervention are discussed.

Amanda Delgado, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences)
The Potential of a Novel Visual Alphabet to Improve Preschoolers’ Spatial and Mathematical Skills 
Spatial skills are important for success in and out of school but are insufficiently taught in early childhood, despite evidence suggesting that spatial skills can be trained during this period (Uttal et al., 2013). Born from art and design, the Pattern Alphabet (pABC) identifies 32 shapes and forms found in nature and is a potential tool for promoting preschool children’s spatial skills. We tested whether 4- to 5-year-olds’ ability to match photographic choices to pABC forms was related to their spatial and math skills. Results showed that there was a significant relation between pABC performance and spatial skills, but not math skills. Thus, training children to recognize pABC items in their daily lives may be an accessible route to promoting children’s spatial skills.

Deborah Drain, Ph.D. in Human Development & Family Sciences student 
Early Head Start Home Visitor Perceptions of Program Environment and Leadership
This paper examines how Early Head Start home visitor perceptions of work environment and program leadership differ across profiles and the characteristics predicting profile membership. Latent profile analysis was conducted with home visitor data (N = 587) from the 2018 Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey. Results indicated a three-profile solution of Profile 1: High Stress-Negative Perceptions (14%), Profile 2: Medium Stress-Neutral Perceptions (46%), and Profile 3: Low Stress-Positive Perceptions (40%). Multiple logistic regression was conducted to identify characteristics predicting profile membership with Profile 1 as the reference category. Home visitor education level, first language, and perceived usefulness of training were significant predictors of membership.

Allison Gantt,  Ph.D. in Education student (Mathematics Education)
Monologic centering analysis: Highlighting individual experiences within collective activity in mathematics classroom research 
Although group work is the site of crucial learning experiences for students in classrooms, researchers are still developing tools to analyze students’ activity in groups. In this presentation, I will introduce a methodological technique I call monologic centering analysis to highlight individual students’ experiences in collective activity. Broadly, monologic centering analysis incorporates speaker highlighting/graying to organize transcript data into multiple monologues. I will explore what we might learn from monologic centering analysis through an application to transcript data from a case study focused on three middle school students discussing equation-writing in an algebra classroom. I will discuss implications of this strategy and its potential across educational contexts.

Taylor-Paige Guba, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences)
Metacognitive Monitoring in Preservice Teachers During Fraction Comparison Tasks 
We investigated how different instructional supports affected metacognitive monitoring skills for pre-service teachers during three fraction comparison tasks. Participants were instructed to identify the larger of two fractions and then explain and justify their choice. Results showed that all participants had incomplete initial explanations for all three tasks. On all three tasks, when given a chance to revise their initial explanations after seeing instructional supports, those who saw correct examples of explanations detected and corrected significantly more errors in their initial explanations than those who saw a list of features a correct explanation should have. Hedge’s G effect sizes ranged from G = .64  to G = .95 for the three tasks.

Cara Kelly, Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences student 
Investigating Classroom Quality in a Head Start Context: Preliminary Findings
Classroom quality in early care and education (ECE) programs has been widely studied. Yet, teachers are often not included in discussions about ECE policies that impact their classrooms. The current study seeks understand how teachers in the largest ECE program in the United States, Head Start, think about and define classroom quality by examining the features of quality that are important to Head Start teachers. Teachers received an electronic survey and were asked to rate the importance of teacher-, structural-, process-, and center-level indicators of quality using a Likert scale. Preliminary results suggest there is not a consistent relationship between teachers’ role, years of experience, and years of experience as a Head Start teacher and their ratings of indicators of quality.

Thomas Maldonado-Reis, Ed.D. Educational Leadership student 
Country-based Exemptions in English Language Proficiency Policies among Adult Continuing Education Programs in Higher Education 
English learners (EL) face an obstacle when enrolling in U.S. higher education: English language proficiency (ELP) policies. Because educational leaders benchmark against prestigious universities, their policies can help reveal patterns in the wider higher education landscape. A content analysis was conducted on ELP policies available online among 39 prestigious private (not-for-profit) universities to provide foundational knowledge on the landscape of ELP policies affecting adult EL students in continuing education programs. This study reveals that U.S. continuing education programs lack transparency and disagree on the treatment of international education in ELP policies. Higher education leaders must evaluate how they assess the ELP of internationally educated adult EL students.

Latrice Marianno, Ph.D. in Educational Statistics and Research Methods student 
How Will We Know When They’re Ready?: Critically Examining State College and Career Readiness Definitions 
Improving college and career readiness (CCR) has received increased attention in United States education policy in recent years (Dougherty & Lombardi, 2016) with states developing CCR standards and aligning educational systems to meet those standards (Conley, 2014; Malin et al., 2017). Yet, critical scholars raise key concerns regarding the readiness agenda’s focus on workforce needs and the knowledge economy. Using a critical discourse analysis, we examine state CCR definitions to better understand how states are defining CCR, what those definitions emphasize, and what discourse is associated with those definitions. We find that states heavily emphasize skills and center workforce needs, raising questions about the purpose of schooling and the role of schools in reproducing inequities.

Amanda Mohammad Mirzaei, Ph.D. in Education student (Mathematics Education)
Introductory Calculus Instructional Practices Around Student Prior Knowledge
Calculus is a pivotal course for postsecondary students and is a gatekeeper to advanced mathematics courses and STEM majors. This study considers the frequency with which instructors report engaging in practices that may help to strengthen introductory calculus students’ prior knowledge. Using survey responses (N=136), this study reports on a set of questions that measures these practices. Results illustrate that instructors may use various practices to address students’ prior knowledge in introductory calculus. Additionally, instructors provided examples of practices they use in response to student prior knowledge. Thus a closer look at what is happening in the classrooms may be key in understanding how instructors support student prior knowledge in introductory calculus.

Bita Moradi, Ph.D. in Education student (Literacy) 
Implementing Data-Driven Learning to Virtually Teach Cohesive Devices: The Case of EFL High School Students
This study investigated the effect of indirect Data-Driven Learning (DDL) and Traditional Deductive Approach (TDA) on cohesive devices knowledge. Thirty-one EFL students (age mean = 16.25) were randomly assigned to two groups. The treatment group (N = 16) received indirect DDL requiring them to study materials derived from authentic corpora. The control group (N = 15) was taught using TDA following a formulaic and mechanical structure. The results revealed that although both groups’ knowledge of discourse markers increased, the treatment group yielded more significant improvements. However, the treatment group showed equal learning retention when compared to the control group on the delayed post-test. The interview with the treatment group demonstrated their positive attitude toward DDL.

Kaitlyn Myers, Psychology and Brain Sciences senior 
Co-created Inclusive Sex Education on Instagram 
Most sex education programs for adults with intellectual disabilities are led by non-disabled sexual health experts. This approach may be less effective and appropriate for adult learners. Using community-based participatory research (CBPR), we explored a program that uses an inquiry-based learning process so that members can create reliable information about sex and disseminate it on Instagram. Through thematic analysis of interviews with group participants, we identified three themes about how the program brought everyone’s different ideas about sex and sex ed together into content for Instagram: Blurring the Lines Between the Educated and Educating; Learning is Dependent on the Strengths and Weaknesses of Our Connections; and Committed to Inclusivity but Wrestling with Ableism.

Amanda Nolte, Ph.D. in Education student (Sociocultural and Community Approaches) Community Engagement With a Library-Based Equity Initiative 
This paper describes an ethnographic study of community engagement with an equity-focused initiative implemented by the Hamilton County Library System (HCLS). The study asks two reciprocal research questions: 1) How does the HCLS foster community engagement with issues related to equity? 2) How does the community respond to the HCLS’s efforts to foster engagement with equity-related issues? Findings show that efforts to foster community engagement were characterized by successes and challenges related to accessibility and disproportionate attention to issues of racial inequity. In response, community members engaged with the initiative in both static and dynamic ways. These findings reveal opportunities for improvement as well as successes that could be replicated in similar initiatives.

Alexus Ramirez, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences)
Exploring Dialogic Interactions in Grandparent-Grandchild Conversations over Video Chat 
Many families use video chat to sustain relationships between children with distanced family members, such as grandparents (Strouse et al., 2021). Research has yet to examine whether grandparents and grandparents engage in language-rich interactions over video chat. The current study asks: 1) Do grandparents and grandchildren produce high-quality language talk (i.e., questions and statements; Justice et al., 2002) with each other as they engage with the media through video chat? 2) Do grandparents engage in dialogic interactions (i.e., distancing prompts; Parish-Morris et al., 2013) with their grandchildren? Findings suggest that grandparent-grandchild video chat interactions not only stimulate emotional connections with loved ones but may also foster child language development.

Elena Silla, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences)
Using Latent Profile Analysis to Examine Variability in Procedural Flexibility 
Procedural flexibility, or the ability to select and apply strategies to solve a problem effectively and appropriately, is a crucial mathematical skill. In the current study I use latent profile analysis to determine whether middle-school students (N = 350) demonstrate procedural flexibility as well as examine the heterogeneity in students’ strategies when solving fraction computation problems. Students displayed three profiles of flexibility: flexibility with efficient strategies (Profile 1, 56%), flexibility with invented strategies (Profile 2, 20%) and low overall flexibility (Profile 3, 22%). These findings lay the groundwork for future work in which I will examine predictors of profile membership and the relationship between profile membership and algebra skills.

Elizabeth Wroten, Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences student 
Amish Culture, Parenting, and Practitioner Recommendations
The Old Order Amish are a group of Anabaptist Christians who live in various settlements across North America, including in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Various sociocultural factors including gender role norms, collectivistic family values, language, and developmental milestones pose implications for human service and other professionals in working with Amish clients/patients and in considering their developmental cascades. This paper juxtaposes the Amish life span and Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development, and synthesizes a variety of relevant references to guide professionals who may find themselves working with Amish clients in understanding the culture, establishing trust with Amish clients, and working effectively with this population.

Srujana Acharya, Ph.D. in Education student (Mathematics Education) *
Unconventional Emerging Ways of Conceptualization of Fractions of Students in India
Like students worldwide, the students in India also demonstrate a weak understanding of fractions. In order to support the students’ understanding of fractions, this exploratory study took place in India and investigated nine middle-school students’ conceptualization of fractions. Students engaged in different tasks which used various representations of fractions and two unconventional emerging ways of conceptualization of fractions have been identified. The results of this study can be used to bridge the gap between fractions instruction and understanding.

Samantha Akridge, Ph.D. in Education student (Sociocultural and Community Approaches)
The Distribution of Culturally Responsive Instructional Practices Among Middle School Mathematics Teachers 
Culturally responsive instruction is one way that educators can address the marginalization of various student groups within mathematics education. This study uses a set of teacher survey responses (n=353) to examine how the enactment of culturally responsive instruction in middle and high school mathematics is distributed across teachers. Scales of more and less frequently used culturally responsive practices were constructed. Using SEM models, we then examined how gender, race, overall teaching experience, math teaching experience, degree type, and subject certification related to the use of more and less frequently used culturally responsive practices. Results may help inform future PD on culturally responsive instruction for mathematics educators.

Alexis Ambroise, Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences student * 
Exploring the Association Between Discrimination and Cognitive Functioning in Older Adults
Cognitive function is an important predictor of dementia, but less is known about how frequency and attributions of discrimination in later life relate to cognition. In a sample of 12,376 adults aged 65+ using Health & Retirement Study data, multilevel linear regression models assessed if measures of everyday discrimination (without attribution), individual attribution frequency, and total number of endorsed attributions associated with cognitive function. Everyday discrimination frequency; age, race, origin, weight, appearance, sexual orientation, and disability discrimination; and higher number of attributions associated with worse cognition. Discrimination may harm cognition, and perceived discrimination attributions may have unique, negative implications for cognition in older adults.

Ariel Chavers, Ph.D. in Education student (Literacy) *
Unique Patterns of Intergenerational Risk Transmission: Adolescent mothers confer heterogeneous risk to offspring’s literacy performance
Research has underscored the literacy differences that emerge between the offspring of adolescent and non-adolescent mothers. While these findings are important, there are several indications in the literature that heterogeneity in achievement exists within the offspring of adolescent mothers (e.g., Tang et al., 2016). A necessary next step is to elucidate factors that contribute to those intra-group literacy differences. As such, this study examined the impact of two maternal factors (race and childbearing age) on offspring’s (n=324) literacy at 9.92- and 12.0-years-old. Results indicate that the race and childbearing age of adolescent mothers transmit differentiated risk to the offspring’s literacy. The current work identifies those offspring at greatest risk for low literacy.

Nuo Chen, Psychology and Brain Sciences student *
Women from minority ethnolinguistic communities struggle to access United States healthcare
Historically, women–particularly those from minority ethnolinguistic communities (EC)–receive few benefits from national health expenditure increases. We investigated U.S. healthcare access at the intersection of sex and EC membership. We asked, are there differences between minority and majority EC members’ healthcare access for women’s medical issues (Q1) and mental health (Q2)?

Casey Griffin, Ph.D. in Education student (Mathematics Education) *
Longitudinal Study of Women’s Sense of Belonging in Undergraduate Calculus
Low sense of belonging has been identified as a key reason for women’s decisions to leave STEM majors. Prior studies indicate that incorporating active learning opportunities may support students’ sense of belonging. Further, sense of belonging is a malleable construct and can be influenced by external factors such as social connectedness and perceived competence. Calculus is an especially ripe setting for investigating STEM students’ sense of belonging, as it often acts as a gatekeeper course for STEM majors. This study investigates changes in women’s sense of belonging during the first semester of a year-long active learning Calculus course, and the extent to which social connectedness and perceived competence contribute to sense of belonging at each of three time points in the semester.

McKenna Halverson, Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences student *Pandemic-Era WIC Participation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Participants’ Experiences and Challenges
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participants faced unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic including financial concerns, a national infant formula shortage, and rising food costs. As such, this study aimed to characterize how pandemic-related events impacted Delaware WIC participants’ shopping experiences and program perceptions. The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 51 WIC participants in Wilmington, DE. The results demonstrate that WIC participants benefitted from the pandemic program’s flexibilities. However, they continued to experience burdensome shopping trips as well as concerns about their ability to feed their families due to infant formula shortages and inflation.

Shubreet Kaur, Psychology and Statistics senior *
Association Between Time of Day and Computational Thinking
Students have abnormal patterns of wakefulness throughout the day, which are associated with their cognitive performance (Escribano & Dıaz-Morales, 2014; Ibrahim et al., 2021). We investigate how the time of day associates with the play time of computational thinking puzzles. Our sample consisted of 89 experts and 83 novices in programming. Using analyses of covariance, we examine whether time of day predicts the play time of each level, controlling for participants’ expert/novice status and the level played. The time of day predicted completion time for the second and third levels. Later times of day were associated with statistically significant improvement in performance compared to earlier times of day. These findings suggest undergraduate students perform better in the late afternoon.

Jonathan Kittle, Ph.D. in Education student (Literacy) *
The influence of Spanish phonology and orthography on Spanish-speaking multilingual learners’ English spelling achievement in K-5: A systematic review
Spanish-speaking multilingual learners (MLs; students learning English as an additional language) consistently underperform on English reading achievement. Since the ability to spell English words correctly is a significant predictor of English reading, the purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize evidence related to the influence of Spanish phonology and orthography on Spanish-speaking MLs’ English spelling of vowels and consonants. Findings suggest that Spanish phonology and orthography may result in predicted errors regardless of grade level or instructional setting. Teachers with knowledge of Spanish phonology and orthography can identify predicted spelling errors and use this knowledge to help Spanish-speaking MLs achieve spelling competence in both languages.

Sumeyye Kurutas, Ph.D. in Education student (Mathematics Education) *Reflective Journaling as a Tool for Understanding Teacher Learning 
Reflective practice is a chance for teachers to better understand and extend their activities by reflecting on their everyday classroom problems, current beliefs, and attitudes. In this way, it is possible for teachers to gain insights deliberately, consciously, and internally for better practice, and deal with uncertainties and unexpected situations in the classroom. Therefore, this study aims to explore what teachers reflect on and how they reflect. Results indicate that teachers reflected on the importance of understanding the key learning goals of a lesson, focusing on what students grapple with, anticipating students’ thinking, and being able to ask intentional questions in their lesson planning and enactment.

Hojung Lee, Ph.D. in Education and Social Policy student
The gap reducing impacts of Title I: resource and achievement gap between low- and high-income kids
Title I is the biggest federal funding program that aims to improve low-income students’ academic achievement, but the effects of Title I funds have not been studied enough. In this paper, I will try to find the effects of Title I on reducing the resource and achievement gap between poor and rich kids. For this, I will first calculate the gap estimates between low- and high-income kids before and after Title I at National and state-level by using the gap estimates of Lee et al. (2022). Then, I will estimate the effects of Title I on students’ academic achievement by exploiting the discontinuity in Title I’s formula. To do this, I will use the two-stage least-square (2SLS) model of Hyman (2017) and Kriesman and Steinberg (2019).

Jenna Loquercio, Psychological and Brain Sciences junior *
Happy, Angry, or Sad?: The Influence of Surgical Masks on Children’s Emotion Perception
Mask-wearing has become a common practice due to COVID-19, affecting numerous aspects of social interaction, and perhaps impacting children’s perceptions of emotions of due to the occlusion of faces (Chester et al., 2022). Before COVID-19, studies demonstrated that children attend to others’ eyes and mouths to differentiate between emotions (Mollahosseini et al., 2016). Few studies examine children’s ability to differentiate emotions when the lower half of the face is covered. We aim to understand how young children detect masked and unmasked individuals’ emotions. This will be explored by presenting children with images of uncovered faces, faces with sunglasses, and faces with a surgical mask. We hypothesize that mask-wearing will significantly affect children’s emotion perception.

Yue Ma, Ph.D. in Education student (Mathematics Education)
Chinese High School Mathematics Teachers’ Conceptions of and Beliefs about Developing All Students’ Critical Thinking
This study investigated ten Chinese high school mathematics teachers’ conceptions of critical thinking and their beliefs on developing all students’ critical thinking. Interviews were conducted with the ten teachers. A pre-configured coding framework is employed for the conceptions, and a thematic analysis is implemented to investigate beliefs. Results suggest that most teachers have sufficient knowledge of critical thinking in mathematics. Also, most of the ten teachers think it is important but almost impossible to develop all students’ critical thinking because of some impediments. Moreover, most teachers hold the beliefs that girls, liberal art track students, and lower-capability students had less capability for developing critical thinking in mathematics.

Christy Metzger, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences)
Physics Professors’ Pedagogical Choices and Expectations for Students as Learners
Despite the large body of research on physics education that calls for student-centered and active pedagogical design, there is little cohesion and adoption at the university level. What do professors consider when making design choices for their introductory physics courses? This pilot study employed a qualitative methodology of semi-structured interviews with 18 professors from 10 different universities and colleges. The purpose of the study was to examine how professors describe the pedagogical choices they make while designing and teaching physics courses and their expectations for students as learners. The transcripts were analyzed using a combination of deductive and inductive coding. Results of these analyses and implications for faculty professional development will be discussed.

Mark Miller, Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences student  
“Black Lives Matter? No, they didn’t bring it up at all…”: Black Boys’ Critical Consciousness Development During a Health Crisis and Racial Reckoning
While the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened racial unrest throughout 2020-2021 spurred unprecedented disruption and trauma to youth and their families globally, these societal incidences also provided fodder for researchers to study youth learning and development. We use a theory of critical consciousness development and a racialized lens on socio-psychological mattering to explore the voiced-perspectives of adolescent Black boys. Findings from focus group interviews gathered during two school years revealed that as participants navigated the health crisis and widespread racial reckoning, they deepened their critical consciousness of their marginal mattering, or perceived insignificance, in society and their school environment.

Ekaterina Novikova, Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences student  
DIEEC CDA Professional Portfolio Preparation Program: The Links between Attendance, Cohort Membership, and Completion Rates
Early Childhood Educator (ECE) preparation plays an important role in the quality of child care programs. One way ECE professionals can enhance their expertise is through obtaining a Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential. A requirement of the CDA is to develop a professional portfolio, which reflects educator knowledge and competencies in working with young children. Several CDA preparation programs currently exist. This presentation reports the outcomes of the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood Professional Portfolio Preparation Program offered to CDA candidates over the period of 3-6 months through group classes, personalized coaching, and networking. Results on the connection between class attendance, cohort membership, and portfolio completion are reported.

Amanda Pickett, Ph.D. in Education student (Sociocultural and Community-Based Approaches)

Lessons Learned from School and District Leaders: Factors That Promote Partnership 

Many Delaware researchers conduct research in local schools, but may be unfamiliar with best practices for communicating with school and district leaders. Consequently, Delaware schools are regularly contacted and potentially overwhelmed with research participation requests. We interviewed and surveyed Delaware school and district leaders to directly learn how researchers can best establish communications and sustain relationships with schools and districts over time. In this poster, we share findings from our work and recommendations for researchers seeking to connect and communicate with school and district leaders in the state.

Irene Post, Ph.D. in Education student (Literacy) *
Do the benefits of code-switching differ when bilingual children communicate with non-chosen versus chosen peers?
This study examined the differential impact of peer code-switching and age on Spanish-English expressive language, and assessed how two types of peer (classmate vs. playmate) code-switching interact with age to impact expressive language. There was a significant effect of peer code-switching on Spanish expressive language (p < .05). There was also a significant interaction between age and type of peer (classmate vs. playmate) code-switching on Spanish expressive language (p < .05). For older children (8-11), greater exposure to classmates’ code-switching resulted in higher Spanish expressive language. For younger children (5-7), greater exposure to playmates’ code-switching resulted in higher Spanish expressive language. These results have positive implications for bilingual education.

Brittany Powell, Ph.D. in Education student (Sociocultural and Community Approaches)Is Tik Tok, The New Google?: Are Pre-Service Teachers and Students prepared to navigate digital and media learning through a critical lens
As the increase of social media, specifically Tik Tok being used as a vehicle of information sharing, it becomes important to interrogate the development of Critical Digital and Media Literacies throughout the education system. Through this research I explore the ways in which preservice teachers use social media as a learning tool. I utilize self-study in Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP) in a Literacy and Technology course (required by English Education students) to introduce preservice teachers to ways in which they can use social media platforms as pedagogical and learning tool to interrogate knowledge they engage with daily, and transfer those skills to their future students.

Amy Santos, Ph.D. in Education student (Sociocultural and Community Approaches) *  Teacher Beliefs About Effective Strategies in the Context of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
United States schools have historically enacted colonizing pedagogies that have assimilated American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth and reduced tribal sovereignty. Culturally relevant schooling shows promise for improving the schooling experiences of AI/AN youth and is a goal expressed in both the Vision and Mission statements of the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). This study seeks to understand what teachers of AI/AN fourth graders in BIE schools and high-density schools believe to be the most effective teaching and learning strategies for increasing student achievement in the context of culturally relevant practices, and how they compare. Results suggest the need for culturally relevant teacher preparation and professional development for teachers of AI/AN youth.

Olushola Soyoye, Ph.D. in Educational Statistics and Research Methods student
Using Sequence Mining to Explore Students’ Behaviors in a Digitally Based Reading Assessment

This paper demonstrates how process data can be used to understand the cognitive processes, navigation behavior, and reading techniques employed in digitally based reading assessments. We use sequence-mining techniques to analyze and uncover respondents’ behavioral patterns in computer-based reading assessments from the sequences of activities that these respondents engaged in during the assessment. We employed sequence clustering technique, in particular, affiliated with dynamic time warping method to identify reading behaviors and navigation patterns among test takers, and to determine whether there is a connection between these navigation patterns and reading achievement on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading assessment

Tamara Turski, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences) *
The role of executive function in the academic engagement of adoptees.
As of 2020, a total of 1,446,818 children were in foster care, 181,285 were waiting to be adopted, and 57,881 children were adopted (U.S. Children’s Bureau, 2021). Historically, studies of children that were adopted (adoptees) largely focused on behavioral and psychological outcomes (see Brumble & Kampfe, 2011 for review). However, more recently studies have begun to investigate the academic achievement (e.g., Turski & Del Tufo, 2022) and academic engagement (Lutes et al., 2016) of adoptees. A move that is poised to challenge the longstanding deficit perspective taken when discussing adoptees. The current study focuses on adoptees from diverse pre-adoptive backgrounds.

April Vazquez, Ph.D. in Education student (Sociocultural and Community Approaches)  *

Girls in Pieces: Racial Identity among Latina-White University Students
Using Rockquemore and Brunsma’s (2002) racial identity taxonomy, I analyzed the interview and reading group response data of two Latina-white students at a large research university in the mid-Atlantic region to determine which identity options they chose and how they experienced living as multiracial individuals in the United States. Emergent themes included the students’ identification with the fictional protagonist of Gabi, A Girl in Pieces (Quintero, 2014), being assigned a racial identity by others that did not match their self-determined identity, a sense of loss, and the experience of racial discrimination.

Sophia Sunshine Vilceus, Ph.D. in Education student (Sociocultural and Community Approaches)   
“Black Girlhood: Joy and Mattering as Resistance”
Black Girls have a particular racialized experience in schools as they fight interlocking systems of oppression. Racially-minoritized students, especially Black girls, experience specific forms of racialized pain, disregard and trauma at school. Black youth have often been studied in relation to the very real and oppressive conditions that they are subjected to, as opposed to the coping mechanisms in which they sustain themselves. Drawing on Black Feminist Thought and Racialized Emotions, I plan to carry out a qualitative study, using Critical Portraiture, to interrogate how Black highschool girls find and curate spaces of joy and infer their mattering in school as a means of resistance.

Lien Vu, Ph.D. in Education student (Learning Sciences)
An International Study on Children’s and Adults’ Perception of Play
Exploring children’s and adults’ views of what constitutes play is important for understanding what they think constitutes playful learning, which can help educational stakeholders make decisions about pedagogy and curriculum in schools as well as lifelong education. Thus, this project aims to achieve a deeper and more refined understanding of the ways in which young children and adults in different countries (i.e., Argentina, Denmark, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States) perceive play. The larger study builds on previous research (e.g., Howard, 2002) by using a card sorting methodology. While studies on perceptions of play have relied on self-reported surveys, qualitative observations, and interviews, this study is the first to use the same methodology with children and adults across multiple countries to investigate perceptions of play.

William Woelki, Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences student   
Mark X. Miller, Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences student*   
“Black Lives Matter? No they didn’t bring it up at all…”: Black Boys’ Critical Consciousness Development During a Health Crisis and Racial ReckoningWhile the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened racial unrest throughout 2020-2021 spurred unprecedented disruption and trauma to youth and their families globally, these societal incidences also provided fodder for researchers to study youth learning and development. We use a theory of critical consciousness development and a racialized lens on socio-psychological mattering to explore the voiced-perspectives of adolescent Black boys. Findings from focus group interviews gathered during two school years revealed that as participants navigated the health crisis and widespread racial reckoning, they deepened their critical consciousness of their marginal mattering, or perceived insignificance, in society and their school environment.

Saimou Zhang, Ph.D. in Educational Statistics and Research Methods student 
Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modeling approach to understand student user experience with automated writing evaluation tool (MI Write)
This study applies Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) computational approach to model the topics emerging from student user experience data with using MI Write, an automated writing evaluation tool.This method offers an efficient avenue to tap into student comment entries that share common themes as well as idiosyncrasies, that would add dynamics to our wholistic understanding of the usability and efficacy of the tool, and feedback to future improved design and implementation in writing instruction.Together with our human judgment, LDA helps identify four common topics: miscellaneous interface design issues, grading system (in)accuracies, the depth of feedback, the accommodation of and attunement to writers’ voice, styles, and identities, especially for students who may struggle to learn.

Jingwen Zhou, Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences student  *
Can diminishing social mobility already be found in childhood?
This study examines the impact of parents’ mental health on children’s social mobility during childhood, focusing on resource allocation rather than socioeconomic status (SES) alone. Using 14,818 participants from the ABCD Study®, I analyzed the association between parental mental health and the difference between children’s current and expected SES using linear regression. Results show that parental mental health significantly predicts diminished social mobility in childhood (b = -1.00, SE=.076, p < .001), accounting for 2.66% of the variance. These findings suggest that offering accessible mental health services to parents, especially low-income ones, may help reduce the risk of childhood poverty.

• Students can present their research in graphic form during the poster session and select from participating in the judging process or simply presenting their posters at the Symposium. Registration is due by March 24 for this option.
• For students who will participate in the prize competition, they will need to submit their poster files by March 24.
• For students who do not want to participate in the poster judging process, they need to have their posters ready to present at the Symposium on April 28.

Poster details:

• It is required to develop your poster using one of the UD templates. You may download a CEHD template or a UD template.
• Students are responsible for having their posters printed. Printing may be done through UD’s Information Technologies, University Printing or Morris Library Multimedia center or by an off-campus vendor. Printing a large format poster can take 24 hours (or more), so please plan accordingly.
• At the event, you will be provided an easel, a foam poster board (36 x 48 inches) and clips to display your poster.
• It is highly recommended you have your poster printed on paper 36 x 48 inches. This can be rolled up for easy transport.

• The role of discussant is possible for advanced graduate students who have previously presented a paper at the Steele Symposium and would like a new role. Advanced graduate students who want to be considered for a discussant role, please indicate that on the registration form (due March 24) and we will assign you to a session based on submissions and your area of expertise.
• We will notify those who applied to be discussants by March 28. If you are not accepted as a discussant but still required to participate, you may submit a late entry for paper or poster presentation, which will be due April 7.
• For students who are accepted as discussants, plan to receive summaries of papers by April 14, giving you two weeks to prepare your remarks for the Symposium.
• Discussants synthesize the papers to draw on common themes. Discussants typically provide critiques of the papers, pointing out strengths, areas that would improve the paper, and suggestions for future study. Some resources for discussants can be found here.

• To be considered for an award, the student’s paper or poster submission must be the original work of the student. Co-authors may submit for award consideration, as long as the co-authors are UD students. Papers or posters co-authored with faculty may not be submitted for award consideration. Students can acknowledge a faculty member’s lab. Please discuss any questions with your faculty advisor or sponsor.
• Papers and posters that are being considered for awards must be blinded by the student prior to submitting the document with the registration form by March 24. Please ensure that you have removed all identifying information. Only the poster file needs to be uploaded by March 24.