Coursework: ITP Seminar

Title: Understanding learners’ challenges with fraction reasoning

Abstract: Which is bigger, 1/3 or 1/4? 11/7 or 4/3? Reasoning about the magnitudes of fractions is notoriously difficult for both children and adults. In this talk I will present findings from two studies that utilize different methodologies to explore what makes fractions so challenging. Results from these studies indicate that difficulties have many sources. Some difficulties stem from features of the fractions, such as their symbolic format and their need for units coordination. Other difficulties stem from features of the learners, such as strategy knowledge and attitudes towards mathematics. Finally, time pressure also affects learners’ performance. These factors come together to make fractions challenging for learners.

Title: Education, well-Being, and health: scientific advances from MIDUS

Abstract: The MIDUS (Midlife in the U.S.) national longitudinal study has been tracking large samples of U.S. adults across the middle and older decades of life with a focus on understanding who maintains good health and well-being, broadly defined, as they age, who does not, and why.  A major thematic focus across the rich biopsychosocial findings being generated is rising inequalities in health.  My presentation will highlight the importance of educational attainment in these findings, thus underscoring ways in which limited opportunities for higher education translate to heightened stress exposures that in turn increase risk for illness, disability, and death at earlier ages in the life course.

Title: Pathways to Economic Stability: Family Income Trajectories, Child Support, and Developmental and Economic Outcomes
Abstract: Economic stability in early childhood plays a crucial role in shaping both developmental outcomes in early life and economic mobility in adulthood. This study integrates two lines of research to examine how family income trajectories from birth to kindergarten and child support receipt during childhood influence short and long-term well-being. Using latent class growth analysis on data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), we identify distinct income trajectories and their association with school readiness, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Results indicate that chronic economic hardship and income instability negatively impact early childhood development, with children in persistently low-income families exhibiting the poorest school readiness outcomes. Additionally, leveraging data from the Wisconsin Child Support Demonstration Evaluation (CSDE) and the Wisconsin Court Record Data (WCRD), we examine the long-term economic impact of child support receipt, finding that consistent support is associated with higher earnings in adulthood. Together, these findings underscore the interconnected nature of early financial stability, policy interventions, and long-term economic mobility. This work highlights the importance of child support policies and anti-poverty interventions in mitigating the adverse effects of early-life economic disadvantage, ensuring that children from low-income backgrounds have greater opportunities for future success.

Title: From student to system change: The evolution of the Unity-Value Intervention

Abstract: In this talk, I discuss the evolution of the utility-value intervention, a set of classroom-based activities designed to enhance students' motivation by engaging them in making personal connections between the learning materials and their lives. I explore the intervention’s evolution across three stages: early implementations targeting individual student motivation, adaptations that incorporate instructor and contextual supports, and current applications at institutional and system levels. Using a problem-inspired and user-centered approach to research, utility-value interventions have shown to be particularly effective for students from historically marginalized and underserved backgrounds in education, such as racially marginalized and first-generation college students, leading to increased course engagement, performance, and persistence. I further present an updated utility-value logic model that incorporates individual and contextual moderators to account for heterogeneity in intervention effects. This evolution underscores the potential of utility-value interventions to promote equitable educational outcomes and highlights the importance of adapting and customizing the intervention to specific contexts to maximize impact. Finally, I consider how broadening student-focused interventions to include entire educational systems can establish a foundation for long-term, sustainable change, making education more relevant and equitable across diverse contexts.