Our Research
Below is a list of our major areas of research! Please see our Publications page for information on specific projects.
Developing STEM Teacher-Researchers
Despite the ever-growing need for young scientists, mathematicians, and engineers, there remains a large disconnect between what STEM looks like in the classroom and how researchers and other professionals conduct their work in the real-world. As such, we seek to empower high school STEM educators to become active “teacher-researchers” through multiple evidence-based interventions.
Increasing Student Participation in STEM
While great strides toward race and gender equality in STEM have been made, students of historically underrepresented and underserved communities remain more likely to drop out from such fields, even if they demonstrate high initial interest or academic excellence. It is, therefore, one of our top priorities to investigate the mechanisms at play that push certain students out of these disciplines. We examine how instructor mindsets and beliefs about intelligence, certain identities (e.g., stereotypes), or even their very fields of study may impact how welcome and motivated students feel in those classrooms.
Divisions of Labor in the Home
This line of work centers around the conflicts that arise between cohabitating romantic couples, particularly those related to how domestic chores, like housework and childcare, are divided and managed. We study how and why household labor conflicts emerge, as well as the negative outcomes that unequal domestic relationships can have on personal and relational wellbeing.
Mental Health in Education
Stay tuned for more information about this exciting work!
Disability as Identity
While disability has historically been presented through a lens of pathology, self-advocates from disability communities have paved the way for expanded understandings that create space for identity. This line of research explores disability as identity, with a focus on the autistic community. Our current project investigates how symbols and language that are commonly used to represent autism may influence perceptions of stigma, collective self-esteem, and stereotype threat activation in members of the autistic community.
INterracial Street Interactions
Everyday, women make countless decisions about their physical safety and whether to take evasive action when encountering men in public. Such mental calculations are complicated by the competing influence of the criminal Black man stereotype on women’s self-protective behaviors, as well as women’s desires to behave without prejudice. This project aims to contextualize women’s fears surrounding street harassment, while also examining how these fears can harm Black men when rooted in racial prejudice. We also investigate what signals men can employ to communicate safety in turn.
