Tayler Loiselle, Ph.D. student in the psychological foundations of education program, was recently acknowledged as an emerging scholar by the Society for Research on Adolescence. Loiselle, under the mentorship of faculty member Keisha Varma, explores research regarding the relationship between scientific reasoning ability and motivation in middle school students.

In addition to research, Loiselle has had first-hand experience in the classroom. She has worked as a special educational assistant in an elementary school where she helped initiate the creation of their first after-school program. Loiselle has also been a part of teaching kids about science and engineering through her positions as assistant coach and program coordinator of GEMS and GISE. These experiences contributed to Loiselle’s continuation in pursuing community-engaged research.

Currently, Loiselle is a Graduate Research Assistant on the ESPRIT project, Fostering Equitable Science through Parental Involvement and Technology.  The ESPRIT Project is funded by the National Science Foundation (Award #1657088 ).  In her role on the project, Tayler is investigating how a social media learning environment can increase student engagement and parent involvement for middle school students from underserved communities.

You can read more about Tayler Loiselle and her recent accomplishment here.