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Lindsey Richland is a Professor and Associate Dean of the graduate program in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine. Previously, she was an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago, and she received her Ph.D in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Richland's research examines the ways that children develop complex reasoning skills, a crucial tool for success in the 21st century.  She examines children's reasoning development in and out of schools, with her classroom research focusing on teaching and learning mathematics. She examines the mechanisms underpinning children's capacity to think flexibly, with studies focusing on the roles of cognitive maturation and individual differences, primary caregiver language and socialization practices, and school routines. She also examines factors shaping children's tendencies to engage in higher order thinking when opportunities are available. Her classroom work focuses on mathematics, investigating effective teaching practices for increasing higher order thinking and reducing opportunity gaps. Recently, some of her work has shifted to attend to the roles of pressure and anxiety in exacerbating such gaps【Curriculum Vitae】
Postdoctoral Scholars ​and Graduate Students
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Hongyang Zhao is a postdoctoral researcher at the Science of Learning Lab, University of California, Irvine. She recently graduated from the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology at University of Maryland with a PhD in Educational Psychology and a master-level certificate in Measurement, Statistics, and Evaluation. Her research focuses on higher order thinking including relational thinking/reasoning, measurement issues (measure development, revision, and validation), and meta-analysis.
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Natalie Au Yeung is a PhD student in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine, with a specialization in Human Development in Context. She is broadly interested in how individual differences would affect math learning. In particular, she is exploring how bilingualism, executive functions, self-efficacy, and stereotype threat would affect student engagement in higher order thinking in a math learning context. Natalie just graduated from the University of Chicago and obtained an MA in Social Sciences degree with concentrations in Psychology and Comparative Human Development. Before coming to the States, she worked as a high school math teacher and an inspector in the Department of Education in Hong Kong. These experiences have formed her interests in her current interdisciplinary research. ​
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Joseph Wong is a doctoral student at the University of California, Irvine who studies Teaching, Learning, and Educational Improvement (TLEI) while specializing in Digital Learning and Educational Technology under his advisor, Dr. Lindsey Richland. He is a researcher motivated by questions at the intersection of science education, digital media, and higher-order thinking. More specifically, he is interested in the cognitive mechanisms underlying how instructional media technologies such as online learning, virtual and augmented reality, and digital interactivity, can improve student motivation, engagement, content acquisition, and foster transferable skills. Through this work, Joseph's career goal is to bridge together his passion for digital media with science education to design effective learning experiences representative of today’s 21st-century student learning behaviors.
Website: https://jw.education.uci.edu/
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Lina Carpenter is a Ph.D. student in education at University of California at Irvine, specializing in Human Development in Context (HDiC).  Her research interests include emotional intelligence, promoting “soft skills” in educational contexts, and how social ecology interacts with cognition and mental load.  Lina worked in Los Angeles, CA as a preschool teacher, where her experience with young children was centered around problematic classroom behavior and self-regulation, which in turn formed her current interdisciplinary research interests.  Lina also has a BS in Fine Art from the University of California at Santa Cruz and an MA in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Early Childhood Education from California State University at Northridge.
【Curriculum Vitae】// Website: ​www.linacarpenter.com
Lab Manager
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​Ella Rose graduated from University of California, Irvine in 2021 where she received a B.A. in Education Sciences with specializations in Educational Research and Evaluation and Children’s Learning and Development. After graduating, she worked with Dr. Hosun Kang at UC Irvine where she studied how teacher educators understand and engage in preparing preservice teachers to teach for equity and social justice in K-12 educational settings. She is interested in how self-efficacy and identity affect children’s learning and achievement, especially in math and science. ​
Post-Baccalaureate Research Associate
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Bella Lerner graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2019 where she received a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Applied Psychology. Over the last 12 years she has had the opportunity to work with infants through pre-teens in a variety of contexts, including research, in-school settings, and extracurricular activities. Her interests center around both children and adults' social-emotional skills and mindsets, their relationship to positive outcomes in school and other domains later in life, as well as the ways in which they can be impacted at school, at home, and through interventions. ​
Research Assistants
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Vanessa Ha is an undergraduate student at the University of California, Irvine. She is majoring in Pharmaceutical Sciences and is planning to minor in Psychological Sciences. Her research interests include developmental psychopathology, memory development in early childhood as well as pharmacological treatments of psychiatric disorders such as depression. Vanessa plans to pursue a career in research or medicine after graduating UCI.  

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Ashley is an undergraduate student majoring in Psychological Science and minoring in Education. Her research interests include exploring how stress can impact child and adolescent development. After graduating, she hopes to attend graduate school to peruse a career in adolescent psychology. Through the Science of Learning Lab, Ashley hopes to continue learning and gaining hands-on experience!​ 

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Eunice Jang is an undergraduate student pursuing a BA in Psychological Science and a minor in Education at the University of California, Irvine. Her research interests include childhood development and how to improve classroom instruction. Eunice’s career aspiration is to work in a field that incorporates both her major in Psychology and minor in Education, like working as a school guidance counselor, high school psychology teacher, or elementary school educator

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Johanna Mejia Avila is an undergraduate student at UC Irvine. She is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Hearing and Speech Sciences. Her research interests include language acquisition in bilingual families. Through the lab, she hopes to get more research experience and develop administrative skills. Johanna aspires to become a Speech Language Pathologist in the future.

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​Phoebe Sidell is an undergraduate student majoring in Education Sciences and Psychological Sciences. Her research interests include child development and understanding how different teaching strategies can impact a student’s learning. After graduating, she hopes to earn her license in Developmental Psychology and pursue a career in School Psychology.

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​Yerin Ko is an undergraduate student pursuing dual degrees in Education Sciences and Social Policy and Public Service. Her research interests include methods of increasing education accessibility and helping underserved neighborhoods develop a solid education system through various methods. For career aspirations, Yerin hopes to pursue fields relating to education policy analysis or curriculum design. 

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Shannon Le is an undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Education at the University of California, Irvine. Her research includes developmental psychology and how to better help children through this critical developmental period. After graduating, Shannon hopes to go to graduate school in order to earn a Master's Degree in school psychology and become a school psychologist.​

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Alia Munn is an undergraduate student majoring in Psychological Science at the University of California, Irvine. Her research interests include emotion regulation studies and childhood development. Alia hopes to pursue a career in Psychology and participate in research that aids in understanding the psychology behind people. She is happy to be a part of the Science of Learning Lab and hopes to gain more experience through working as a Research Assistant.

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Jackie Bautista is an undergraduate student at the University of California, Irvine. She is majoring in Business Administration and is minoring in Education Sciences. Her research interests include the effects of anxiety and depression on academic performance for K through 12th grade students, and adolescent development. Jackie hopes to pursue a career in education, as a College and Career Counselor combining her business and education knowledge after graduation.

See Our Lab Alumni Here! 
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