The Education Collaboratory at Yale would like to introduce our 2024 CSC Undergraduate Developmental Science Summer Interns, Adriana Rivera Vega, Jordyn Barkley, and Maya Steiger. As a part of our staff spotlight series, we are highlighting their work and what brings them to our team's mission to advance the science and practice of SEL.
Adriana Rivera Vega
What is your role at the Education Collaboratory?
My role at the Education Collaboratory at Yale involves contributing to a new project focused on conducting a scoping review to map terms, definitions, and practices in inclusive education across global learning contexts. Doing so will serve as a roadmap for research, intervention, and accountability for inclusive practices in education. As an intern in the Yale Child Study Center Developmental Science Summer internship, part of my responsibilities includes formulating a research question from this new project that I am contributing to. My research question is: “Do inclusive practices in school-based settings improve academic and psychological well-being in students with intellectual and developmental disabilities ?” I am excited to work this summer in answering this question and presenting my research towards the end of summer to other faculty members and students.
What brought you to the field of SEL and education and/or psychology?
What brought me to the field of social and emotional learning is my personal experience navigating academic and psychological challenges in the school setting myself after being diagnosed with a learning disorder at a young age. I understand the isolating and burdensome nature of confronting adversity in educational settings. This was further complicated by the experience of having parents who do not speak English, as they were unable to fully comprehend the implications of my diagnosis and its subsequent impact.
What line of research do you find the most interesting/intriguing in the field right now?
My research interests include; addressing the multifaceted needs of vulnerable populations, particularly in interventions for vulnerable families, social-emotional learning, and psychosocial factors that influence & further impact academic, emotional, and behavioral development in children.
What energizes you outside of work?
What energizes me outside of work is my family and my best friend.
Jordyn Barkley
What is your role at the Education Collaboratory?
As an intern at the Education Collaboratory, I am actively contributing to Project Flourish. Within the project, I assist with coding qualitative data, editing video transcripts, as well as data cleaning, and analysis tasks. As a part of the Summer 2024 Developmental Science Internship at the Yale Child Study Center, I am also curating a research project that I will present in the Research Symposium at the end of the summer.
What brought you to the field of SEL and education and/or psychology?
In my undergraduate studies as a Psychology major, I developed an interest in Child Psychology, particularly in interventions for children with intellectual disabilities and behavioral disorders. I started to work with children in many different facets with mentoring, tutoring, dance classes, as well as ABA (applied behavior analysis). Since then, I have been intrigued by the way children’s brains process emotion, learn, as well as navigate through the world.
What line of research do you find the most interesting/intriguing in the field right now?
Currently, my interests lie in cognitive development, emotion regulation, and interventions aimed at improving these concepts among children, preferably children who identify as racial minorities. This summer, I am focusing on exploring the concept of cognitive reappraisal, specifically late positive potentials (LPPs) amongst young Black girls. My research aims to address disparities in racial diversity within EEG research and how this relates to the measures of LPPs. I aim to investigate how the measures of the amplitudes of LPPs amongst young Black girls can further improve the process of emotion regulation in this demographic due to other external stressors this demographic has to face daily.
What energizes you outside of work?
Outside of work, I love to spend time with my family and friends, exploring new places, and dancing. Since I was little, I have been taking dance classes in all styles, competing in competitions, and participated in dance showcases. Additionally, volunteer work is another big passion of mine. At my college, I am active in an organization called SKIRTS (Sisters Keeping it Real Through Service), where I mentor a young elementary school girl. It is fulfilling to be able to serve others in different communities with whatever contributions I can make.
Maya Steiger
What is your role at the Education Collaboratory?
I am a summer intern in the Education Collaboratory, and have been working on the SELOC (Social and Emotional Learning Observation Checklist) project. As a part of the Developmental Science Summer Internship Program, I have formulated a research question based on a subset of the data derived from the SELOC project. Specifically, I will be exploring the types of validation and invalidation that elementary school teachers provide to students in the classroom. At the end of the summer, I will share my work in the form of a poster presentation.
What brought you to the field of SEL and education and/or psychology?
After deciding to study psychology, I quickly engaged in research during my first year of college. My love for research grew as I explored different topics within psychology. Outside of my studies, I work with children in grades K-6 in an after-care enrichment program. Through my studies, I discovered my interest in affective science, and enjoy applying what I learn to my engagement with young students. Through these experiences, I have realized the importance of social-emotional learning in the school setting, and I am eager to contribute to this area through my research in my future career.
What line of research do you find the most interesting/intriguing in the field right now?
I am intrigued by research on emotion regulation and its role in attention, memory, and learning outcomes. Currently, my undergraduate thesis focuses on emotion, attention, and perceived workload. This project aims to explore how emotional stimuli impact performance on an attention task and perceived workload. One topic I would like to research in the future is mindfulness and meditation as an emotion regulation technique.
What energizes you outside of work?
Outside of work, I love to cook and bake; my specialties include cinnamon rolls, brownies, and banana bread! I also enjoy travel, listening to music (Briston Maroney, Hozier, and Greta Van Fleet are my favorites), and taking care of my many plants.