Luann Rene Larsen, PhD
Cognition, Learning and Development
I have always been interested in the process of writing, as well as in the beauty of the written word. I joined the Nebraska Writing Research Group in 2011 as a part of my doctoral program in Educational Psychology and have found the group to be both a tremendous educational experience and a source of support for my academic writing growth. As a scholar and an educator, I am interested in intervention research, focused primarily on the development of writing skills in community college students; I’m also interested in gender and ethnic differences in writing skills and practices. As a lifelong student of writing, I am a frequent participant in writing workshops, member of a writing group and developing fiction writer.
Whitney Schneider, PhD
Cognition, Learning and Development
I joined the Nebraska Writing Research Group (NWRG) in 2011 after learning about the group in Dr. Bruning's Writing Seminar. My professional background is in speech-language pathology, so I am specifically interested in the development of and building writing skills in students with language disorders. However, writing in general has always fascinated me and been something that I enjoy. In addition to being a student in CLD, I am a lecturer at the University of Nebraska - Kearney, and I am interested in using writing as a tool for improving my students' learning opportunities.
Kate Sydik, PhD
Cognition, Learning and Development
I joined the Nebraska Writing Research Group (NWRG) in during the Fall 2011 semester after my interest in literacy was sparked by Psych of Writing and Psych of Reading seminars. I am interested in research into table games as learning tools, especially related to early literacy education. I am also interested in researching connections between goals and creativity in writing as well as in other domains. I currently teach a study skills class for students with disabilities and I am interested in how to help my students become better writers.
Ruomeng (Tracy) Zhao, PhD
Cognition, Learning and Development
I have been interested in writing research since the beginning of my PhD studies. As a writer often engaged in academic writing and a blogger, I am most curious about the motivational process underlying writing. Questions like these intrigue me: What keeps a writer engaged in writing, even when it is painstaking? How do different writers frame their goals for writing differently? And how do individual differences in motivational process (e.g. goal setting, self-efficacy for writing) relate to writing outcome. My current research mainly focuses on goal-setting and achievement goals in writing, which will be expanded to a more cognition-oriented approach in the future.
Moon Yu
Cognition, Learning and Development
I enjoy learning from the expertise of members in areas of cognition, learning and development related to the psychology of writing. I am interested in what makes people want to learn to write and to revise. How do they learn the basic skills for writing? What knowledge and thinking processes do they need to put words into meaningful written form for the reader? What affects writing-related learning behaviors in settings such as a school or community? In my current research study, I focus on what motivate(s) children's (lower elementary school students--Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade) writing and revising of writing. My personal interest in writing is journaling. :-)
Shiyaun Wang, PhD
(also Current NWRG Member)
Cognition, Learning and Development
I started to do some work for the Writing Habits and Beliefs Project when I first came to UNL in 2009, and officially joined Nebraska Writing Research Group in Fall of 2012 as a part of my doctoral program. I think writing is fascinating because everyone can use it as a way of self-expression, learning and spreading ideas. However, in academic setting I found out many students have difficulty in providing good writing as well as lack motivation to write, which bear big impact on their academic success. So, I’m interested in how to help students improve their writing performance by facilitating their motivation and self-regulation in writing. I have focus on studying how different aspects of writing instructions, such as goal setting and writing strategies, affect student’s motivation and self-regulation and writing, and actual writing performance.