Research Areas & Collaborative Opportunities

Faculty in the College of Education & Behavioral Sciences are active researchers with expertise in basic and applied fields. Inquiries about collaborative opportunities are welcome.

Faculty Member	Department	Research Area(s)	Methodologies used
Berger, Jim	Educational Administration, Leadership, & Research	Impact of culture on learning in higher education	Case studies Discourse analysis Focus groups Mixed methods Qualitative studies Survey research Ethnography
Derryberry, Pitt	Psychology	Socio-cognitive development during adolescence and the college years Development of moral judgment and self-understanding	Experimental design Survey research
Duffin, Lisa Research webpage: wku.edu/psychology/research/taq	Psychology	Factors that impact academic quality at the K-16 levels, especially within STEM education The power of beliefs within teaching and learning, with an emphasis on impacting change through intervention	Case studies Experimental design Field studies Mixed methods Qualitative studies Survey research
Dye, Lacretia	Counseling & Student Affairs	Multicultural studies/diversity issues Impact of mindfulness on students (K-12, college) Usefulness of yoga/meditation/mindfulness with varied disorders	Grounded theory Mixed methods Phenomenology Qualitative studies
Evans, Sam	Teacher Education	Affective characteristics of effective teachers Transformative educator preparation Student success Leadership Teacher candidate impact on P-12 student learning	Quasi-experimental designs Survey research Document analysis
Farmer, Ryan Research webpage: researchgate.net/profile/Ryan_Farmer3	Psychology	Evidence-based assessment in school psychology and applied behavior analysis Psychometric qualities of standardized assessment instruments Dissemination and implementation science related to EBA Functional behavior interventions	Experimental design Single case design Survey research
Galloway Burke, Monica	Counseling & Student Affairs	Diversity in higher education Career preparation for graduate students Impact of social issues on society Helping skills for working with college students	Experimental design Focus groups Mixed methods Survey research
Grieve, Rick	Psychology	Male body image Sport fan behavior	Experimental design Field studies Focus groups Qualitative studies
Houchens, Gary Research webpages: schoolleader.typepad.com works.bepress.com/gary-houchens	Educational Administration, Leadership, & Research	School leadership School improvement Education policy How teacher perceptions of academic conditions in their schools can be used to predict student achievement outcomes and help shape school improvement efforts	Case studies Qualitative studies Survey research
Huang, Xiaoxia	Teacher Education	Instructional design and technology Designing and evaluating technology-supported learning environments in various settings to facilitate cognitive, affective, and motivational processes in learning.	Experimental studies Survey research Case studies Focus groups Mixed methods
Keesey, Sue	Teacher Education	Literacy instruction for struggling/diverse learners Culturally relevant pedagogy/instruction Behavioral strategies for promoting student learning Phonemic awareness	Single case design
Myers, Carl	Psychology	Assessment of autism Validity of behavior rating scale assessments	Experimental design Single case design Survey research
Noel, Christina	Teacher Education	Positive behavior supports Students with autism spectrum disorders International education experiences	Single case design
Norman, Tony	Educational Leadership Doctoral Program Psychology	Program Evaluation Accreditation and Assessment Educational Leadership	Focus groups Mixed methods Qualitative studies Survey research
Ochs, Sarah	Psychology	Identifying youth at risk for academic, behavioral, and mental health concerns Using technology to improve screening and assessment systems for youth Exploring how assessment systems function differently across diverse populations
Paganelli, Andrea Research webpage: andreapaganelli.com	Teacher Education	Innovative Library Practices Technology in the Teacher Education Technology in the Classroom Digital Storytelling eBooks Makerspaces Coding for Kids	Case studies Discourse analysis Qualitative studies
Paquin, Tony	Psychology	Cross-cultural issues related to improving effectiveness in organizations Cross cultural issues related to date rape Inter-rater agreement	Experimental design Field studies Focus groups Mixed methods Survey research
Redifer, Jenni Research webpage: wku.edu/psychology/research/aml	Psychology	Cognitive strategy instruction Working memory capacity and strategy use Impact of cognitive load on performance Creative problem-solving	Experimental design Mixed methods Survey research
Sauerheber, Jill	Counseling & Student Affairs	Self-efficacy of counseling trainees Marital satisfaction Relationships among marital satisfaction, political ideology and religious strength	Survey research
Smith, Kandy	Teacher Education	Response to Intervention (K-12) Adolescent literacy	Case studies Focus groups Qualitative studies
Stobaugh, Rebecca	Teacher Education	Integration of technology into P-12 education Critical thinking in P-12 classrooms Teaching strategies High-impact teaching strategies Assessment of learning in P-12 classrooms	Mixed methods Survey research
Szymanski, Antonia	Teacher Education	Teacher professional development Gifted education K-12 student motivation Differentiation Mathematics Mindfulness	Case studies Focus groups Mixed methods Phenomenology Qualitative studies Survey research
Tassell, Janet Research webpage: researchgate.net/profile/Janet_Tassell	Teacher Education	Math Mindfulness Math Anxiety Productive Struggle Gifted Math Children and Strategies Real World Learning Framework Video Gaming Impact on Math Achievement Math Comic books	Case studies Experimental design
Thornberry, Tim	Psychology	Evidence-based practice of psychology with children and families Analog behavior observations of children and families in clinical settings Factors influencing public health, rural health, and behavioral health initiatives (e.g., smoking cessation, pediatric obesity, substance misuse)	Case studies Experimental design Focus groups Mixed methods Survey research
Wilson, Kristin	Educational Administration, Leadership, & Research	College persistence Marginalized college student populations Policy analysis in post-secondary education	Qualitative studies Case studies Discourse analysis Phenomenology Discourse analysis Ethnography
Wininger, Steve Research webpage: wku.edu/psychology/research/motivation	Psychology	Identifying key strategies for regulating exercise intensity Impact of cognitive processing (esp. multi-tasking) on self-selected exercise intensity Identifying common psychology myths, especially as they relate to teaching	Experimental design Mixed methods Survey research Instrument development
Wolf, Cheryl	Counseling & Student Affairs	Career development College & career readiness Wellness and self-care Diversity and multicultural spirituality Applied research with community members, schools, business leaders, to improve processes and training	Focus groups Grounded theory Mixed methods Survey research
Zhao, Qin	Psychology	Impact of metacognitive and motivational processes on performance and psychological well-being Cultural differences in metacognitive beliefs and performance outcomes of such differences.	Experimental design Survey research Field studies

For additional information about our research, see the faculty profiles in Counseling & Student Affairs, Educational Administration, Leadership, & Research, the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program, Psychology, and Teacher Education. To learn more about research collaboration opportunities in the College of Education & Behavioral Sciences, contact Jenni Redifer, Assistant to the Dean for Research.

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Research Areas & Collaborative Opportunities