Research

My personal research interests are primarily focused in two areas, (1) play assessment; and (2) Dual Language programs. In addition to these projects, I supervise numerous student research projects which may stem from my current projects or some focus on my other research interest in reading and early literacy. I am also working on developing a research agenda where I will investigate a problem-solving model for approaching student problems through a response to intervention approach.

Undergraduate students who are interested in research participation may contact me. I may have room on one of my research teams or I may be able to connect you with one of my graduate students conducting research. Both will provide interesting and challenging experiences.

Play Assessment – I first became interested in play assessment as an alternative to standardized testing when I was a practitioner in AEA 13, Council Bluffs, IA. Since that time I have collaborated on several projects with Dr. Brigette Ryalls. We developed a procedure for conducting play sessions and a coding scheme (the PIECES) for evaluating these sessions. We have collected data on typically developing and exceptional children aged 18-48 months and have investigated the reliability and validity of play assessment.

Dual Language Programs – This project is a collaboration between UNO psychology department faculty and educators and administrators from Omaha Public Schools. We are investigating a wide range of questions about children enrolled in a dual language program and their families. Information about the reading skills of students in Kindergarten through 4th grade is a one focus of the project. We are also interested in how parents from different cultures define what it means to be successful in school, how they are involved in their children’s education, and how level of acculturation relates to educational outcomes.

Recent graduate student projects:

• Courtney Bussey -- Parent involvement and perception of child's success in school
• Alicia Domack -- Dialogic reading in a preschool classroom
• Mike Downes -- Program evaluation of ESL in local school district
• Jennifer Feyerherm -- Program evaluation of ESL
• Lachelle Fiscus -- Play assessment and its relationship to developmental screening inventories
• Jennifer Johnson -- Play assessment and its application to young children diagnosed with autism
• Ben King -- Play assessment and its relationship to children with and without siblings
• Lori Kruger -- Oral reading fluency and comprehension in a dual language program
• Brooke Lamp -- A comparison of procedures for improving generalization of the information
• Melanie Lempke -- Play assessment and its relationship to children who stay home or attend daycare
• Karie Martin -- Parent involvement and training for improving early literacy skills
• Janet Miller -- Attitude accessibility and education: Students' reported attitude toward peers with disabilities in public and parochial schools
• Karin Leak Mussman -- A comparison of reinforcement strategies in developing reading skills
• Casie Olsen -- Parent involvement and acculturation among Spanish-speaking parents
• Kristen Pedersen -- Play assessment and its relationship to socioeconomic status
• Megan Stroud -- The relationship of early reading experiences to reading skills in Spanish speaking children
• Metta Volker-Fry -- Comparison of math interventions for improving addition/subtraction skills
• Jessica Wells -- Parents’ views of school success in a dual language program
• Joe Woracek -- Program evaluation of ESL

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