Current PIRT Fellows (continued)
Jessica Sidler Folsom
Jessica's primary research interests are in the areas of literacy focused in the context of special education; response to instruction, prevention of learning disabilities, language and literacy, adolescent literacy, and literacy for students with significant cognitive disabilities. As a former special educator of high school and postsecondary students, other interests include issues related to successful transition outcomes including parent and teacher factors, and transition planning.
Publications:
Al Otaiba, S., Connor, C. M., Foorman, B., Greulich, L. Folsom J. S. (in review). Implementing response to intervention with a focus on early intervening services. In T. E. Scruggs & M. A. Mastropieri (Eds.), Policy and practice: Advances in learning and behavioral disabilities (vol. 22). Bingley, UK: Emerald.
Presentations:
Folsom, J. S., Al Otaiba, S. (2008, October). Understanding kindergarten predictors of first grade reading achievement: A factor analytic approach. Poster presented at the Second Annual Dean's Symposium Series, Assessment for the 21st Century: Insight, Tallahassee, FL.
Al Otaiba, S., Connor, C., Meadows, J., Petscher, Y., Greulich, L., Folsom, J. S., Lang, L. (2008, July). Responsiveness to kindergarten reading instruction: Examining the interactions among student characteristics, reading instruction, and student outcomes. Paper presented at the Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Asheville, NC.
Folsom, J. S., Piasta, S. B., LaVenia, M., & Al Otaiba, S. (2008, June). Is there a predictive role of vocabulary on letter-word reading growth or outcome during kindergarten? Poster presented at the 2008 Institute of Education Sciences Research Conference. Washington, D.C.
Folsom, J. S. (2007, March). Transition Planning 101. Presentation given at the annual Transition Fair at Gretchen Everhart School, Tallahassee, FL.
Sidler, J. G. M. (2006, July). How do I teach and measure reading comprehension at the secondary level? Presented at the Alternate Assessment Training Institute, St. Pete Beach, FL.
Byrd, C. & Sidler, J. G. M. (2006, February). Navigating the transition maze. Panel presented at the 8th Annual ESE Family Conference, Tallahassee, FL.
Darcey Sims
Darcey Sims is a 4th year PIRT student in the Clinical Psychology program at Florida State University. Her research interests include investigating which components of ADHD are associated with emergent literacy skills difficulties in preschoolers and examining how the relations between ADHD and emergent literacy skills differ as children age. She is currently completing her thesis on how different forms of ADHD assessment tools (i.e., teacher ratings and computer-based tests) relate to scores on tests of emergent literacy skills.
Presentations:
Hume, L.E.,Lonigan, C.J., & Sims, D. M. (June, 2009). Academic focused preschool curricula’s effect on children’s socio-emotional growth. Poster presented at the annual conference of the Institute for Education Sciences, Washington, D.C.
Sims, D. M., & Lonigan, C.J., (June, 2009). The Relation between Behavior Problems and Emergent Literacy Skills in Preschoolers as a Function of Age. Poster presented at the annual conference of the Institute for Education Sciences, Washington, D.C.
Sims, D. M., & Lonigan, C. J. (2008, June). The predictive utility of phonological and print awareness measures for later reading skills. Poster presented at the annual conference of the Institute for Education Sciences, Washington, D.C.
Brooke Soden-Hensler
Brooke is a 5th year fellow in the Cognitive Psychology department working with Dr. Chris Schatschneider. Her interests include factors that influence reading acquisition. Current projects include investigating the role of genetics in academic skills and modeling the growth of reading skills. Ultimately, she would like this scientific research to have implications in education.
Presentations:
Soden Hensler, B., Hauptli, M., Petscher, Y., & Schatschneider, C., (2009, July). Screening for future reading problems: A comparison of currently used and new measures. Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Boston, MA.
Soden Hensler, B., Taylor, J., Schatschneider, C., Roehrig, A. & Connor, C. M., (2009, June). Investigating the impact of teachers on early reading using a genetically-sensitive design. Institute of Education Sciences Research Conference, Washington, DC.
Soden Hensler, B., & Schatschneider, C., (2009, February). Estimating growth in oral reading fluency: A comparison of ordinary least squares & Empirical Bayes estimates at various levels of nesting. Pacific Coast Research Conference, San Diego, CA.
Mercedes Spencer
Mercedes is a first year PIRT fellow in the Developmental Psychology program. She will be working with both Dr. Rick Wagner and Dr. Carol Connor. Her primary research interests are in children's learning, specifically reading comprehension and linguistic acquisition.
Haley Stephens
Haley is a 2nd year PIRT fellow in Clinical Psychology. Haley's research interests include examining how children's self-perceived social and scholastic competence affects their overall academic achievement.
Elizabeth Tighe
Elizibeth is a 1st year PIRT fellow in Cognitive Psychology. Her research interests include the development of phonological, morphological, and orthographic skills and their relationship to reading comprehension in elementary school children and children with reading disabilities.
Shauna Wilson
Shauna is a 5th year PIRT student and is working on her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Shauna has been involved with several projects, including the use of technology in teaching middle-school science, evaluation of emergent literacy screening tools, assessment of self-regulation and theory of mind in preschoolers, and validity of preschool approaches to learning in predicting academic outcomes throughout elementary school. Shauna's primary interest is in the intersection of externalizing behaviors and emergent literacy. Her dissertation is an exploration of the relation of temperament, literacy, and behavior.
Publications:
Lonigan, C. J., & Wilson, S. B. (2008). Report on the Revised Get Ready to Read! Screening Tool: Psychometrics and normative information. Technical Report. Tallahassee, FL: Author.
Wilson, J. H., & Wilson, S. B. (2007). The first day of class affects student motivation: An experimental study. Teaching of Psychology, 34, 226-230.
Wilson, S. B., & Kennedy, J. H. (2006). Helping behavior in a rural versus urban setting: Professional and casual attire. Psychological Reports, 98, 229-233.
Wilson, S. B., & Lonigan, C. J. (2008). An evaluation of two emergent literacy screeners for preschool children. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Wilson, S. B., & Lonigan, C. J. (2008). Identifying preschool children at-risk of later reading difficulties: Evaluation of two emergent literacy screening tools. Manuscript submitted for publication.
