On Wednesday, Aug. 3, 10 student scholars took part in the Summer Education Research Poster Symposium hosted by the UW–Madison School of Education’s Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
These student scholars had been conducting research alongside faculty mentors as a part of the 10-week Summer Education Research Program (SERP). The students, who came to Madison from around the country and beyond, delivered short presentations and spoke with those who attended the event about their findings.
This year’s event took part in the Education Building’s Morgridge Commons area. Following is a glance at each of this year’s SERP participants.
Jocelyn Chavez-Diaz
Current college/university: California State University, Monterey Bay
Major: Spanish language and Hispanic cultures; minor in Chicanx studies
Year in school: fourth year
SERP faculty mentor: Diego X. Román
Poster title: (Re)Creating Latinx Indigenous Identity: Transnational Saraguro Youth Living in Rural Wisconsin
Project overview: This research aims to examine how Saraguro youth living in rural Wisconsin enact their indigeneity in the diaspora. Using a community cultural wealth lens and via semi-structured interviews with six Saraguro youth, findings suggest that familial, linguistic, and navigational challenges and experiences are leveraged to construct their ever-evolving ethnic identities.
Tiffany Munro
Current college/university: Florida International University
Major: psychology and philosophy
Year in school: fourth year (graduating senior)
SERP faculty mentor: Alberta M. Gloria
Poster title: Spirituality, Well-Being Among BIPOC Students: A Scoping Review
Project overview: The purpose of this scoping review is to examine how spirituality and well-being are studied among BIPOC college students. While spirituality and religiosity are essential components of well-being, limited studies have examined how these constructs affect academic success for BIPOC individuals.
Mathew Almodovar Morales
Current college/university: University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus
Major: kinesiology (coaching and refereeing)
Year in school: fifth year
SERP faculty mentor: Luis Columna
Poster title: The Impact of a Physical Activity Programs for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Project overview: This research is focused on how physical activity programs like Fit Families impact the fundamental motor skills development of children with autism spectrum disorder. This study aims to introduce interventions that show how physical activity programs help students with autism develop their motor skills.
Sailery Cortes-Cardona
Current college/university: University of Puerto Rico — Mayagüez Campus
Major: kinesiology (physical education — teaching); with a minor in physical adapted education
Year in school: fifth year
SERP faculty mentor: Brittany Travers
Poster title: Fine Motor Skills Relate to Daily Living Skills in Autistic Children and Youth.
Project overview: The purpose of this study was to understand how specific motor skills relate to daily living skills (DLS), while accounting for IQ and age in autistic children. This research suggests that there is a relationship between DLS and fine motor integration skills in autistic children.
David Whittingham
Current college/university: Tufts University
Major: mathematics and philosophy
Year in school: junior
SERP faculty mentor: Annalee Good
Poster title: Wisconsin Public School Labor Organizing in a Time of Upsurge
Project overview: This research proposal seeks to understand how teachers and other school staff in Wisconsin public schools perceive and experience labor organizing as a means of policy advocacy and how this has been affected by recent developments in the labor movement, such as the “Red for Ed” teachers’ strikes.
Temiloluwa Yusuf
Current college/university: University of Michigan
Major: psychology and secondary education
Year in school: fourth year
SERP faculty mentor: Andy Garbacz
Poster title: What Page Are We On?: Understanding Disconnect In Mental and Behavioral Health Supports in Family-School Partnerships
Project overview: This research aimed to understand the family-school partnership in relation to youth mental and behavioral health through centering the voices of caregivers, teachers, and school staff.
Joseph Boateng
Current college/university: University of Dayton
Major: health science
Year in school: fourth year
SERP faculty mentor: Percival Matthews
Poster title: The Effects of Action on School-Age Equivalence
Project overview: This research seeks to improve children’s understanding of equivalence (equal sign). An intervention is proposed to provide an opportunity to manipulate symbolic equivalence structures into tactile physical objects. This can allow for the observance of action and how it improves equivalence comprehension within school-age children.
Samantha Macksey
Current college/university: Northeastern Illinois University
Major: psychology; with a minor in mathematical and statistical modeling of complex systems
Year in school: fourth year
SERP faculty mentor: Haley Vlach
Poster title: Does Water Play Support Children’s Learning of What Floats?
Project summary: The concept of buoyancy (sink and float) is an objective taught within the science curriculum at the early childhood level. This research aims to leverage the sink and float theory to understand the ways in which water can motivate children to engage in the scientific method and develop their thinking skills.
Carlos F. Cuebas García
Current college/university: University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
Major: kinesiology
Year in school: sixth year
SERP faculty mentor: Luis Columna
Poster Title: Fit Families: A Randomized Parent-Mediated Physical Activity Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Puerto Rico
Project overview: The purpose of this study is to implement the Fit Families app as a parent-mediated intervention to improve the fundamental motor skills of Latinx children with autism living in Puerto Rico.
Kaitlyn Rodriguez
Current college/university: University of Virginia
Major: psychology
Year in school: fourth year
SERP faculty mentor: Stephen Quintana
Poster title: Latinx Psychological Strengths: How Latinx Adolescents Implement Response Strategies to Counteract Crimmigration
Project overview: This research project seeks to observe how Latinx students use cultural strengths against matters related to discriminatory immigration policies. Moreover, it aims better to define Latinx Psychological Strengths in a culturally congruent manner while recognizing the resilience of youth facing systemic oppression.