Youli Mantzicopoulos
Professor of Educational Psychology
Principal Investigator
Department of Educational Studies at Purdue University

My areas of interest center on child development and schooling during the early school years and span three broad themes: (a) practices within school and family contexts that support the development of competence in young children; (b) development and evaluation of measures that assess children’s perceptions of competence and early teacher-student relationships; (c) the development and evaluation of new programs for young children that promote linkages between school and family structures.  I teach graduate and undergraduate courses in educational psychology, personal-social development and schooling, and research methods.

I have received funding for my research from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Education, the Bechtel Foundation, and the Purdue Research Foundation.

Youli Mantzicopoulos serves as Principal Investigator on the project.

Learn more about Dr. Youli Mantzicopoulos at her web site.

Helen Patrick
Associate Professor in Educational Psychology
Co-Principal Investigator
Department of Educational Studies at Purdue University

My research focuses on Motivation and Academic Engagement, including associations among classroom motivational environments, teacher practices, and student motivation and engagement. I teach graduate and undergraduate courses in Learning, Motivation, and Educational Psychology.

Helen Patrick serves as Co-Principal Investigator on the project

Learn more about Helen Patrick at her web site.

Ala Samarapungavan
Professor of Educational Psychology 
Co-Principal Investigator
Department of Educational Studies at Purdue University

My research focuses on reasoning and learning in science from childhood through adulthood. I am interested in developmental, cultural, and epistemic aspects of knowledge acquisition in the sciences. I collaborate with public schools in Indiana to help elementary, middle, and high school teachers infuse inquiry into science instruction and to document student learning. I also collaborate with researchers in chemistry, engineering, medicine, and veterinary medicine, on a variety of projects that examine the features of advanced science learning at the college level and beyond. Recently, I have become interested in informal science learning of the kind that occurs from museum field trips.

I teach graduate and undergraduate courses in research methodology and educational psychology. I also offer seminar courses for advanced doctoral students on knowledge acquisition in the sciences and the interface of culture and cognition.

I guide graduate student research in the areas of science learning and higher order thinking.  My research group currently consists of four graduate students.

Ala Samarapungavan serves as Co-Principal Investigator on the project.

Learn more about Ala Samarapungavan at her web site.