2010 - 2011 Academic Year Fellows
Eliza Congdon
Eliza is an Assistant Professor of Developmental Psychology at Williams College. She received her PhD from the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago in 2016. Eliza’s research explores how children learn new conceptual ideas through producing their own gestures and actions and observing other people’s gestures and actions. In particular, she asks when and how external movements shape internal ideas in instructional contexts. Most of Eliza’s work takes place in the domain of mathematics, an academic area rich with spatial and linguistic metaphors. From a practical perspective, understanding ways to optimize early learning experiences in mathematics for diverse groups of learners could help to close persistent achievement gaps that fall along key demographic lines and tend to widen over developmental time.
Cassiopeia Freeman
Cassie currently works as a Lead Learning Scientist at Duolingo. Cassie held various directorial positions at College Board before assuming her role at Duolingo. She also held the position of Postdoctoral Researcher at Teachers College, Columbia University. Cassie received her doctoral degree from the Department of Comparative Human Development in 2015. Her research interests include parental input and the emergence of higher order thinking, measuring mathematical understanding in very young children, identifying learners’ misconceptions in mathematics and science, and improving teacher quality. Cassie received her undergraduate degree from Emory University received an MA in Education Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University. Before attending the University of Chicago, Cassie conducted research on the fidelity of implementation of instructional materials and sustainability of educational reform and mirror self-recognition and cooperation in non-human primates.
Sarah Komisarow
Sarah Komisarow is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Economics at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. She received her doctorate degree from the Department of Economics in 2016. Sarah is an applied microeconomist with research interests in public policies designed to improve the lives of children, particularly those who are contemporaneously disadvantaged in the United States. Much of her focuses on the causal effects of interventions within and adjacent to K-12 public schools in the U.S. Sarah has also published work in the economics of crime and health when education-focused lines of inquiry have led to further exploration of mechanisms and factors that shape how public policies in and around K-12 public schools affect children. She received her undergraduate degree from Duke University. Prior to enrolling at the University of Chicago she worked as a research assistant at the Sanford School of Public Policy. Sarah is also a recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
Ryan Heath
Ryan is currently an Assistant Professor at David B. Falk College of Sport & Human Dynamics at Syracuse University. Ryan was a doctoral student in the School of Social Service Administration. His research interests include investigating extracurricular participation and youth outcomes, the impacts of experiential and progressive education on adolescents, and the development of non-cognitive factors across school and community settings. He received his undergraduate degree from Brown University, where he was a recipient of the Royce Fellowship, an interdisciplinary research program. Previous to his graduate studies, Ryan coordinated and directed several experiential education programs for adolescents, including a youth development program in public, charter, and therapeutic high schools in Salem, MA, that integrated service-learning and teenage pregnancy prevention.
Miriam Novack
Miriam is currently a Research Assistant Professor of Medical Social Sciences. Miriam held the position of Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University after graduating from UChicago. She received her doctoral degree from the Department of Psychology in 2016. I am a developmental psychologist interested in how cognitive processes unfold in infancy and early childhood. Her research has examined the development of language and gesture understanding, with a specific focus on how communicative signals support learning across development. She is especially interested in how early cognitive and social function can predict later childhood outcomes, as well as how studying cognitive processes can enhance learning in both formal and informal settings. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, where she was awarded the Harper Award for Excellence in Psychology Research and the Campus Undergraduate Student Researcher of the Year Award.
Tasha Senaca Keyes
Tasha is an Assistant Professor in the College of Social Work at the University of Utah. She received her PhD from the School of Social Service Administration in 2017. Her research interests include understanding how the classroom context shapes high school students classroom belonging and academic engagement. Tasha’s research also focuses on improving the educational and work trajectory of Native American students. In recognition of her work on American Indians, Tasha received the 2011 Jane Morton and Henry C. Murphy Award from the Office of Multicultural Student affairs at the University of Chicago. Tasha’s undergraduate degree is from Brigham Young University and she has a Master in Social Work from the University of Utah. She has also worked at the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute on the Child and Adolescent Unit and, while there, was awarded the Edward Yukio Okazaki Memorial Award for Achievement and Promise in Gerontology.