Assistant Professor, Applied Developmental Psychology
Dr. Karlyn Adams-Wiggins's first area of expertise involves student motivation and peer interactions during collaborative learning in science education, particularly middle school classrooms implementing Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Their second area of expertise involves the role of social interactions in identity development for Black/African-diaspora adolescents and early adults. Their third area of expertise involves motivation and identity development for underrepresented minority (URM) and first-generation college students at the undergraduate level, especially in STEM fields.
A cross-cutting theme in Dr. Adams-Wiggins's work is examining the role of cultural practices and social interactions in creating equitable and culturally-responsive learning opportunities for youth across socioeconomic and racial lines from early childhood through postsecondary educational levels. Beyond their content-specific expertise, they specialize in qualitative research methods including, but not limited to, interviewing, focus groups, video-recorded classroom observation, ethnographic fieldwork, and participatory action research.