2016 REU Students
(June 06 - August 14, 2016)
the best eight out of fourty nine applicants

Sarah Bell

Graduate Mentor

Kay Rose

Senior Staff Assistant (Retired)

Shane Bullock

Systems Administrator / Lab Manager

shane.bullock@usu.edu

Megan Rose Cleary (Keene State College)

"...it [the meeting with professors] really provided an in depth discussion to our research and I learned different ways to categorize, or code, my data. "

Jehremy Sung Cho Felig (Montana State University Billings)

We need an understanding of how students can build knowledge most effectively. How does prior knowledge affect learning? What tools can be implemented in the classroom to increase productivity and curiosity? Answers to such questions lies within this research.

Rosamaria Diaz (California State Polytechnic University, Pomona)

"..I enjoy facilitating verbal protocol. It is great to listen to participant talk aloud as they are solving problems because you get insight on what they are thinking and what their mental processes are. I like learning about how differently people approach problems, but also going back and finding similarities in their approaches."

Matthew Eric D'Angelo (UMass Lowell)

I learned that I get different benefits from different kinds of work. Working with my partner on code combining taught me how to concede when convinced and how to stick up for what I strongly believe. This was all about compromise and teamwork, and involved keeping our motivation and spirits up. Meeting with my advisor, who knows more, and the other REU student, who had very different research experiences, was about hearing a lot of perspectives, and asking questions, getting answers and making decision. Working alone taught me how to use flexibility in my task descriptions to put my own spin on my work and do it in a way I believe makes meaningful results.

Elyse Danielle Hill (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)

"...I learned about conceptual understanding, conceptual change, and the integration of those into SRL. As I read the [research] articles, I gained a greater understanding of the way I personally organize knowledge in my mind (which agrees mostly with the knowledge-in-pieces view). In addition, reading these articles has helped me to identify and give vocabulary to experiences I've had in school that I've never had words to express before."

Carlos Z Pereyra (California State University, Sacramento)

First [valuable experience is] traveling to a place I've never been to, visiting MOAB and the Grand Tetons, and learning about SRL. My interest in becoming a better professor than my own professors has driven me to see how to incorporate SRL into instruction in the future.

Mikayla Renee Bilskie (University of Florida)

One of the valuable experiences I had from this REU program was learning the process of research including grading surveys, collaborating with my research partner, analyzing data, and presenting the information. I also feel that the experience of learning how to use a statistical program for data analysis and how to interpret the statistical results in terms of the research project will benefit me in my professional career after college. My favorite experience was having the opportunity to meet seven people from different parts of the country and getting to bond with them outside of the research project. I had a lot of fun exploring Utah and the surrounding states with such a diverse and great group of people.

Tyler Reed Milliken (University of Tennessee)

"I learned that as an engineer, I can become too comfortable with quantitative data and focus too much on numbers. I see that it can fun to stretch your thinking, and I hope this REU continues to allow me to focus on qualitative data."