Dr. Teomara (Teya) Rutherford
@drteyar.bsky.social
Academic (Assoc Prof Learning Sciences), former pro photog, lover of things geeky. Trying to make a difference researching Ed Tech, Motivation, STEM Ed
I'm trying to sign up as a reviewer for #AERA27, but for the first time in 15 years or so, I might not be able to. @aeraedresearch.bsky.social won't accept my login for the new system, it won't let me make a new one, it just keeps giving me error upon error. Anyone else encountering these issues?
Saw my first instance of what I'm pretty sure was a GenAI-generated journal review (spotted w/my nosy peek at the other reviews after finishing mine). Giveaway was the repeated mention of constructs that were nowhere in the manuscript. Editors, I'm sorry you have to deal with this. What a headache.
A haiku for my morning frustrations: Sorry I could not Complete that journal review I could not log in
Finally got a decline on a grant I submitted in June of 2024 where one of the reviewers slammed me for not including research that came out three months after I submitted the grant. Um, ok...
Education colleagues: I am partnering with middle- and high-school math teachers in DE, PA, and MD to look at how belonging-supportive instruction shapes students' math experiences (see infographic). Teachers can participate in 2025 or early 2026. Please share w/ teachers who may be interested!
Co-authored with @drmuenks.bsky.social, our @insidehighered.com piece "Beyond Behaviorism: Why Motivation Matters" is out! We reject behaviorist principles and argue that understanding the science behind motivation is crucial for supporting student learning. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
Beyond Behaviorism: Why Student Motivation Matters (opinion)
Understanding the science behind motivation is crucial for supporting student learning, Katie Muenks and Carlton Fong write.
insidehighered.com
Folks going to #APA2025, they have already run out of lanyards at registration. If you haven't left home yet, you may want to bring your own. Not sure how this happens. Seems a pretty huge error.
My accomplishment in self-regulation today is reading someone post on a forum that they are an "auditory learner" and being able to hold off replying with a slew of anti-learning styles evidence. It wouldn't have been helpful or well received in that moment and I'm feeling good I could resist.
It's taken me a while to decompress from #AERA25 and one thing I took away from the conference is that the mood has certainly shifted. Many people were emboldened to proclaim their bigotry loudly and proudly. 😢
Grateful to share that my very first, first-authored manuscript has been published! Thanks to my advisors & community❤️It feels surreal to have added a very small piece to the field that I care about so much. Check out my highlights and read more about it here: journals.uchicago.edu/eprint/KVUY6...
As everyone gets ready for #AERA25, I make another anti-ableism plea: If you talk the talk w/anti-ableist practices, show you walk the walk. The very least you can do is wear a mask on the plane. Bonus if you wear one in the airport and at #AERA2025 too. But PLEASE at least wear one on the plane.😷=❤️
What is everyone doing with all their free time with zoom being down?
📚 Check out our new study with Sandy, @drteyar.bsky.social, @rebeccajcollie.bsky.social, and Cory: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...! 🧐 Still curious to learn more? Come to our 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ AERA talk: ⏰ April 26th at 11:40-1:10 PM 📍The Colorado Convention Center, Bluebird Ballroom Room 3C
Exploring domain-general and course-specific latent profiles of motivation in computer science
Although achievement motivation theories like the Situated Expectancy–Value Theory highlight domain-general and course-specific motivation, few studie…
sciencedirect.com
Because #AERA25 posters are due this week, here is one last ask: Please make a non-interactive poster so people don't have to touch it, multiple people can see at once, and viewers don't have to get close. Easiest way is to upload a pdf. iPosters are ugly anyway 😉
Another plea to please just make a regular poster for #AERA25. Walk the walk with accessibility even if @aeraedresearch.bsky.social is not. Avoid the ableist iPoster format and upload a regular pdf so multiple people can see from a distance and no one has to touch your poster--no scrolling!
The iPoster format for #AERA25 is terrible and gross. It is very difficult to use in person for anyone with vision or mobility issues and it also encourages germy spread. PSA: Upload a pdf of a normal poster that doesn't require user interaction to allow access to your work by all attendees.
As a grad student, getting a spot to attend one of these lunches was a highlight of my conference. It's surreal to be on the other side! I hope that I can facilitate some fun lunch conversations with the up and coming Mot researchers who join. 💞
Maegan Arney@maeganarney.bsky.social · last yr.@aera-motsig.bsky.social #MotSIG #AERA2025 Quick reminder that the MotSIG is excited to offer the opportunity for grad students to connect with current motivational researchers during AERA. Additional info available at tinyurl.com/motconvo2025 -- complete the form by March 31st to participate.
We have heaps of data on elementary students' career desires provided in open-ended surveys. There are always some who aren't keen to provide actual careers, and that's fine. A few favorites from the current batch: --shrek worshipper --dodo butt --a potato
Windows updated and now the text when I hover is twice as large. Is this an AI guessing how old I am?
New OA Publication! Our team worked with elem. teachers to use ChatGPT to enhance their mathematics lessons based on students’ interests. It was a team effort (researchers and teachers) and I’m proud of the result #MathEd #GenAI #EdTech #EdPsych doi.org/10.1016/j.ca... (1/4)
This year I created a little research "course" for my lab. Wk 2 was Why We Ask The Qs We Do. In this wk, we all completed a little epistemology quiz. Lower is more constructivist, higher more positivist (names redacted). Then, we asked "I wonder" Qs and discussed how our Qs related to our beliefs.
My College did a little spotlight on our work with Computer Science on motivation in their first-year classes. If you are interested, you can read their write-up here: www.cehd.udel.edu/research-spo... #CSEd #STEMEd
Research Spotlight: Teomara Rutherford - College of Education & Human Development
University computer science (CS) courses serve as important bridges into further CS study and careers in STEM. Yet many women and underrepresented students with interests in STEM turn away from these ...
cehd.udel.edu
Every week I track my hours across categories of my work (color coded into broad service, research, teaching buckets). This is the graph for fall 2024 and my distribution of hours across the week (I prefer to work fewer hours 7 days vs more M-F). Tracking helps me stay focused & make choices.
New CDC data is out on youth mental health. Unsurprisingly, the biggest issues have nothing to do with social media. If only we could actually convince policymakers to invest in the actual problems that youth face. For a great topline look at the new data, see: www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
Why the latest CDC teen mental health report is a politically inconvenient bombshell for crusading California pols
The report reveals that teens’ use of social media is more complicated than the simplistic campaigns to restrict access recognize.
sfchronicle.com
Grades are submitted and semester service is winding down. Had a fantastic fall with 18 students working with our lab. I enjoy finding little gifts for them to thank them for awesome work. This year found these positive tomatoes to remind them of all the "tomoji" surveys they administered!
Our puppy is only allowed on the furniture if she is on top of a blanket and it amuses us to only put black and white blankets on the sofas so that she will be camouflaged.
Final day Games for Learning class yesterday and we had a starter deck Magic:The Gathering tournament We discussed how game mechanics from M:TG are seen in many card and board games since & some learning goals for M:TG itself Love teaching this class & playing & talking games w/such smart students!
