Driving Research Questions

1. How can we leverage task values to boost student motivation and achievement in STEM domains?

2. How do students' expectancies for success and task values interact with other social-cognitive psychological processes (e.g., belonging, self-regulation), and how do those variables relate to motivation, engagement, and achievement?

3. How can professors and university officials better communicate course and university policies to positively impact students' expectancies for success, task values, and social-cognitive psychological processes (e.g., belonging, anticipated performance), motivation, engagement, and achievement? How do students from underrepresented groups (e.g., women, ethnic minority, or first generation) respond to this messaging?

Current Projects

Seeing the Value in Microbiology

In this project, we apply Situated Expectancy Value Theory (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020) in a microbiology course to enhance students' perceptions of its utility value (e.g., the usefulness of the subject for their future career), with the goal of increasing motivation and engagement in scientific learning. 

Physics and Astronomy Majors Study Groups

In this study, we investigate how participating in a study group facilitates students’ sense of belonging in their physics and astronomy major and how that relates to motivation and persistence.

Identity-Threat and Identity-Safety Course Policies

In this project, we explore how students from marginalized backgrounds interpret identity-threat and identity-safety information communicated in course policies and the motivational consequences of that information.

Funding

We acknowledge partial support from the following sources: the Engineering Information Foundation, the OSU Student Academic Success Research Grants program, the OSU Critical Difference for Women Research Grants program, and the Center for Emergent Materials: an NSF MRSEC at The Ohio State University under award number DMR-2011876. 

Lab Members

Lab News and Accolades

Summer 2025

Congratulations to Dr. Arianna Henning, who graduated in the OSU commencement ceremony in August 2025. Arianna successfully defended her dissertation in April. Her study was titled, "Understanding intermediate STEM students' sense of belonging and attainment value: A mixed methods study." Arianna is now a research specialist in the Office of Curriculum and Scholarship at the OSU College of Medicine. We are very proud of Arianna!

Spring 2025

Arianna Henning and Wonjoon Cha were named as recipients of the 2024-2025 Graduate Associate Teaching Awards (GATA). The GATA is the highest teaching award at The Ohio State University, recognizing excellence in teaching at the graduate level. Congratulations!

Spring 2023

Andrew Perry was recognized at the 2023 Graduate School Awards Ceremony (bottom photo of linked page) for winning an Alumni Grant for Graduate Research and Scholarship. Andrew used the funds to support his dissertation research. Congratulations!

Lab Photo Gallery

In the Media

Spring 2025

Lab alumna Dr. Hyewon Lee (postdoctoral scholar at University of California Irvine) and Dr. Yu were interviewed for this news story published in Ohio State News.

The SPARKS lab was highlighted in this feature story published in the Inspire alumni magazine. Lab alumna Dr. Elise Allen (Assistant Professor at Northern Colorado University) and Dr. Yu were quoted in it.