Three doctoral students named fellows by NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

UCI School of Education home to most GRFP fellows in STEM Education and Learning Research for fifth time in past seven years.

Three doctoral students – Jennifer Cabrera, Perla Ramos Carranza, and Joseph Ta Tho Wong – were named fellows by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), all in the field of STEM Education and Learning Research.
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For the fifth time in the last seven years, the UCI School of Education is home to the most GRFP fellows in STEM Education and Learning Research in the nation. Since 2014, 17 students from the UCI School of Education have been named GRFP fellows in STEM Education and Learning Research.

​“These three students are impressive scholars and it gives me great joy to see their hard work and dedication to their research literally pay off,” said Gillian Hayes, vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate Division at UCI. “The School of Education is just one of many schools at UCI that continues to show its commitment to top-tier research. It’s truly special to be an Anteater.”

Cabrera, Carranza, and Wong each will receive a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 - which will go toward tuition, fees, and opportunities for international research and professional development.
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The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. The program is the country’s oldest fellowship program that directly supports graduate students in various STEM fields. Fellows are anticipated to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. For more information, please click here. 

Jennifer Cabrera

Cabrera is a second-year doctoral student specializing in Human Development in Context. Her GRFP research, titled “Understanding Latina Doctoral Online Support,” will build on research she conducted during her first year of doctoral study recruiting and interviewing Latinas in U.S. doctoral programs via a private Facebook group.

“I learned that a shared space with other Latinas offered support, encouragement, and a sense of belonging even for those who just lurked and did not directly interact with others,” Cabrera said.

In response to the underrepresentation of Latinas in STEM doctoral programs, their unique needs as women and scholars of color, the high prevalence of social media use nationally, and evidence that viewing alone can be highly beneficial, Cabrera plans to use Instagram to create a Latina STEM doctoral community that will test how an online environment can provide support for Latinas in U.S. doctoral programs.

​“This project is inspired by my aspiration to be a university professor. As a Latina faculty member at a research university, I will help cultivate diversity within academia and hope to serve as a mentor for the new generation of women of color pursuing higher education,” Cabrera said.
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Cabrera is advised by Associate Professor Stephanie Reich.

Perla Ramos Carranza

Ramos Carranza is a second-year doctoral student specializing in Human Development in Context.

​Her GRFP research, titled “The Role of Major-Related Organizations in the Persistence of Latinx Engineering Students,” will explore the role of the organizations on the identity, sense of belonging, and persistence of Latinx engineering students. She also will explore how the experience of these students may differ depending on their intersecting identities of class and gender and the identity-based nature (or not) of the organization.

“My interest in these research topics stems from my own struggles with identity as a Mexican-American woman in the educational spaces I have navigated and the important role that sources of support, such as my parents, played in my educational persistence,” Ramos Carranza said.

Ramos Carranza’s career goal is advocating for the educational success of underserved communities, particularly from the Latinx community.
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She is advised by Professor Sandra Simpkins and Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus Deborah Lowe Vandell.

Joseph Ta Tho Wong

Wong is a first-year doctoral student specializing in Teaching, Learning, and Educational Improvement. ​His GRFP research is titled “Virtual and Augmented Reality in NGSS STEM Education: Exploring Inquiry-based Learning Frameworks through Immersive Field Trips in Elementary Science Instruction.”
 
“I am interested in the cognitive mechanisms underlying how instructional media technologies such as immersive VR, AR, and digital interactivity can improve student motivation, increase content acquisition, and facilitate cognitive transfer,” Wong said. 

Wong’s study will experimentally test the effectiveness of low-cost cardboard VR/AR simulations guided by IBL frameworks, utilizing transformative technologies to bridge the literature on digital media, cognition, and STEM education.
 
“My intervention consists of a VR field trip where students are transported to scientific phenomena around California, placing students right in the middle of geologic features such as slot canyons, waterfalls, and lakes,” Wong said. “Students then interact with AR by solving puzzles, answering questions, and using gestures to experience scientific inquiry through an innovative and entertaining content delivery platform.” 
 
Wong’s career goal is bridging together his passion for digital media with science education to design effective immersive learning experiences representative of today’s student learning behaviors.
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He is advised by Associate Professor Lindsey Richland.