Yin Chen, PhD

With AERA 2026 coming up, we wanted to offer a space for first (or second) time attendees to meet other MotSIG members & learn about available resources regarding “how to AERA”! This virtual event will take place Friday, March 27th, 2026, 3PM-4PM EST. Register: tinyurl.com/MotSIGMeet

I want to be Alysa Liu when I grow up.

American New Year: Lock in - Gym, clean house, productivity! 🎉💪🏽

Chinese New Year: DON’T WASH OR DO ANYTHING OR ALL YOUR LUCK/WEALTH IS GONE 😤🤬

新年快乐! Happy lunar new year to all who celebrate! 🧧🎉

Two lovely CNY events this season - in Harlan, KY (with my family) and at @rrachelwonggg.bsky.social’s. What a lovely way to kick off the #YearOfTheHorse 🐎

Members and Friends, We invite you to join us for the next session in our Doing the Work When It Matters Most webinar series, hosted by the Division 15 Committee on Social Justice and Equity in Education. This month’s webinar focuses on how student voice can inform policy and help co-create more just schools, featuring insights from researchers and practitioners who center youth perspectives in their work. In this session, Dr. Daniela DiGiacomo, Chase Colvin, and Peter Jefferson will discuss how they have used student voice—including their own lived experiences—and research to shape educational policy and practice. Event Details Date: Friday, February 20th Time: 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET Registration Link: https://tinyurl.com/SJEEWebinarFebruary2026 For questions about the session, please contact: Kori Nicolai (knicolai@iu.edu) Yin Chen (xy.chen@utk.edu) Kimiko Ching (ching.52@buckeyemail.osu.edu)

So excited to announce our webinar series, "Doing the Work When It Matters Most" 😤 on behalf APA Div 15's Committee on Social Justice and Equity in Education!

Join us on Friday, Feb 20 to learn about using student voice to inform educational policy and practice! 🤩

#EdPsych #Policy #StudentVoice

‼️ Graduate student travel funding for #AERA2026 ‼️

Our first lab graduate…Congratulations, Michelle! Michelle graduated with her master’s degree in Educational Psychology with a specialization in Adult Learning.

Way to pave the way for those that will come after you. We are SO proud!! 🎓🎉

Call for Proposals: Division 15 at the APA Convention (Washington, D.C.) Division 15 invites submissions for the annual APA convention, to be held August 6-8 in Washington, D.C. Division proposals are due no later than January 14, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET. The Presidential Th…

APA Division 15's (Educational Psychology) Call for Proposals is out now (due January 14): apadiv15.org/2025/11/04/c...

Please also don't forget to sign up to review proposals :) It takes a team to put together a great convention!
Sign up to review: forms.gle/9inMBVEDZxyz...

See you all in D.C.!

Our findings highlight the nuanced ways students relate to STEM role models, and how academic similarity can be a particularly powerful source of motivation for diverse students pursuing STEM career pathways.

#STEMeducation #Motivation #RoleModels #EquityInSTEM #EducationalPsychology #OpenAccess

This study answered these questions by exploring how college students feel similar to their STEM career role models, how similarity perceptions relate to STEM career motivation, and whether patterns differ for marginalized vs non-marginalized gender and racial/ethnic groups 🤔💭

Some similarities might also matter more for certain students. For example, gender similarity might be especially meaningful for women, who are less likely to see same-gender role models in STEM. Do certain similarities matter more/less to certain students?

There are many ways in which students can feel similar to role models (e.g., based on gender, race, academic traits). Which similarities matter most for motivation?

We know that STEM role models can be powerful sources of career motivation—especially when students perceive them as similar.

What’s less clear is which similarities matter most for students’ STEM career motivation and for whom.

Investigating academic and demographic similarities to career role models for motivating diverse college students in STEM Similar role models can be powerful tools to motivate participation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines, but it is unclea…

🚨 New Open Access Publication Alert! 🚨

I’m so excited to share a paper based on my dissertation research 😎 So thankful for @emilyqr.bsky.social’s support on this one!

🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

So excited and proud of this paper! What an exciting opportunity it was to work with STELLAR scholars from across the U.S. to investigate infrastructures to support equity in STEM! 🤩

Whaaat?!

big fan of self-depreciation and puns 😂

My lab’s BlueSky debut…🥹 Check out our amazing grad student presenters at #SCIPIE2025!

Not that it matters, but I beat @benheddy.bsky.social to a ed psych jobs posting 😎🤣

Guess y’all should go follow @aeratepsig.bsky.social job postings too!!

First Motivation Monday of the year! We’re kicking things off with a panel on how to run a research lab featuring Drs. @andreicimpian.bsky.social , @nikkilobczowski.bsky.social, Dionne Cross-Francis, and Daeyon Jong. Don’t miss it!

Register here: tinyurl.com/MotMondays25...

👀 We are seeking nominations for…

✨ Chair-Elect/Program Chair ✨
✨ Graduate Student Coordinator ✨

Please e-mail any nominations to lisa.bendixen@unlv.edu by Oct 15.

Include the following:
*Full Name
*Institution
*Email address
*200-word bio statement

We are excited to expand our team! 🤩

Huge thank you to Yichi Zhang (UGA), Harlee DiNello (UGA), & @emilyqr.bsky.social for their major contributions to this project!

Off the publish our findings 🏃🏻‍♀️

The takeaway:

Black & Hispanic youth see STEM as worthwhile, but concerns about cost and confidence may hold them back.

👉 To broaden STEM career participation, we must highlight STEM’s value and reduce these motivational barriers.

Pfiat euch, Graz! ✨

Key findings:
✨ Most salient motivators = value beliefs (STEM careers were seen as useful, important, interesting to pursue)

🚧 Most salient barriers = cost (time/effort) + low confidence (esp among Hispanic girls)

We qualitatively coded responses using situated expectancy-value theory to see:

👉 which beliefs were most salient in their minds
👉 whether patterns differed by gender × race/ethnicity

This year I presented on racially marginalized Black & Hispanic HS students’ motivational beliefs toward STEM careers.

🔎 We asked ~400 students to write about their perceived benefits & challenges of pursuing STEM.

Me presenting my poster in action

Selfie of me on top of Schlossberg hill

Bottom of Schlossberg hill, view of the steps

Nightsky view of Graz, Austria from my hotel balcony

So grateful to share my work in beautiful Graz 🇦🇹 at #EARLI2025 🌍✨

I’m feeling so inspired by global perspectives and thankful for new colleagues & friends I met during my stay!

I’m on my way! ✈️ So glad to know other peeps joining from the states 😊

My (WFH) partner and I have a daily “floor time” ritual, where we lie on the home office floor for 10 minutes with our pugs and let the existential dread wash over us. 😃

We get up feeling…weirdly better? Honestly a surprisingly good coping strategy for…ya know, ✨everything✨ 10/10 recommend.

Congrats!! 🤩