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About Us

The Motivation and Education Research Group is a research team in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California (USC). Supervised by Professor Erika A. Patall, the Motivation and Education Research Group (MERG) consists of both graduate students and undergraduate students who conduct primary research studies and syntheses of research on issues of motivation, primarily in educational settings. Topics studied in MERG generally pertain to the environmental and interpersonal precursors to motivation and the relations between motivation and achievement outcomes across the lifespan. Research conducted by MERG members also pertains to the effectiveness of education-related strategies and interventions for motivation and achievement outcomes.

Erika A. Patall, PhD, Supervisor

Originally from Rochester, New York, Erika received her doctorate in Social Psychology from Duke University and became an Associate Professor in Education at University of Southern California in January 2017. Broadly, she is interested in the interface between social psychological theory and education. The topics Erika has studied include the role of choice and autonomy in motivation, the role of motivation-based factors in achievement outcomes, how the activities of children outside of school influence their academic achievement, and the development and use of meta-analytic methods in social science research. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her husband and daughter and going to concerts and art exhibits. Email: patall@usc.edu

Amanda Vite, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher

Amanda Vite is a postdoctoral researcher with MERG. She completed her PhD in Education with a concentration in educational psychology at the University of Southern California. Amanda received her Master of Education degree in educational psychology from the University of Virginia and her Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park, with a minor in human development and quantitative methodology. Amanda is interested in researching teaching practices that support students’ motivation and academic identity development. Email: avite@usc.edu

Yanyan Zong, Graduate Student

Yanyan Zong is a PhD student in Education with a concentration in educational psychology at USC. Her research focuses on fostering minority students’ motivation to learn STEM. She is dedicated to investigating how STEM teaching practices and curricula can be tailored to better align with the values and goals of minority students, ultimately supporting their autonomy and motivation. Specifically, she is interested in examining the impacts of collaborative and prosocial teaching practices on students’ STEM motivation. Email: yanyanzo@usc.edu

Sihan (Jen) Wang, Graduate Student

Sihan (Jen) Wang is a Ph.D. student in Education (Concentration: Educational Psychology) at the University of Southern California (USC). She received her B.A. in Psychology from Duke University. Her current research interests include students’ learning mindsets, academic/ career choices, intrinsic motivation, and sense of agency– as well as effective practices to enhance them.

Cassidy Martin, Graduate Student

Cassidy Martin is a non-binary poet-researcher originally from Nashville, TN. After completing a Bachelors in Sociology on a full tuition scholarship for hip hop pedagogy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, they went straight to PhD. They’re main research areas are within educational psychology around culturally responsive arts education and story telling with a focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

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Erika A. Patall, PhD, Supervisor

Amanda Vite, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher

Yanyan Zong, Graduate Student

Sihan (Jen) Wang, Graduate Student

Cassidy Martin, Graduate Student

Our Team

Click headshots for bios & emails.

Download C.V.s below:

Erika A. Patall & Amanda Vite

MERG Alumni

Diane Lee, PhD | Research Analyst, Los Rios Community College District Jeanette Zambrano, PhD | Assistant Professor, California State University San Bernardino Nicole Yates, PhD | Consultant, Keen Independent Research Alana Kennedy, PhD | Assistant Professor, Northern Arizona University Carlton Fong, PhD | Associate Professor, Texas State University Eunjin Seo, PhD | Assistant Professor, Texas State University Neil Jacobson, PhD | Senior UX Researcher, Lumen Technologies Sarah Daniel, PhD | Associate Professor, Shenandoah University Breana Sylvester-Dacy, PhD Sara J. Jones, PhD | Evaluation Officer, University of Houston Cheon-woo Han, PhD | Assistant Professor, Keimyung University Christina Cestone, PhD | Executive Director, Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Maryland, Baltimore Robin Zuniga, PhD | Program evaluation, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Bridget Lee, PhD | Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh Shengie Lin, PhD | Postdoctoral Researcher, Yale University Derek Hanson Eboneigh Harris Danika Maddox Jennifer Freeman Lisa Pine, MA Scott Trimble, MA Lauren Wilson, MA Jennifer Kay Leach, PhD | Director of Advising and Retention, Southwestern University Ariana C. Vasquez, PhD | Senior Associate, Arroyo Research Services Rebecca Steingut, PhD | Researcher, American Institutes of Research Nayantara Kurpad, MA David Osman, PhD | Director of Research and Evaluation at Round Rock ISD Sophia Yang Hooper, PhD| Associate Data Scientist at Anaconda Inc.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Present: Julia Leong, Caroline Mikes, Kareny Zhong, Britney Do, Jasmin Pakdaman, Anna Galstyan

Past: Angel Jeen, Luke Lee, Rachel Semaun, Heidi Hui, Ysenia Conde, Rachel Kim, Candace Lee, Isa Lostaglio, Victor Perez, Paige Raskin, Lara Wellis, Ziyao Yang, Huiwen Jia, Hae Won Hong, Priya Kumar, Alyssa Aldape, Crystal Aguilera, Carrie Watson, Camrynn Dobos-Bubno, Victoria Nava, Sean McNamara, James Thomas, Scott Trimble, Jude Cheung, Suzy Han, Nick Zhang, Andrew Corrigan, Kebron Daniel, Emily Chan, Maddie Wright, Caroline Little, Priya Thomas, Nancy Wheless, Priyanka Thomas, Stephanie Marrett, Susie Park, Josh Gu, Veronica Yvette Martinez, Wei-Lin Tsai, Zohra Goka, Ira Gupta, Nikhita Khanderia, Kevin Deluca, Astrid Villalpando, Victoria Haring, Peyton Perez, Stephanie Shin, Brettny John, Alexander Powell, Leila Nasr, John Ledesma, Jeff Stroup, Min Hyung Lee, Amanda Hildebrand, David Rubio, Jacqueline Vorlop, Misty Walmsley, Courtney McKeever, Gabby McDaniel, Alma Rosado, Mahroosa Haideri, Molly Marek, Thoa Pham, Woojeong Kim, Denisse Carrasco, Anjali Kumar, Rose Aristakessian, Sherry Wei, Jennifer Sung, So Dam Park, Danielle Kunzman, Eva Wang, Noor Alwadi, Sarah Taketa, Jiwon Shin, Meri Isayan, Xu Lui, Tam Hoang, Ya Gao, Nicholas Birago, Tara Baudry, Aiko Jones

Motivation in Education Research Group @

Motivation in Education Research Group @

About Us

Our Team

MERG Alumni

Undergraduate Research Assistants