Diagnostic Instrument for Morphology of Elementary Students
Project Team
Anne Corinne Huggins-Manley, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator, University of Florida
Corinne Huggins-Manley’s research is focused on educational measurement, particularly with respect to issues of validity and fairness. She has published research on developments in fairness as a lack of statistical bias (e.g., differential item functioning; population invariance of equating) as well as on broader issues of measurement and construct validity. In addition to working on DIMES, she is applying and researching measurement methods in another large project focused on personalizing virtual learning environments to student performance. Dr. Huggins-Manley teaches multiple graduate level courses including Theory of Measurement, Item Response Theory, and Rating Scale Design and Analysis. In addition, she provides methodological consultation on various research grants and projects.
Amanda Goodwin, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator, Vanderbilt University
Amanda P. Goodwin is an Associate Professor in Language, Literacy, and Culture at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College and Editor of Reading Research Quarterly. Professor Goodwin is a certified educator who has taught in public and private schools at the elementary, middle, and collegiate level. She is interested in how aspects of word knowledge, such as knowledge and awareness of morphemic units like roots and affixes, support the increased reading demands that adolescent readers face when reading content specific texts. Recent projects include developing Monster, P.I., unraveling the relationship between morphology and reading comprehension, considering differences related to digital and paper reading, and exploring how middle school students build lexical representations for morphologically complex words like thermosphere and financially. The ultimate goal of her research is to use findings to develop instructional strategies that support students in improving language and literacy skills. Her work aims to improve understanding of how morphological awareness impacts reading achievement and ultimately lead to better design of morphological interventions and improved student literacy.
Jonathan Templin, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator, University of Iowa
Jonathan Templin is Professor and E. F. Lindquist Chair in the Department of Psychological and Quantitative Foundations at the University of Iowa. He is also member of the Educational Measurement and Statistics Program and the Center for Advanced Studies in Measurement and Statistics. The main focus of Dr. Templin’s research is in the field of diagnostic classification models—psychometric models that seek to provide multiple reliable scores from educational and psychological assessments. He also studies Bayesian statistics, as applied in psychometrics, broadly. Dr. Templin’s research program has been funded by the United States National Science Foundation and Institute of Education Sciences. He is the winner of the 2015 AERA Cognition and Assessment SIG Award for Outstanding Contribution to Research in Cognition and Assessment and the inaugural 2017 Robert Linn Lecture Award. Working in a real-world testing arena, Dr. Templin developed the scoring algorithm for with the Dynamic Learning Maps, an innovative assessment for students with severe disabilities. His innovative research in the field of diagnostic classification models has led to him being listed as inventor of two U. S. Patents (#7,628,614 and #8,550,822).
Amber Benedict, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator, Arizona State University
Amber Benedict is an assistant professor at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. Her work focuses on inclusive and collaborative instruction, and supporting general and special education teachers who work with students who struggle to read. In addition, she studies teacher instructional quality and supporting teams of teachers in effective instruction. Dr. Benedict has published articles in Exceptionality, Learning Disabilities Quarterly, Teaching Exceptional Children, and Intervention School and Clinic. She is committed to collaborative grant writing and is the co-principal investigator of literacy projects funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.
A former special education teacher, Amber has taught in Iowa, Arizona, and Florida, and was a post-doctoral associate at Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR Center) and clinical assistant professor within the College of Education at University of Florida.
Leela Kumaran, Ph.D.
Research Coordinator, University of Florida
Leela Kumaran is a Research Coordinator with the School of Teaching and Learning, College of Education, UF. Dr. Kumaran earned her doctoral degree in Biology from the Madurai Kamaraj University in India and taught Biology for 15 years at the Madras Christian College, University of Madras, India, before moving to the USA. She also has a Master’s degree in Educational Administration and a teacher certification in secondary science from the University of Hawaii. With more than a dozen years of experience as a coordinator for funded projects, Dr. Kumaran has managed multiple federal, state and other grants totaling over $20 million. Dr. Kumaran will function as the Project Coordinator for the DIMES project.
Mingying Zheng
Graduate Research Assistant, University of Iowa
Mingying Zheng is a doctoral student in educational measurement and statistics in the Department of Psychological and Quantitative Foundations at the University of Iowa. She is also a graduate research assistant in Dr. Templin’s lab and member of the Center for Advanced Studies in Measurement and Statistics. Ms. Zheng is interested in diagnostic classification models and computerized adaptive testing; and in Bayesian statistics and its application in educational measurement and assessment. She has presented her research at AERA, NCME, and IMPS, and published several research articles.
A former lecturer at Beijing Institute of Technology, Ms. Zheng has taught courses at UG and graduate levels. She has provided consulting services to the Nebraska Evaluation and Research Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, university faculty and graduate students, as well as business and industry, government organizations, groups and individuals for education and/or training of students.
Tae Yeon Kwon
Graduate Research Assistant, University of Florida
Tae Yeon Kwon is a second year Research and Evaluation Methodology (REM) doctoral student at the University of Florida College of Education. She has a master’s degree in Educational Statistics, Measurement and Evaluation from Rutgers University. Ms. Kwon’s research interests center around educational measurement, psychometrics and large-scale assessments, specifically diagnostic classification models.
In addition to academics, Ms. Kwon is a 2019-2020 Grinter Fellow, has presented at the Florida Educational Research Association (FERA) annual meeting and has a poster paper accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE). She hopes to serve in the testing industry as a professional psychometrician or research scientist.
Xiaomeng Xiong
Graduate Research Assistant, University of Florida
Xiaomeng Xiong is a doctoral student in Research and Evaluation Methodology (REM) at the University of Florida. Her research interests include causal inference, particularly using propensity score matching within multilevel data. Additionally, she is interested in computational psychometrics, with a special focus on exploring the integration of Item Response Theory (IRT) and machine learning techniques to enhance the reliability and validity in Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT).
At UF, she serves as a research assistant and teaching assistant in the College of Education. She is also a team member of the Health Outcomes & Biomedical Informatics (HOBI) department at the College of Medicine, working on evaluation studies for the External Quality Review Organization for Texas Medicaid and CHIP.
Ae Kyong Jung
Graduate Research Assistant, University of Iowa
Ae Kyong Jung is a doctoral student in the Educational Measurement and Statistics program in the Department of Psychological and Quantitative Foundations at the University of Iowa. She is a graduate research assistant in Dr. Templin’s lab and the Center for Advanced Studies in Measurement and Statistics.
Her research interests include diagnostic classification models, computerized adaptive testing, and the application of Bayesian statistics in psychometrics. Previously, Ms. Jung worked as an associate researcher at the Korean Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation. In 2024, she received the Melvin R. Novick Award in Educational Measurement and Statistics. She has presented her work at conferences such as NCME and IMPS, and she currently has a research article under review.
Yue Xu
Graduate Research Assistant, University of Florida
Yue Xu is a doctoral student in Research and Evaluation Methodology (REM) at the University of Florida (UF). She received a master’s degree in REM at UF in 2023. She is interested in educational measurements and psychometrics, especially differential item functioning. Ms. Xu received the Grinter Fellowship from 2021-2022 to 2023-2024. She is a graduate assistant in the labs of Dr. Manley and Dr. Li at REM. She has presented her master’s thesis at the Florida Educational Research Association (FERA) annual meeting.
Nathan DePuy
Graduate Research Assistant, University of Iowa
Nathan is an Educational Measurement and Statistics PhD Student and Education Technology Assistant at the University of Iowa.
Abbey Gonzales
Graduate Research Assistant, Vanderbilt University
Abbey Gonzales is originally from Sugar Land, Texas. She attended the University of Texas at Austin and taught both rural China and the United States. She took a brief hiatus from education and worked as a data specialist for Global Whole Foods Market. Prior to Vanderbilt, Abbey was a high school assistant principal in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she developed a passion for ELL instruction and teacher training.
