Raechel Soicher

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Oregon State University

Although Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a ubiquitous phrase higher education, we invite psychology instructors, researchers, and educational developers to look beyond UDL as a checklist of course design elements. The UDL framework was designed for and continues to be in dialogue with our disabled students and their educational experiences....

‘Open research’ broadly aims to enhance the openness, transparency, and robustness of research across disciplines. While existing efforts have largely focused on improving the quality of research outputs, we argue that certain open research tools can also offer strategic benefits for Teaching and Scholarship (T&S) academics who engage primarily in...

In higher education, motivational factors are considered one of “the strongest predictors of academic performance” (Honike et al., 2020, p. 1). A meta-analysis of face-to-face (f2f) courses (Richardson et al., 2012) supports these claims, finding a strong correlation between performance self-efficacy and academic performance (r = 0.59), as well as...

In higher education, motivational factors are considered one of "the strongest predictors of academic performance" (Honike et al., 2020, p. 1). A meta-analysis of face-to-face (f2f) courses (Richardson et al., 2012) supports these claims, finding a strong correlation between performance self-efficacy and academic performance (r = 0.59), as well as...

We designed this project to advance inclusive and equitable teaching by leveraging data to motivate, inform, and tailor teaching development initiatives to the varied needs and resources of academic departments. We developed an innovative framework and mixed methods research design to systematically assess inclusive and equitable teaching at the st...

In this chapter, we provide a brief overview of the replication crisis and how it gave way to the open science movement. Through a series of case studies, we discuss the ethical considerations of various open science practices, including preregistration, open materials, and open access.

In this chapter, we provide a brief overview of the replication crisis and how it gave way to the open science movement. Through a series of case studies, we discuss the ethical considerations of various open science practices, including preregistration, open materials, and open access.

This project was designed to advance inclusive and equitable teaching by leveragingdata to motivate, inform, and tailor teaching development initiatives to the varied needsand resources of academic departments. We developed an innovative framework andmixed methods research design to systematically assess inclusive and equitableteaching at the stude...

In many parts of the world, emerging adults, aged 18 to 25 years old, require education beyond high school to transition to a stable, secure adulthood. Child abuse, trauma, victimization, and adversity have been shown to negatively affect academic functioning and educational attainment during childhood and adolescence. Despite this, many emerging a...

The research-practice gap refers to the failure of empirical effectiveness research to translate meaningfully into practical applications. In higher education research, this is evident in the low use or uptake of evidence-based practices in college classrooms. To help address the research-practice gap, educational researchers can draw on theories,...

Finding better ways to implement effective teaching and learning strategies in higher education is urgently needed to help address student outcomes such as retention rates, graduation rates, and learning. Psychologists contribute to the science and art of teaching and learning in higher education under many flags, including cognitive psychology, sc...

According to expectancy-value models of achievement motivation, a core component of increasing student motivation is utility value. Utility value refers to the importance that a task has in one’s future goals. Utility value interventions provide an opportunity for students to make explicit connections between course content and their own lives. A l...

The research-practice gap refers to the failure of empirical effectiveness research to translate meaningfully into practical applications. In higher education research, this is evident in the low use or uptake of evidence-based practices in college classrooms. To help address the research-practice gap, educational researchers can draw on theories,...

Lay Description What We Know A large portion of the population is low in health literacy. Current suggestions to improve physician‐patient communication involve removing information that is essential for patients to be engaged in their own healthcare decision‐making. Few suggestions to improve physician‐patient communication are based on systemati...

For more than a century, measurement experts have distinguished between time-limited tests and untimed power tests, which are administered without time limits or with time limits so generous that all students are assured of completing all items. On untimed power tests, students can differ in their propensity to correctly respond to every item, and...

Higher education provides considerable benefits not only for people who receive postsecondary degrees, but also for society more broadly. However, substantial challenges exist for promoting college participation, adjustment, belonging, learning, achievement, and degree attainment, especially for students from marginalized identities. Psychological...

According to expectancy-value models of achievement motivation, a core component of increasing student motivation is utility value. Utility value refers to the importance that a task has in one’s future goals. Utility value interventions provide an opportunity for students to make explicit connections between course content and their own lives. A l...

This article cautions instructors against administering tests that have time limits because time-limited tests are less valid, less reliable, less inclusive, and less equitable. Instead, instructors are encouraged to administer untimed power tests, which are tests without any time limits or with time limits so generous all students are assured of c...

Structure building refers to the way in which people construct meaning from incoming information by creating a foundation of mental nodes, mapping incoming information to the foundational structure, and shifting to a new structure when necessary. Structure building ability has been shown to moderate learning both in laboratory‐based and classroom‐b...

Psychologists contribute to the science and art of teaching and learning in higher education under many flags, including cognitive psychology, educational psychology, scholarship of teaching and learning in psychology, discipline-based educational research in psychology, and learning sciences. Each of these contribute to evidence-based teaching and...

Psychologists contribute to the science and art of teaching and learning in higher education under many flags, including cognitive psychology, educational psychology, scholarship of teaching and learning in psychology, discipline-based educational research in psychology, and learning sciences. Each of these contribute to evidence-based teaching and...

Previous research has indicated that an intervention called “exam wrappers” can improve students’ metacognition when they are using wrappers in more than one course per academic term. In this study, we tested if exam wrappers would improve students’ metacognition and academic performance when used in only one course per academic term. A total of 86...