Laura G. Costello
Research Specialist

Photo of Laura G. CostelloLaura Costello is a Research Specialist with SEDL's Research and Evaluation (R&E) program. In this role, Dr. Costello evaluates services provided by the Texas and Southeast Comprehensive Centers as well as the programs of external clients.

Contact Information
You may contact Laura G. Costello at 512-391-6603

or by using SEDL's contact form.

Areas of Expertise
Dr. Costello's primary research interests center on the impact of contextual and social factors within classrooms and organizations that predict motivation and learning among individuals and collective groups.

Experience
Before joining SEDL in January 2011 as a research intern, Dr. Costello served as a research assistant for the UTeach Institute and the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin. During this time, Dr. Costello provided assistance in educational research, development, and evaluation within the STEM and education disciplines, with a focus on college and career readiness and teacher preparation. In addition to her experience in research and evaluation, Dr. Costello also served as a teaching assistant in management, marketing, and health inequalities in childhood and adolescence at the University of Texas at Austin.

Education
Dr. Costello holds a BS in applied learning and development with a specialization in early childhood education, an MA in program evaluation, and a PhD in educational psychology with a specialization in learning, cognition, motivation, and instruction from the University of Texas at Austin.

Selected External Publications
  • Mayrath, M. C., Nihalani, P. K., Torres, L. G., & Robinson, D. H. (2011). Varying tutorial modality and interface restriction to maximize transfer in a complex simulation environment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(2), 257–268. doi:10.1037/a0022369
  • Jones, S. J., Fong, C. J., Torres, L. G., Yoo, J. H., Decker, M. L., & Robinson, D. H. (2010). Productivity in educational psychology journals from 2003 to 2008. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 35, 11–16.
  • Fong, C. J., Yoo, J. H., Jones, S. J., Torres, L. G., & Decker, M. L. (2009). Trends in female authorships, editorial board memberships, and editorships in educational psychology journals from 2003 to 2008. Educational Psychology Review, 21(3), 267–277.
Selected Presentations
  • Raphael, L., Costello, L., Lumbley, J., Dodson, M. (2012, October). Collaborative capacity building: A positive psychology perspective for evaluation. Paper session presented at the Annual Conference of the American Evaluation Association, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  • Bryk, T., LeMahieu, P., Torres, L. G., Yeager, D. S., & Lelkes, Y. (2012, April). Bridging research and practice with “practical measurement”: The case of improving developmental mathematics in community college. Paper session presented at the Annual Meeting of American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
  • Torres, L. G., Yeager, D. S., Bryk, T., LeMahieu, P., Lelkes, Y., (accepted, 2012, April). Practical measurement in action: Designing a new measure of community college student motivation and engagement. Paper session presented in symposium at the Annual Meeting of American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
  • Torres, L. G., Svinicki, M. D., Leach, J. K., & Clark, D. (accepted, 2012, April). The relationship between college students’ achievement goal orientations and academic entitlement beliefs and actions. Poster session presented at the Meeting of American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
  • Svinicki, M. D., Leach, J. K., Torres, L. G., & Clark, D. (accepted, 2012, April). Academic entitlement: Evidence for a trait and a state. Roundtable session accepted at the Annual Meeting of American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
  • Svinicki, M. D., Leach, J. K., Torres, L. G., & Clark, D. (2011, April). Assessment of beliefs about rights and roles of students as related to epistemological beliefs, personal qualities and situational variables. Roundtable session presented at the Annual Meeting of American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • Torres, L. G., & Fong, C. J. (2010, April). International involvement in educational psychology journals from 2003 to 2008. Paper session presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO.