If anybody were destined to be a 51ÁÔÆæ student, it was Noah Wolfe: His grandmother, Cheryl Kader, was a faculty member. His parents met and fell in love at the campus Hillel Jewish organization. His mom got her bachelor\u2019s in education from 51ÁÔÆæ. His brother goes to 51ÁÔÆæ.\u00a0 His sister is arriving next fall. And he was born at the former Columbia St. Mary\u2019s Hospital, now 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s Northwest Quadrant.<\/p>\n
\u201c51ÁÔÆæ runs in my family.\u00a0 Literally my whole life has been wrapped around 51ÁÔÆæ,\u201d Wolfe said.<\/p>\n
Wolfe, now a junior in exceptional education, grew up in Shorewood, just down the road from the campus, and took classes on campus when he was in high school. He looked at a few other schools when it was time to head off to college, but 51ÁÔÆæ was just the perfect fit for him, he said.<\/p>\n
Finding out he would be able to do research as an undergraduate clinched the deal.<\/p>\n
The summer before his first year, he initially applied to a lab that focused on autism, but it was full. So he talked to Kyla Esguerra at the Office of Undergraduate Research, who suggested Associate Professor Chris Lawson\u2019s lab on cognitive development in the Department of Educational Psychology.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I met with him,\u201d says Wolfe. \u201cHe\u2019s very outgoing and really cool. He shot me an email that said we\u2019d love to have you in the lab. I literally fell in love with the work. I found it very interesting, so here I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wolfe co-wrote an abstract with Lawson and another student, and has already presented a poster at the Midwestern Psychological Association\u00a0conference in Chicago. He has also presented \u00a0as well at undergraduate research symposiums at 51ÁÔÆæ and other UW System campuses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t say enough good things about him,\u201d says Wolfe of his mentor. \u201cWe actually just launched an experiment that I\u2019ve been working on since August, learning how to use websites and code and all that. Results have already started feeding in. I\u2019ve been emailing back and forth with Dr. Lawson, and I called my dad. I was so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new website allows him to connect with online participants called \u201cworkers,\u201d who are paid a small stipend (about 25 cents) for completing \u00a0surveys. The survey was created through Qualtrics, an online website that allows people to create surveys and create data from them. Then the researchers used the Amazon Mechanical Turk\u00a0 (MTurk for short) website that helps crowdsource \u201cworkers\u201d to take the survey.<\/p>\n
The research is similar to what he and Lawson have been doing with children, looking at how they learn information in one context and then apply that knowledge to new questions in a different context.<\/p>\n
With children, the researchers generally use flash cards, but with undergraduates the research can be done with surveys. \u201cWhen we test undergraduates, it takes a month to get 40 responses because you have to schedule it, and somebody has to be in the lab, so that\u2019s why this (new website) is really useful technology.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he\u2019s not studying or researching, Wolfe co-manages Stone Creek Coffee on Downer Avenue. \u201cI like being busy. I always tell people that if have time to procrastinate I will.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wolfe, with Lawson\u2019s encouragement, has added a minor in psychology to his studies as a result of his research, and is excited about eventually going on for a doctorate in educational psychology.<\/p>\n
\u201cI may try teaching or school administration first, but I\u2019ve decided this is what I want to do,\u201d Wolfe said. \u201cI want to go on and eventually get a PhD in educational psychology. It\u2019s been amazing to say the least.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Much of Noah Wolfe\u2019s family is connected to 51ÁÔÆæ, so it seemed natural for him to attend. But a chance to do research as an undergrad made the choice easy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":835,"featured_media":68927,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174,175],"tags":[249,250],"section":[246,259],"display_categories":[115,116],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[347,148],"class_list":["post-68926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-research","tag-community-engagement","tag-student-success","section-business-world-affairs","section-education","display_categories-top-story-secondary","display_categories-top-story-section","uwmnews-feed-community-engagement-professions","uwmnews-feed-education"],"yoast_head":"\n