Our December Graduate Student Spotlight is Natalie Williams. Natalie is a fourth year doctoral candidate in the School Psychology Program at Syracuse University and originally from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. She works alongside her advisor, Dr. Tanya Eckert, in the Treatment Research in Academic Competence (TRAC) lab.

Natalie’s research interests include academic interventions and supports for at-risk populations within the general education classroom, individualization of education in the general education classroom, and socioemotional learning. In her career, she hopes to work in a school or a residential-school setting supporting the academic success of students that experience socioemotional and behavioral problems.

Natalie is currently working on her dissertation entitled, “Examining the Efficacy of Cover, Copy, Compare and Performance Feedback: A Randomized Controlled Trial”.  In the spring, she will implement an integrated writing and spelling intervention in the Syracuse City Schools to general education, third-grade students. Writing and spelling are important areas to target, as these academic skills are not only needed in the classroom, but also in future employment endeavors. Unfortunately, a large percentage of our nation’s students are performing below proficiency in these academic skills. By combining two evidence-based interventions and adapting them for implementation in a general education classroom, she hopes to inform future writing and spelling instruction in elementary school classrooms.

When Natalie is not working, she enjoys running, hiking, and spending time with her two cats, Tessa and Calvin.