Dr. Monica Yudron
Academic Positions
Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education and Development
January 2016-present
University of Massachusetts Boston: College of Human Development and Education
Education
Ed.D. Harvard Graduate School of Education
Human Development & Education 2015
Ed.M. Harvard Graduate School of Education
Prevention Science and Practice 2012
M.A. University of Texas at Austin.
Curriculum and Instruction 2008
B.S. Purdue University
Biology Education and Chemistry 1998
Current Funded Research Projects
Massachusetts Preschool Expansion Grant Evaluation
2015-2019
The Massachusetts Preschool Expansion Grant is a state-wide initiative to expand access to high-quality, state-funded prekindergarten services to low income families facing a myriad of risks in Massachusetts. I am part of a team including Anne Douglass of the University of Massachusetts Boston and researchers at Abt Associates.
Primary responsibilities:
- Co-Lead, Design and deploy the impact study
- Act as an evaluation liaison to partners in Lowell, MA
- Design interview and survey protocols
Building Early Childhood Educators’ Capacity to Teach STEM
2016-2017
In this pilot, a professional development and coaching model developed by the Heritage Museum in Sandwich, MA and designed to increase the skills and capacity of early childhood educators to teach STEM will be implemented in centers serving low income families to test the scalability of the model.
Primary responsibilities:
- Co-Principal Investigator
- Design observation and interview protocols, manage consent and data gathering process
- Conduct classroom observations, teacher, leader, and parent interviews
- Write and disseminate findings with intention to inform a second round of implementation
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Yudron, M. & Jones, S.M. (2016). Developmental trajectories of children’s social competence in early childhood: The role of the externalizing behaviors of their preschool peers. Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, 15(2), 268-292.
Campbell, S.B., Denham, S.A., Howarth, G.Z., Jones, S.M., Vick Whittaker, J., Williford, A.P., Wiloughby, M.T., Yudron, M., & Darling-Churchill, K. (2016). Commentary on the Review of Measures of Early Childhood Social Competence: Conceptualization, Critique, and Recommendations. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 45, 19-41. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2016.01.008
Yudron, M., Jones, S.M., Raver, C.C. (2014). Implications of different methods for specifying classroom composition of externalizing behaviors and its relationship to social emotional outcomes. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29, pp. 682-691. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.07.007
Dunn, E.C., Masyn, K.E., Yudron, M., Jones, S.M., & Subramanian, S.V. (2014). Translating multilevel theory into multilevel research: Challenges and opportunities for understanding the social determinants of psychiatric disorders. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 49, 859–872.
Betancourt, T.S., Yudron, M., Wheaton, W., & Smith Fawzi, M.C. (2012). Caregiver and adolescent mental health in Ethiopian Kunama refugees participating in an emergency education program. Journal of Adolescent Health. (5)4. 357-365.
Book Chapters, Reports, and Working Papers
Checkoway, A., Goodson, B., Grindal, T., Hofer, K., Yudron, M. & Douglass, A. (2017). Year 1. Boston, MA: Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care.
Yudron, M. & Weiland, C. (2016). BPS K1DS: Piloting the Boston Public Schools’ Prekindergarten Model in Community-Based Organizations. Final Report prepared for the Boston Public Schools.
Jones, S.M. & Yudron, M. (2013). Measuring the development of social competence in early childhood. Working paper for Child Trends meeting on Measuring and Reporting Social-Emotional Development in Early Childhood. May 8, 2013.
Jones, S.M., Yudron, M., Pisciella, A. & Eidelman, H. (2012). Poverty: Current research and new dimensions. In L. Mayes & M. Lewis (eds.) The Cambridge Handbook of Environment in Human Development. 347-356. Cambridge, UK.
Jones, S.M., Eidelman, H. & Yudron, M. (2012). Poverty and Adolescent Development. In B. Brown & M. Prinstein (eds.) The Encyclopedia of Adolescence. 328-389. London, UK.
Selected Lectures and Presentations
Yudron, M., Weiland, C., & Sachs, J. (2017). Expanding and understanding: evidence on classroom processes and taking early childhood interventions to scale. American Education Research Association, San Antonio, TX.
Grindal, T., Yudron, M., Checkoway, A., & Goodson, B. (2017) Implementation and classroom quality in community-based prekindergarten classrooms in Massachusetts’s preschool expansion grant. Society for Research on Child Development, Austin, TX.
Yudron, M., Weiland, C, & Sachs, J. (2016). Actionable Lessons from Boston’s Scale-out of Public PreK into Community-Based Organizations. Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Washington, DC.
Yudron, M., Weiland, C, & Sachs, J. (2015). Instructional Quality and Child Outcome Changes in Community-Based Prekindergarten after a Coaching and Curriculum Intervention. Society for Research on Child Development, Philadelphia, PA.
Hemphill, L., Kim, J., Yudron, M. & LaRusso, M. (2015). Educational Testing Service Experimental Effects of the Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention on Reading Performance in High Poverty Middle Schools. Society of Research on Educational Effectiveness, Washington, DC.
Yudron, M., Jones, S.M., Raver, C. (2014). How are trajectories of teacher performance related to classroom composition of externalizing behaviors in Head Start? International Society for Research on Aggression, Atlanta, GA.
Weiland, C., Yudron, M., & Sachs, J. (2013). Can it work outside the public schools? Expanding the Boston Public Schools’ prekindergarten model to community-based preschools. In D. Reed (Chair). Meeting the Needs of Vulnerable Children. Symposium conducted at the Association for Public Policy and Management Conference, Washington DC.
Connors, M., Friedman-Krauss, A., Yudron, M., Jones, S. & Morris, P. (2013). Refining Early Measures of Classroom Quality to Re-Estimate Head Start’s Impacts. Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Annual Conference, Washington DC.
Yudron, M., Jones, S.M., Raver, C. (2013). Examining the Impact of Different Methods for Specifying Classroom Composition on Child Outcomes. Society for Research on Child Development, Seattle, WA.
Yudron, M., Jones, S.M., Raver, C. (2013). Variation in Intervention Effects in Early Childhood: The Moderating Role of Classroom Peer Composition. Society for Research on Child Development, Seattle, WA.
Yudron, M. (2011). Examining the Relationship between Child Social Emotional Development and Executive Functioning: Construct Structure and Validity. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
Yudron, M. (2011). Early Education Interventions: Investigating Cross-Over Effects. Harvard Graduate Student Research Conference, Cambridge, MA.
Yudron, M. (2010). A Longitudinal Investigation of the Impact of Parental Depression on Literacy Development in Young Children. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO.
Yudron, M. (2010). More than the Blues: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Separate and Joint Impacts of Income and Maternal Depression on the Language and Literacy Trajectories of Children. Conference on Human Development, New York, NY.
Yudron, M. (2010). The Impact of Maternal Depression on Literacy Development in Elementary School Children: Using the Multilevel Model for Change to Investigate Longitudinal Impacts. Harvard University Student Research Conference, Cambridge, MA.
Yudron, M. (2009). A Causal Investigation of Relative Age at Kindergarten Entry and MCAS Scores. Cross-University Collaborative Mentoring Conference, Cambridge, MA.
Yudron, M., Riegle-Crumb, C., Muller, C. (2009). The Impact of Reformed Teaching Methods in High School Mathematics Classrooms: A National Examination of Trends. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
Yudron, M. (2009). The Experience and Timing of Parental Depression and Its Impact on Child Literacy Skills. Cross-University Collaborative Mentoring Conference, Cambridge, MA.
Invited Lectures and Presentations
Yudron, M. (2017). The science of early learning and development: implications for research, policy, and education practice. UNNIVERS Innovation Conference for Higher Education Leaders from Jalisco, MX, Boston, MA.
Yudron, M., Jones, S.M., Raver, C. (2012). Invited Session: The Role of Peer Composition in Short- and Long-Term Effects of the Chicago School Readiness Project. Society for Research on Education Effectiveness, Washington, D.C.
Yudron, M. (2010). Longitudinal effects of poverty and exposure to violence on social and emotional development in early childhood and adolescence. Clinical Brain Science Collaborative Seminar, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA.
Higher Education Teaching Experience
University of Massachusetts Boston ECHD 689: Planning Meaningful Early Childhood Curriculum
ECHD 690: Early Childhood Pre-Practicum Teaching Experience
ECHD 221: Supporting Young Children’s Social Interactions and Emotional Growth
ECHD 621: Creating Effective Learning Environments and Fostering Positive Social Interactions
ECHD 702: Advanced Child Development and Early Learning
ECHD 705: The Science of Early Learning
ECHD 708: Intermediate Statistics
Harvard Graduate School of Education, Teaching Fellow 2009-2015
Courses: Public Policy and Child Development: U.S. and International Perspectives (with Stephanie Jones); The Science of Learning, Behavior and Health: Implications for Early-Childhood Policy (with Jack Shonkoff); Applied Data Analysis (with John Willett), and Risk and Resilience in Social Contexts from Birth to Young Adulthood: Strategies of Prevention and Intervention (with Stephanie Jones)
Harvard University Center on the Developing Child
2012-2013
Student Seminar Series Leader
Completed Research Projects
Boston Public Schools, Evaluation Director 2013-2015
K1DS: A Study of the Effectiveness of Community-based Preschool and Prekindergarten Programs
Primary Responsibilities:
- Design and implement 2-year implementation study
- Recruit, train, and manage child and classroom assessors
- Manage data entry and cleaning
- Conduct teacher and director interviews
- Analyze quantitative and qualitative data and disseminate findings to diverse stakeholders
Center for Education Policy Research, Data Analyst
2013-present
Primary Responsibilities:
- Conduct impact and descriptive analyses of data generated in the multi-year, multi-site project Catalyzing Comprehension through Discussion and Debate
- Work with a multi-disciplinary team to design and implement analysis plans integrating diverse data sources
- Present findings to diverse audiences at conferences and meetings
- Disseminate findings in reports and peer-reviewed journal articles
Relay Graduate School of Education, Data Analyst 2013-2014
Primary Responsibilities:
- Collaborate with team members to analyze and disseminate student feedback and progress to internal stakeholders
- Evaluate Relay Graduate School of Education programs
- Conduct research centered on teacher and school leader effectiveness and disseminate findings to external research and policy-related audiences
Boston Children’s Hospital, Project Director 2013
Primary Responsibilities:
- Design and manage the implementation of a variety of community-based evaluation projects
- Manage data entry and cleaning
- Analyze quantitative and qualitative data and disseminate findings to diverse stakeholders
- Collaborate with community stakeholders in the interpretation and use of evaluation findings
Harvard University Center on the Developing Child
2012-2013
Frontiers of Innovation Curriculum Coordinator and Training Facilitator
Primary Responsibilities:
- Collaborate with family and child direct service providers to develop a series of training webinars
- Recruit academic talent to design and deliver targeted webinars
- Evaluate webinar impact and adapt approach to optimize impact and significant for audience
Harvard University, Research Assistant and Fieldworker
2009-present
Supervising Faculty: Stephanie Jones
- Tools of the Mind Impact Study (with Child Trends)
- Secondary Analysis of Variation Impacts (SAVI) (with New York University and CEPR)
- Chicago School Readiness Project (with New York University)
- Head Start CARES (with MDRC)
Supervising Faculty: Catherine Snow, Hiro Yoshikawa and Diana Leyva
- Un Buen Comienzo (with the Center on the Developing Child)
Supervising Faculty: Catherine Snow and Bill Beardslee
- Tulsa Children’s Project (with the Center on the Developing Child)
Supervising Faculty: Norma Ware
- The Refugee Project (with the University of Illinois)
Harvard University, Presidential Interactive Technology Fellow
2009-2011
Supervising Faculty: John Willett
- Interactive tutorials and STATA conversion of Applied Data Analysis Handouts
MDRC, Head Start CARES Assessor Trainer 2010
University of Texas at Austin, Population Research Center, Research Assistant
2007-2008
Supervising Faculty: Chandra Muller and Catherine Riegle-Crumb
- STEM participation among underrepresented groups
Professional Activities and Service
Instituto Nacional para la Evaluación de la Education en Mexico
(Mexican National Institute for the Evaluation of Education)
2017-2022
Gestión del Conocimiento e Innovación (Committee on Knowledge Management and Innovation)
Consejo Técnico (Technical Advisor)
University of Massachusetts Boston
PhD Curriculum Committee
Master’s Program Admissions Committee
Department Curriculum Development Committee
Department Annual Faculty Review Revision Member
Boston Universal Pre-K Advisory Board
2014
Member of Data and Assessment Subcommittee
Harvard University
2012
Doctoral Admissions Committee
2010 & 2011
Prevention Science Admissions Committee
2010
Cross-University Collaborative Mentoring Conference Committee
2009
Student Research Conference Committee
Ad Hoc Reviewer
2011-present
Child Development,
Journal of Family Issues,
International Journal of Behavioral Development,
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
United Way—Thrive in Five
Awards
AERA/SRCD Early Career Fellowship 2017-2018
University of Massachusetts Boston
Junior Faculty Research Seminar Fellow 2016-2017
Harvard University
Presidential Fellowship
2008-2012
Dean’s Summer Research Fellowship
2009
Presidential Interactive Technology Fellowship
2009-2011
Harvard Graduate School of Education Travel Scholarship 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014
Harvard Graduate School of Education Data Collection Travel Grant
2013, 2014
Professional Affiliations and Memberships
American Educational Research Association
EE/CD SIG Executive Board Member 2017-2020
Conference Proposal Reviewer
Society for Research in Child Development
Conference Proposal Reviewer
Society for Research on Education Effectiveness
Society for Prevention Research