Pooja K. Agarwal
is a public servant, dedicated to bridging the gaps between education, research, teaching, and policy.
about- publications
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- @poojaagarwal
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Info
- Post-Doctoral Research Associate at Washington University in St. LouisResearch | Greater St. Louis Area, USSummary
Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D. is a public servant, dedicated to bridging the gaps between education, teaching, research, and policy. Currently, Pooja is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at Washington University in St. Louis, conducting memory research at local middle and high schools. She recently served as Illinois’s Director of K-12 Assessment, responsible for assessment development and administration for 2,000,000 students, implementation of a new statewide growth model, design of Illinois’s new accountability system, and management of a $43 million budget. Pooja has teaching experience at elementary, middle, high school, and university levels, policy experience at the U.S. Department of Education and The College Board, and 10 years of experience in human learning and memory research.
Specialties:
• Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology, specializing in learning and memory research
• Recently served as Illinois's Director of K-12 assessments
• Numerous peer-reviewed publications and invited presentations
• Extensive K-12 and university teaching experience
• Grant writing, fundraising, and budget experience in excess of $40 million
• Broad data, computer, and web experience: SPSS, Excel, Adobe, HTML, Wordpress
Experience- 2012 - PresentPost-Doctoral Research Associate / Washington University in St. Louis
- 2011 - 2012Division Administrator of K-12 Student Assessment / Illinois State Board of Education
Responsible for Illinois’s K-12 statewide assessment system for nearly 2.1 million students; led the development of a new statewide growth model, accountability system, and state/district/school report cards; coordinated Illinois’s participation as a PARCC Governing State; managed a budget of $43 million; and supervised 15 union employees.
- 2007 - 2011Immediate Past Pres. (2010-2011), Executive Director & President (2009-2010), Vice Pres. (2008-2009) / Truman Scholars Association
Served as Executive Director of a 501(c)3; coordinated the largest gathering of Truman Scholars (300+) to date; implemented a Strategic Planning process; launched a successful fundraising campaign, receiving more than $50,000; managed more than 100 volunteers; coordinated more than 40 events around the country; dramatically increased social media presence; and represented 2,600 Truman Scholars worldwide.
- Jun 2008 - Aug 2008Fellow, Federal Policy / The College Board
Authored two white papers: a comparison of national and international standardized tests (e.g., NAEP, PIRLS, PISA, and TIMMS) and an evaluation of the Institute of Education Sciences.
- 2006 - 2007Research & Grant Coordinator / Washington University in St. Louis
Coordinated the development and assessment of learning strategies; managed federal grant activities, including the writing of grant proposals and annual reports; hired, trained, and supervised twelve research assistants; coordinated meetings among and presented findings to professors, teachers, and administrators.
- May 2006 - Aug 2006Intern, Institute of Education Sciences / U.S. Department of Education
Gained knowledge of federal grant processes; created and disseminated a survey to Chief State School Officers; and authored research summaries published on the Institute of Education Sciences website.
- Aug 2004 - May 2005Student Teacher, Grades 4-5 / St. Louis County Public Schools
Conducted a case study to develop support techniques for a struggling African American student in my class; and designed and taught interactive math and social studies units.
- May 2003 - Aug 2003Intern, Office of Educational Technology / U.S. Department of Education
Developed a database of statistics and numerous presentations about "Millennials" (ages 3-24) and their technology use, used for the reauthorization of the National Education Technology Plan.
Education-
2007 - 2011Washington University in St. LouisPh.D. in Cognitive Psychology
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2007 - 2009Washington University in St. LouisM.A. in Cognitive Psychology
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2001 - 2005Washington University in St. LouisB.A. in Elementary Education, Cognitive Neuroscience
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1998 - 2001Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA)
Additional Information-
Websites:
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publications
- Peer Reviewed Publications:
McDaniel, M. A., Thomas, R. C., Agarwal, P. K., McDermott, K. B., & Roediger, H. L. (in press). Quizzing in middle school science: Successful transfer performance on classroom exams. Applied Cognitive Psychology. PDF
Agarwal, P. K. (2012). Advances in cognitive psychology relevant to education: Introduction to the special issue. Educational Psychology Review, 24, 353-354. PDF
Agarwal, P. K., Bain, P. M., & Chamberlain, R. W. (2012). The value of applied research: Retrieval practice improves classroom learning and recommendations from a teacher, a principal, and a scientist. Educational Psychology Review, 24, 437-448. PDF
Agarwal, P. K., & Roediger, H. L. (2011). Expectancy of an open-book test decreases performance on a delayed closed-book test. Memory, 19, 836-852. PDF
McDaniel, M. A., Agarwal, P. K., Huelser, B. J., McDermott, K. B., & Roediger, H. L. (2011). Test-enhanced learning in a middle school science classroom: The effects of quiz frequency and placement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103, 399-414. PDF
Roediger, H. L., Agarwal, P. K., McDaniel, M. A., & McDermott, K. B. (2011). Test-enhanced learning in the classroom: Long-term improvements from quizzing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 17, 382-395. PDF
Fazio, L. K., Agarwal, P. K., Marsh, E. J., & Roediger, H. L. (2010). Memorial consequences of multiple-choice testing on immediate and delayed tests. Memory & Cognition, 38, 408-418. PDF
Marsh, E. J., Agarwal, P. K., & Roediger, H. L. (2009). Memorial consequences of answering SAT II questions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 15, 1-11. PDF
Agarwal, P. K., Karpicke, J. D., Kang, S. H. K., Roediger, H. L., & McDermott, K. B. (2008). Examining the testing effect with open- and closed-book tests. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 22, 861-876. PDF
Agarwal, P. K. (2005). Open-book and closed-book tests: Testing the testing effect. Apex (Peer- reviewed undergraduate research journal), 2, 5-13.Book Chapters:
Roediger, H. L., Agarwal, P. K., Kang, S. H. K., & Marsh, E. J. (2010). Benefits of testing memory: Best practices and boundary conditions. In G. M. Davies & D. B. Wright (Eds.), New frontiers in applied memory (pp. 13-49). Brighton, U.K.: Psychology Press. PDF
Roediger, H. L., Weinstein, Y., & Agarwal, P. K. (2010). Forgetting: Preliminary considerations. In S. Della Sala (Ed.), Forgetting (pp. 1-22). Hove, U.K.: Psychology Press. PDF
Other Publications:
Agarwal, P. K., Lange, R., & Metcalf, L. A. (2012). Illinois’s growth model approach using the value table method. Illinois State Board of Education, Springfield, IL. PDF
White, B. R., & Agarwal, P. K. (2011). The principal report: The state of school leadership in Illinois. Illinois Education Research Council, Edwardsville, IL. PDF
Agarwal, P. K. (2003, October/November). College life in the Internet age. Upgrade, 14-15. PDF
Agarwal, P. K. (2001). If I could make a school. Learning & Leading with Technology, 29, 28-31. PDF
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press
- Nature's SpotOn NYC, March 2013The Riverfront Times, November 2012Parade Magazine, August 2012TIME Magazine, June 2012The New York Times, September 2011Dagens Nhyeter, May 2011The Globe and Mail, December 2010Washington University Psychronicle, Spring 2010American Psychological Association, January 2010Education Week, June 2009Washington University, October 2008
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collaborators
- Current Advisor: Henry L. Roediger, IIICurrent Lab: Washington University Memory LabCollaborators:Funding:
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Tweets
- RT @cdrawn: @poojaagarwal Thanks for such a rich symposium! Too bad the room wasn't twice as large to accommodate all the people. #aps2013dc
- RT @jasonbuhle: 'We should think of retrieval as a learning tool, not just an assessment tool' @poojaagarwal #aps2013dc
- Looking forward to my symposium tomorrow at 9am in Wilson B on applying cognitive psych to education. #aps2013dc Hope to see you there!
- RT @DTWillingham: Lots of great science in the next few days--I'll be watching hashtag #aps2013dc for Assoc. for Psych Sci meeting in Wash.…
- May 14, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Looking forward to #aps2013dc. Anyone else? #memorylabMay 14, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- RT @DTWillingham: Willingham blog (repost): Testing helps maintain attention, reduce stress in online learning http://t.co/gpDAKOpQwH # ...Apr 16, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- @DTWillingham Thanks for the mention on your blog this week, Dan! Much appreciated.Apr 16, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Working on presentations for Metro High School and Columbia High School! Exciting April! @SLPS_INFOMar 28, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Class discussion with freshman today: 2 x 2 x 2 research designs, for their own designed studies. Awesome!
- @McGJulie Thanks Julie!
- I'm featured in Nature's SpotOn NYC Blog! http://t.co/UaPl0d7kAp Thanks @TylerAlterman @CogSciOnWheels #SoNYC!Mar 12, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- @DerekGatlin Use social media, of course!
- "Lessons learned from two large scale RCTs." Amazing ed research taking place in Indiana. #sree
- @MagicTony Thanks for the tweet!
