Kaycie Barron

“As an alumnus of the MS in Educational Psychology – Learning Analytics program at UW-Madison, I embarked on a transformative journey, merging the power of data with the intricacies of human cognition. Through real-world research and analysis, I discovered how knowledge can be harnessed to empower individuals, unravel educational challenges, and shape the future of learning.”

LEARNING SCIENCES

As a research assistant in Dr. Shamya Karumbiah’s Ethically Augmented Learning Lab in the Learning Sciences department at UW-Madison, Kaycie is involved in numerous projects spanning the ethical use and intersectionality of AI in education, bi-/multilingualism, and translanguaging.  She is currently working towards publishing two research papers focused on 1) the characterization of linguistic variations found in emergent bilinguals writing as a source of evaluating multilingual large language model (MLLM) effectiveness, and 2) assessing the translanguaging capabilities of MLLMs through synthetic dataset fine-tuning techniques. Her primary goals in the lab are to collect authentic classroom translanguaging data and systematically explore the linguistic biases present in large language models.

EMPOWERING LANGUAGE EDUCATION THROUGH DATA

Kaycie is passionate about investigating and identifying areas of support for emergent bilingual learners (EBLs) in early education. To gain practical experience, she relocated to Spain and became a cultural language assistant for elementary-aged EBLs while starting her MS in Educational Psychology – Learning Analytics, graduating summa cum laude. Immersed in a non-English speaking environment, she understands the challenges of acquiring a new language both as an educator and a learner. Her commitment to equitable outcomes led her to apply data-driven approaches, including qualitative and quantitative research methods, to address the needs of her students and of non-native EBL educators. She strives to develop effective strategies that target success for these learners/educators and make a meaningful impact on language acquisition and pedagogy.