Hello! I am a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University, working with Dr. Dana Miller-Cotto. I received my Ph.D. in Human Development at University of Maryland, where I was advised by Dr. Richard Prather.
I study how certain skills contribute to math and STEM performance, like executive functions and spatial skills. Understanding these relationships is important because early STEM skills affect later academic achievement, career, and daily life. My research also aims to find ways to promote STEM learning. This work sits at the intersection of developmental science, educational psychology, and cognitive psychology.
Email me at jmedran5@kent.edu.
See my CV here.
News
2023/09: I started a new position as Postdoctoral Scholar at Kent State University.
2023/01: My literature review "Rethinking executive functions in mathematical cognition" was accepted at Journal of Cognition and Development. A preprint is available here: https://osf.io/y9mbn.
2022/10: Published with Natalie Crnosija (Public Health), Richard Prather, and Devon Payne-Sturges (Public Health) on "Bridging the environment and neurodevelopment for children’s health: Associations between real-time air pollutant exposures and cognitive outcomes" in Frontiers in Psychology.
2022/5: Published with Richard Prather and others on "What does cognitive science do for people?" in Cognitive Science. A preprint is available here: https://psyarxiv.com/68w7c
2022/4: Received a Diversity Award from Cognitive Development Society.
2022: Posters, talks were presented on our project on air pollution exposure and cognitive and math skills
2020: Published with Joshua Jaffe, Doug Lombardi, and others on "Students' scientific evaluations of water" as part of a special issue in the Water journal. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/7/2048
Publications
Medrano, J., & Prather, R.W. (2023). Rethinking executive functions in mathematical cognition. Journal of Cognition and Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2023.2172414
Medrano, J., Crnosija, N., Prather, R. W., & Payne-Sturges, D. (2022). Bridging the environment and neurodevelopment for children’s health: Associations between real-time air pollutant exposures and cognitive outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.933327
Prather, R.W., Benitez, V.L., Kendall Brooks, L., Dancy, C.L., Dilworth-Bart. J., Dutra, N.B., Faison, M.O., Figueroa, M., Holden, L.T.R., Johnson, C., Medrano, J., Miller- Cotto, D. Matthews, P.G., Manly, J.J., Thomas, A.K. (2022). What can cognitive science do for people? Cognitive Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.13167
Medrano, J.*, Jaffe, J.,* Lombardi, D., Holzer, M.A., & Roemmele, C. (2020). Students’ scientific evaluations of water resources. Water. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12072048
*Co-first authors