Natalia Rojas
81 Olive Street, apt 7— Brooklyn, NY 11211
Phone: 410-353-8495 — E-Mail: [email protected]
Education
Ph.D. New York University Steinhardt School of Education, Culture, and Human Development,
Psychology and Social Intervention, expected May 2018
B.A.
New York University College of Arts and Sciences, Politics and Spanish, May 2009
Honors, Awards, Fellowships
• Steinhardt Graduate Fellowship, Steinhardt School, New York University
Publications/Manuscripts in preparation
Rojas, N., Yoshikawa, H., & Morris, P. (In preparation). The association of peer behavioral regulation
with school readiness skills in preschool.
Rojas, N., & Yoshikawa, H. (In preparation). Fast Food and Soda Consumption among Ethnically diverse
immigrant children.
Rojas, N., & Yoshikawa, H. (In preparation). Documentation Status and Child Development in the U.S
and Europe. Handbook for Positive Development of Minority Children.
Martinez, M., Graham, N., & Rojas, N., & Marcus, Jade. (In preparation). Racial and Ethnic differences in
ECE: A meta-analysis.
Conference Presentations
Rojas, N. (2015, April). The association of peer behavioral regulation with school readiness skills in preschool.
Poster presented at the Steinhardt Research and Scholarship Showcase, New York.
Rojas, N. (2015, April). The association of peer behavioral regulation with school readiness skills in preschool.
Paper presented at the Annual Harvard Student Research Conference, Boston, Massachusetts.
Rojas, N. (2014, June). The association of peer behavioral regulation with language skills in preschool. Paper
presented at the Annual Cross-University Collaborative Mentoring Conference, New York.
Rojas, N., Lloyd, C., & Mattera, S. (2013). “Fidelity and Scaling-Up in the Context of a Social-Emotional
Intervention For Early Childhood Education.” Poster presented at the 2013 Society for Research on
Educational Effectiveness, Washington, DC.
Mattera, S., & Rojas, N. (2011). “Classroom-based Approaches and Resources for Emotion and Social-skill
Promotion: Quality Control Training.” Presentation at MDRC in New York, NY.
Research Experience
Graduate Research Assistant, November 2014 – Present
Income RCT Pilot Study. Hirokazu Yoshikawa, PhD., Greg Duncan, PhD., Katherine Magnuson, PhD.,
Lisa Gennetian, PhD., Kimberly Noble, PhD., Charles Nelson, PhD., & Nathan Fox, PhD.
o
Conduct qualitative interviews with mothers in Spanish and English
o
Synthesized themes across interviews
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Graduate Research Assistant, September 2014 – Present
Setting up the Architecture for High Quality Universal PreK: Leveraging the Opportunity of a Historic
Expansion (funded by IES, U.S. Dept. of Education) C. Cybele Raver (PI) & Pamela Morris (Co-PI),
NYU
o
Coordinated and oversaw the data collection process. Tasks included developing training and
assessment materials of executive function tasks, assisted in the development of tablet-based
assessments, hired lead assessor trainings, providing direct feedback to assessors, and
troubleshooting and monitoring data and quality control from the survey firm
o
Recruited, trained and monitored NYU students who conducted quality control observations,
child assessments and teacher professional development
o
Established materials and trainings for teacher training
o
Provided technical assistance to the Dept of Education on curriculum and coaching choices
Graduate Research Assistant, May 2014 – August 2014
Sustainable Development Solutions Network: Online Education Initiative for Sustainable Development.
Hirokazu Yoshikawa, PhD.,
o
Curate and develop a massive open online course focused on International Early Education
Graduate Research Assistant, September 2013 – Present
Effects of Early Childhood Programs on Children: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis. National Institutes of
Health, NICHD. Hirokazu Yoshikawa, PhD., Greg Duncan, PhD., Katherine Magnuson, PhD., &
Holly Schindler, PhD.
o
National Institute of Health funded multi-university collaborative meta-analytic database
study synthesizing four decades of program evaluation research relevant to children from the
prenatal period to age five.
o
Trained on effect size calculation, article screening and article coding;
o
Screened articles and reports gathered through (1) detailed literature searches in ERIS,
PsychINFO, EconLit and Dissertation Abstract databases, (2) manual searches of the websites
of policy institutes and state and federal departments and (3) collecting references mentioned
in included studies and other key reviews into a large meta-analytic database;
o
Coded articles using rigorous methodology and standards to identify high-quality evaluations
with similar treatment and comparison groups; and
o
Calculated the effect sizes of each of the studies screened into the larger study.
• MDRC
Research Associate, July 2010 – August 2013
Pamela Morris, PhD.
Head Start CARES, longitudinal evaluation of three social-emotional interventions in Head Start
preschools across the US
o
Coordinated and oversaw the data collection process. Tasks included updating and creating
teacher, parent, and child measures across cohorts, leading assessor and observer trainings,
providing direct feedback to assessors in English and Spanish, and troubleshooting and
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monitoring response rates and data from the survey firm
o
Completed extensive interviews with individuals, developing a coding scheme, and analyzed
and synthesized the qualitative data in NVivo
o
Supported coordination and the implementation of teacher and coach trainings both in NYC
and in remote locations
o
Maintained regular contact with sites as a liaison for MDRC, participated in site recruitment,
and conducted site visits
o
Managed the publication of the impact analysis report, including working with multiple
authors, departments within MDRC, and funders
o
Performed technical fact checking, coordinated proposals and general support for the team,
including preparation for conference presentations, meetings with funders, outside
consultants, and researchers.
Making Preschool Count, an evaluation of an early childhood math intervention designed to improve
the life trajectories of impoverished children in NYC across both the impact and implementation
teams
•
o
Created research instruments, such as surveys, fidelity measures, coach logs, interview
protocols and adapted observation measures
o
Completed extensive interviews with individuals and analyzed and synthesized the qualitative
data
o
Spearheaded literature reviews of possible Kindergarten interventions to reduce fade-out,
theories relevant to outcomes observed, and possible measures to use for data collection,
drafted and contributed to design, sampling, random assignment plans and memos,
communicated with outside consultants, and organized steering committee meetings
o
Supported coordination and the implementation of teacher and coach trainings both in NYC
and in remote locations
o
Maintained regular contact with sites as a liaison for MDRC, participated in site recruitment,
conducted site visits and needs assessments
o
Coordinated proposals and general support for the team, including preparation for conference
presentations, meetings with funders, outside consultants, and researchers.
Mathematica Policy Research
Survey Associate, May 2009 – July 2010
o
Conducted research for the following projects: The Head Start Family and Child Experiences
Study, Evaluation of Charter-School Management Organizations, Title One, Center for
Studying Disability Policy and The New Jersey Reading Disabilities Study
o
Led the training of assessors and observers on child assessments and observation measures,
directed feedback sessions, and performance reliability tests with field staff
o
Recruited observation sites
o
Collaborated in the development, pilot testing, and adaptations of an elementary classroom
language observation tool to be used in low-income English and Spanish classrooms
o
Organized, coordinated with presenters and led in-person forums and monthly webinars for
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researchers, policy makers, government officials and advocacy groups
o
Generated expenditure analysis and budget tracking as a project manager for The New Jersey
Reading Disabilities Study
Teaching and Mentoring Experience
• Facilitator: Child & Family Policy Center at NYU 2014 forum,
Utilizing authentic assessments with preschoolers: Implications for
practice
June 2014
• Harvard Tutoring
2010-2011
• America Reads
2005-2009
Service Positions
• Colloquium series organizer
2014-2015
NYU Psychology & Social Intervention Program
• PSI Program Admissions Committee
2013-2014
• MDRC Recruitment Committee
2010-2013
Quantitative Courses
Intermediate Methods in Statistical Analysis; Advanced Methods of Statistical Analysis; Advanced
Quantitative Methods: Topics in Multivariate Analysis; Multi-Level Modeling: Growth Curves; MultiLevel Modeling: Nested Data; Missing Data; Structural Equation Modeling
Technical Training/Skills
• Fluent in Spanish
• SPSS/STATA/Mplus
• NVIVO/DEDOOSE
• Trained to be reliable in:
o
Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)
o
Early Childhood Environment Ratings Scale – Revised (ECERS-R)