Her research investigates academic motivation—what accounts for students’ motivation to learn. Most of her research has been conducted in K-12 classrooms where she studies how teacher-student interaction affects students’ motivation. She recently conducted a three year study at a local middle school designed to help teachers understand student motivation and to design instruction that would support student engagement. Her research has been published in leading journals in psychology and education, such as Journal of Educational Psychology, Contemporary Educational Psychology, the Educational Psychologist, and the American Educational Research Journal. She serves on the editorial boards of five journals. Her research has been supported by the Spencer Foundation.