Ellen L. Usher, Ph.D.

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SUMMARY

Ellen L. Usher, Ph.D., conducts research in medical education. She employs qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method techniques to explore the psychological aspects of teaching and learning. Her research is broadly focused on understanding human motivation as it applies to learning, teaching and educational decision-making in a variety of contexts. Dr. Usher investigates how the beliefs people hold are influenced by task features and by environmental, social and internal events. She also explores how these beliefs, in turn, influence behaviors and the environments in which people live and work. She and her collaborators have gathered data from over 30,000 teachers and learners in a variety of settings including K-12 schools, universities and medical centers. Throughout her work, Dr. Usher has enjoyed collaborating with and mentoring junior researchers.

Focus areas

• Psychology of teaching and learning.
• Human motivation.
• Development of academic and professional self-efficacy.
• Social cognitive theory.
• Self-regulation of learning and motivation.
• Sociocultural influences on cognition and motivation.
• Effect of lay theories of learning and motivation on human interaction.

Significance to patient care

Patients' care environments are often powerfully influenced by the beliefs and behaviors of the medical professionals and caregivers around them. Dr. Usher's research aims to address the ways in which medical professionals develop their clinical and personal competencies. She also studies the beliefs and dispositions needed to implement those skills appropriately under changing conditions of practice. Her work helps identify ways that institutional and instructional interventions can improve medical education, support learners and, ultimately, enhance health care delivery.

Professional highlights

• Legacy member, Academy of Educational Excellence, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, 2023-present.
• Fellow, Division 15, American Psychological Association, 2021-present.
• Editorial board member, Journal of Experimental Education, 2023-present.
• Editorial board member, Educational Psychologist, 2021-present.
• Editorial board member, Contemporary Educational Psychology, 2009-present.
• Editorial board member, Journal of Educational Psychology, 2007-present.
• Chellgren Endowed Professor, University of Kentucky, 2019-2022.
• Director, P20 Motivation & Learning Lab, University of Kentucky, 2010-2022.
• Associate editor, British Journal of Educational Psychology, 2012-2021.
• Chair, Motivation in Education Special Interest Group, American Educational Research Association, 2016-2018.
• Editorial board member, American Educational Research Journal, 2019-2022.