About

Elise Cappella, Ph.D., is a Professor of Applied Psychology and serves as the Vice Provost for University-wide Initiatives and Graduate Education at NYU. Her role involves leadership in university-wide initiatives and graduate education, contributing to the development and implementation of programs that support these areas. Her academic background and research focus are rooted in applied psychology, with a particular emphasis on social intervention and community psychology, although specific details of her research interests and contributions are not provided in the page text.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Developmental psychology
• Sociology
• Social psychology
• Political Science
• Gender studies
• Medical education
• Applied psychology
• Mathematics education
• Medicine
• Demography
• Pedagogy
• Clinical psychology

Selected publications

• Selecting key opinion leaders under practical challenges

  Network Science · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract When undertaking a community intervention, interventionists frequently recruit the help of community members who serve as key opinion leaders (KOLs). However, selecting a team of KOLs can be challenging because the evaluation of potential teams must balance considerations of members’ availability and diversity, as well as the team’s breadth of network coverage and cost of recruitment. This paper has two goals: to review the practical challenges that arise in the selection of KOLs for community interventions, and to facilitate the selection of KOLs when some of these practical challenges are present by introducing and demonstrating the KOLaide R package. We conclude by discussing future directions for facilitating the selection of KOLs in community intervention contexts.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• KOLaide: A tool for selecting key opinion leaders under practical challenges

  2025-05-02

  preprintOpen access

  When undertaking a community intervention, interventionists frequently recruit the help of community members who serve as key opinion leaders (KOLs). However, selecting a team of KOLs can be challenging because the evaluation of potential teams must balance considerations of members' availability and diversity, as well as the team's breadth of network coverage and cost of recruitment. In this paper, after reviewing these practical challenges, we introduce and demonstrate the KOLaide R package, which facilitates the selection of KOLs.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Effects of Heterogeneous Versus Homogeneous Grouping on English Learners’ Language and Literacy Development: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial

  American Educational Research Journal · 2025-08-21 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  In this preregistered within-teacher randomized controlled trial (n = 84), we tested the effects of grouping English learners (ELs) in homogeneous groups (all ELs) versus heterogeneous groups (ELs and non-ELs) on language, reading comprehension, and argumentative writing. Findings indicated no significant main effects of grouping. However, preregistered moderation analyses indicated that heterogeneous groups benefited students with higher English language skills (Hedges’ g = 0.27–0.59 or 0.75–1.93 grade equivalents), whereas homogeneous groups benefited students with lower English skills ( g = 0.31–0.58 or 1.00–1.55 grade equivalents). Instructional observations indicated that teachers provided more specialized strategies for ELs in homogeneous groups and more authentic questions for students in heterogeneous groups. Findings question the default use of homogeneous grouping and support considering English proficiency when making instructional and policy decisions for EL instruction.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Using Social Network Analysis to Identify Peer Coaches in the Real World of Elementary Schools: A Multi-Informant, Community Science Approach

  2025-04-10

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Coaching can increase elementary school teachers’ implementation of evidence-based classroom practices, including equity-centered or culturally responsive practices. However, coaching by personnel external to schools can be expensive and difficult to sustain. Community science principles and social network research suggest the potential of influential peer leaders in schools to accelerate implementation. In the first phase of a multi-year project to develop and evaluate tools to help teachers use evidence-based, equity-focused positive behavioral support strategies in K-5 classrooms, we examine a school-partnered, network-informed process for identifying peer coaches, educator satisfaction with this process, and how feedback influenced process modifications. Educators in various roles (n = 85) from three elementary schools in two Central Ohio districts completed social network nomination and satisfaction surveys and interviews; research-practice partnership meeting records and field notes were analyzed. Findings suggest that a network-informed process to identify peer coaches results in distinct coaching teams and requires flexible application due to the unique, changing nature of school contexts (e.g., staff roles, turnover). We discuss the potential promise of harnessing teacher networks to identify peer coaches to fit the real-world contexts of elementary schools and meet the goal of accessible coaching and, ultimately, more equitable and supportive school environments for all students.

  PublisherDOI

• The Role of Hang‐Out Ties in Reading Comprehension and Small Group Interactions for Multilingual Students

  Reading Research Quarterly · 2025-08-18

  article

  ABSTRACT Small groups are commonly used in elementary reading classrooms, but relatively little research has examined the social factors that support small group reading instruction. This study tests whether the number of hang‐out ties (i.e., the number of ties between students who like to hang out together) in small groups predicts reading comprehension among multilingual children in Grades 4 and 5, and whether interactions differ in small groups with high and low numbers of hang‐out ties. We leverage data from a randomized controlled trial to examine whether the number of group hang‐out ties predicts the later reading comprehension scores of participating multilingual students ( N = 143; 46% female; 57% Asian American) using autoregressive path analysis. Furthermore, we explore differences in the patterns of interaction for groups with low (e.g., 0 to 2 ties) and high (e.g., 3 to 6) numbers of hang‐out ties to see whether these differences might help explain the predictiveness of group hang‐out ties on reading comprehension. Results indicated that the number of group hang‐out ties negatively predicted later reading comprehension. Exploratory analyses of interaction patterns using observation data revealed that teachers asked more open‐ended questions and elicited more student responses in groups with low numbers of hang‐out ties. These findings suggest that small‐group instruction may be most effective when students can learn from peers they know less well, as these other peers may offer novel linguistic assets, and that teachers may foster more group discussion when peers do not have existing hang‐out ties.

  PublisherDOI

• Using social network analysis to identify peer coaches in the real world of elementary schools: A multi‐informant, community science approach

  American Journal of Community Psychology · 2025-04-10 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Coaching can increase elementary school teachers' implementation of evidence-based classroom practices, including equity-centered or culturally responsive practices. However, coaching by personnel external to schools can be expensive and difficult to sustain. Community science principles and social network research suggest the potential of influential peer leaders in schools to accelerate implementation. In the first phase of a multi-year project to develop and evaluate tools to help teachers use evidence-based, equity-focused positive behavioral support strategies in K-5 classrooms, we examine a school-partnered, network-informed process for identifying peer coaches, educator satisfaction with this process, and how feedback influenced process modifications. Educators in various roles (n = 85) from three elementary schools in two Central Ohio districts completed social network nomination and satisfaction surveys and interviews; research-practice partnership meeting records and field notes were analyzed. Findings suggest that a network-informed process to identify peer coaches results in distinct coaching teams and requires flexible application due to the unique, changing nature of school contexts (e.g., staff roles, turnover). We discuss the potential promise of harnessing teacher networks to identify peer coaches to fit the real-world contexts of elementary schools and meet the goal of accessible coaching and, ultimately, more equitable and supportive school environments for all students.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Exploring the needs of girls of color in the juvenile legal system: A latent class analysis

  American Journal of Community Psychology · 2024-02-08 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Girls of color are overrepresented in the juvenile legal system and experience high levels of unmet needs. Assessing and meeting girls' needs may prevent system contact or deeper involvement by providing for these needs in community-based settings, rather than through juvenile legal systems. This study used a structured interview-based assessment adapted from an advocacy intervention to examine girls' self-identified needs and perceived effectiveness and difficulty of accessing resources for these needs. Descriptive analyses found that girls reported needing resources beyond those typically assessed and supported in existing programming, such as technology, extracurriculars, and employment. Latent class analysis revealed four subgroups of girls with distinct but overlapping areas of needs: (1) High Employment, Current School, and Logistical Needs, (2) Low Overall Needs, (3) High Employment Needs, and (4) High Employment, Current School, and Social/Emotional Needs. Girls also reported wide variation in their ability and difficulty accessing needed resources, with employment being most difficult to access and school and social/emotional resources being the easiest to access. These findings suggest that more comprehensive and individualized approaches to programming and community services for system-impacted girls of color are essential.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Capturing the Prevalence, Patterns, and Predictors of Supportive Relationships in Early Adolescence

  The Journal of Early Adolescence · 2024 · 1 citations

  • Sociology
  • Developmental psychology
  • Psychology

  Guided by self-determination theory and the bioecological model, this latent class analysis explores the patterns and predictors of supportive relationships in a national sample of early adolescents ( N = 6,469). A six-class solution emerged: youth with (1) emotional, informational, and academic support from various adults and peers across home, school, and community settings; (2) emotional and informational support from school friends; (3) low support; (4) emotional, informational, and academic support from parents and school friends; (5) emotional and informational support from out of school friends, and (6) emotional and informational support from family. Multinomial logistic regression results indicate the unequal distribution of relational support was predicted by individual, home, or school characteristics: being female, extracurricular participation, and higher socioeconomic home or school contexts were associated with membership in classes with a pattern of greater relational support in comparison to the low support class. The importance of targeting subgroups of adolescents in need of relational support and enhancing home and school settings are discussed.

  PublisherDOI

• Partnering with Educators to Iteratively Co-create Tools to Support Teachers’ Use of Equity-Focused Positive Behavioral Supports

  School Mental Health · 2024-04-22 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract In the Maximize Project, we are engaging in a research-practice partnership to co-create implementation strategies to facilitate elementary school teachers’ use of equity-focused positive behavior supports (EF-PBS). In this paper, we describe the processes used to build an interactive, technology-based platform to enhance teachers’ use of EF-PBS via self-reflection, self-assessment, goal setting, and goal review. We describe how we established a multi-disciplinary, multi-state community advisory board to collaborate on Version 1 of platform (Phase 1). We explain how we obtained quantitative and qualitative feedback about the platform from educators in three partnering schools, and how we used those data to produce Version 2 of the platform (Phase 2). Platform use data suggested high utilization in Quarter 1 (August–October) of the school year, when there was protected time to complete activities. However, platform use was moderate in Quarter 2 (October–December) and low in Quarters 3 and 4 (January–May). Educator feedback revealed moderate acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness of the platform and highlighted ways to improve the user experience (e.g., streamlining steps in goal setting, making resources about strategy implementation easier to find). We discuss lessons learned to inform school mental health co-creation endeavors, including strategies for supporting diverse perspectives, for enhancing advisory board members’ voices and confidence, and for creating practical and feasible methods for teachers to benefit from co-created technology-based implementation strategies. Our processes offer guidance for others engaging in research-practice partnerships, developing education technologies and/or supporting teachers’ use of equity-focused practices to improve daily school experiences for all students.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Adapting SEL interventions to meet student needs: A research-practice partnership supporting students with emotional disabilities

  Social and Emotional Learning Research Practice and Policy · 2024-06-01 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  Implementing school-based social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions requires consideration of both evidence-based practices as well as contextual fit based on student needs. One key approach to adapting SEL interventions is through research-practice partnerships between researchers, practitioners, and school district leaders. The current paper explores the ways a research-practice partnership supports an inclusive education intervention, called the Path Program, designed to support elementary students with emotional disabilities through both structural elements and evidence-based practices. Using the research-practice exchange in the Path Program to support a continuous improvement approach to adaptation, the Path Program uses a Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle to continually infuse SEL activities with a trauma-informed approach to meet student needs. The paper offers crucial information for SEL interventions on the strengths of leveraging research-practice partnerships for program adaptation as well as implementation. The current paper importantly sheds light on ways to leverage a research-practice partnership to support intervention adaptation and implementation to better meet student needs while maintaining evidence-based practices. Specifically, the paper details the importance of infusing SEL activities with trauma-informed practices to meet students with emotional disabilities’ needs and the ways a research-practice partnership supports that process. The paper informs researchers, practitioners, and school leaders on ways to use partnerships to develop stronger SEL interventions.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Meghan P. McCormick

  Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation

  22 shared

• Sandee McClowry

  20 shared

• Jennifer Watling Neal

  Michigan State University

  20 shared

• Marc S. Atkins

  Roosevelt University

  16 shared

• Stacy L. Frazier

  Florida International University

  12 shared

• Erin O’Connor

  John Brown University

  11 shared

• Sophia H. J. Hwang

  11 shared

• Catalina Torrente

  10 shared

Labs

• CONNECTPI

Awards & honors

• co-Director of NYU’s Institute of Education Sciences Predoct…