Research that Tells a Story...Go Figure! How Alumna Jessica Puller Brings Research to Life
Jessica Puller is alumna of Northwestern's MSEd in Elementary Teaching program in the School of Education & Social Policy (SESP). A published author, she is also a senior communications strategist at the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. She has also authored multiple plays and two novels, Captain Superlative and The Lost Things Club.
Not long after earning a theater degree in 2007, Puller found herself drawn back to Northwestern University—this time to pursue a Master of Science in Education & Social Policy (MSEd) in Elementary Education. Upon completing the MSEd program, she joined the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research in a communications position which spoke directly to her interest in blending human-centered education research with writing.
When Puller joined the Consortium, the organization had published its first virtual multimedia report, Teens, Digital Media, and the Chicago Public Library, featuring recordings of learners and other interactive components. Inspired by the interactive features of the report, Puller reflected on the inaccessibility of most education research today. “A lot of education research is too scholarly in nature. It’s published in articles people often don’t read, and debated among researchers without actually touching...teachers, policymakers, decision makers—even families,” Puller said.
GO FIGURE
Driven by a mission to make education research available to all audiences, Puller developed a video series to address the issue: GO FIGURE. Featuring short soundbites (approx. 90 seconds) on study findings recorded by actual research authors, GO FIGURE provides audiences with easily digestible—humanized—access to otherwise abstract work. For her pitch, Puller recorded her own soundbites for audiences interested in the connection between arts education and social-emotional learning skills. Leveraging her theater background, Puller walks audiences through an engaging overview of her research, including charts and figures that are featured in her study.
“The Consortium has always tried to speak directly to stakeholders. It struck me as important to break down these complicated tables and figures in meaningful ways for those audiences,” Puller explained. Today, GO FIGURE provides access to a wide variety of education research topics like attendance, school-family engagement, college readiness, and more. All videos made by Puller’s colleagues are available on the University of Chicago Consortium’s YouTube channel.
Last year, Puller and her team won a Division H Outstanding Publication Award from the American Educational Research Association for their work on the platform. GO FIGURE will be expanding soon, Puller said, potentially featuring more author engagement via voiceovers and other interactive methods. The expansion will allow more junior researchers to build stronger foundations for their work by connecting with their audiences.
In addition to her work with the Consortium, Puller is an author (under the pen name J.S. Puller) and has written several plays for children and adults. Her most popular children’s play, Women Who Weave, is a product of her Undergraduate Senior Honors project at Northwestern and speaks to her longstanding commitment to making learning interactive and equitable. In the play, a Greek girl named Atalanta defies gender stereotypes that render girls and women far from the roles of heroes. After paying a visit to the Fates, Atalanta experiences the world through the eyes of three goddesses, i.e., the women who weave. Her experiences conclude with a successful boar hunt she prepares for with her newfound knowledge.
Puller continues to write new and inspiring stories, including her most recent novel, The Lost Things Club, using her background as an artist, educator, and researcher.
To read some of Puller’s publications, check out her portfolio.