University of Virginia | United States
Kristyn Wilson is a researcher and practitioner whose work centers on teacher preparation, mixed-reality simulation, feedback systems, and the evolving structures of educator pathways. Her scholarship investigates novice teachers’ learning experiences, the design and implementation of simulations, and institutional responses to shifting licensure and preparation demands. She has authored peer-reviewed publications in leading outlets such as AERA Open, Review of Educational Research, Journal of Educational Psychology, and Teachers College Record, contributing influential work on approximations of practice, coaching effectiveness, simulated caregiver conversations, and the language of teacher feedback. Her research pipeline includes multiple manuscripts under review and in preparation that examine program proliferation, provisional licensure routes, and within-institution variation in educator preparation. Wilson has been recognized with numerous distinctions, including the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, the Brenda Loyd Holliday Award, Best Poster honors, Best Paper finalist designation, and several competitive grants and fellowships supporting her research and conference participation. As a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Virginia, she contributes to large-scale, multi-institution projects evaluating statewide literacy initiatives, ELA curriculum shifts, and the potential of AI-supported tools to enhance teaching feedback, collaborating with principal investigators from UVA, Brown University’s Annenberg Institute, and Stanford University. Her academic experience includes extensive instructional roles across undergraduate and graduate programs, instructional coaching for teaching difficult histories, and leadership in program assessment, rubric development, accreditation preparation, curriculum mapping, and course alignment. She has presented her work widely at national, regional, and institutional conferences, including AERA, AACTE, AEFP, VACTE, SITE, and multiple UVA research convenings, and has delivered invited talks to K–12 school divisions, university faculty, and international delegations. Wilson has also contributed public scholarship through published opinion pieces in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Her service includes conference reviewing for major national organizations, manuscript reviewing for multiple journals, committee leadership for the Hunter Student Research Conference, and extensive involvement with the Morehead-Cain Scholarship selection process.
Profile: Orcid
Featured Publications
Wilson, K., Cohen, J., & Erickson, S. (2025). Teacher candidates’ experiences with mixed reality simulations: Variations by task, support, and mode of delivery. AERA Open.
Cohen, J., Yonas, A., & Wilson, K. (2025). Approximating teaching: A systematic review of the research. Review of Educational Research.
Cohen, J., Wong, V., Liu, P., Wilson, K., & Yonas, A. (2025). Practice does not make perfect: Experimental evidence on the effectiveness of coaching beginning teachers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 117(7), 1137–1177.
Wilson, K., & Yonas, A. (2024). In search of deliberate practice: Simulating teaching in three teacher education programs. Teachers College Record, 126(9), 47–89.