Educational Background

B.S. – University of Nebraska at Omaha, 1994

M.A. – University of Nebraska Graduate School, 2000

Ph.D. – Pennsylvania State University, 2004

Post Doc – Carnegie Mellon University

Area(s) of Research

• Lexical learning
• Acquisition of expertise

Certification(s)

Bar-On EQi

SBIRT

NIH Protecting Human Subjects

Publication(s)

-Webb, P., Arkenberg, M.E…Judon-Monk, S. (2019) A Comparative Assessment of Darkness in the Ebony Tower: Perceptions of Campus Crimes in HBCU Settings Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice.

-Kanoy, K. & Arkenberg, M.E. (2015). Emotional Intelligence. Why EI is a Critical Life Skill (Workbook for 8th Graders)©, Developed for Charlotte Latin School.
– Nelson, K.E., & Arkenberg, M.E. (2008). Developmental, cognitive, and interactional underpinnings of language and reading from a Dynamic Systems perspective. In M. Mody and E.R. Sillman (Eds.), Language impairment and reading disability: Interactions among brain, behavior, and experience. New York: Guilford.
– Nelson, K. E., Craven, P. L., Xuan, Y., & Arkenberg, M. E. (2004). Acquiring art, spoken language, sign language, and text; Developmental and evolutionary observations from a Dynamic Tricky Mix theoretical perspective. In J. Hudson, R. Fivush, P. Bauer, & M. Lucariello (Eds.), The development of the mediated mind: Sociocultural context and cognitive development. Lawrence Erlbaum: Mahwah, NJ.
– Nittrouer, S., Miller (Arkenberg), M. E., Crowther, C. S., & Manhart, M. J. (2000). The effect of segmental order on fricative labeling by children and adults. Perception and Psychophysics, 62, 266-284.
– Nittrouer, S. & Miller (Arkenberg), M. E. (1999). The development of phonemic coding strategies for serial recall. Applied Psycholinguistics, 20, 563-588.
– Nittrouer, S., Crowther, C. S., & Miller (Arkenberg), M. E. (1998). The relative weighting of acoustic properties in the perception of [s]+stop clusters by children and adults. Perception and Psychophysics, 60, 51-64.
– Nittrouer, S. & Miller (Arkenberg), M. E. (1997). Predicting developmental shifts in perceptual weighting schemes. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 101, 2253-2266.
– Nittrouer, S., & Miller (Arkenberg), M. E. (1997). Developmental weighting shifts for noise components of fricative-vowel syllables. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 102, 572-580.
– French, J. A., Schaffner, C. M., Shepherd, R. E., & Miller (Arkenberg), M. E. (1995). Familiarity with intruders modulates agonism toward outgroup conspecifics in Wied’s black tufted-ear marmoset (Callithrix kuhli). Ethology, 9, 24-38.

Presentations

– Arkenberg, M.E. (2016) The strategy of dropping out. Invited talk presented at the William Peace University 2016 Faculty Opening Session, August 10.
– Arkenberg, M.E. (2016). Engaging disengaged students. Shaw University Workshop Series, May 11.
– Arkenberg, M.E. (2015). End of semester assessments: What to do and how to do it. Shaw University Workshop Series, December 4.
– Arkenberg, M.E. (2015). Academic Syndromes (and what to do when you see them). Shaw University New Faculty Development Brown Bag Colloquium, October 8.
– Arkenberg, M.E. (2015). Successfully maneuvering the promotion process at Shaw University. Shaw University Opening Session, August 6.
– Nelson, K.E., Khan, K., Arkenberg, M.E., Heimann, M., Rudner, M., Ronnenberg, Tjus, T., & Craven, P. (2015). Lessons for educational designs from Dynamic-Systems inspired experimental studies of high acceleration of learning in diverse domains. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development biennial conference, Philadelphia, PA, March 19 – March 22.
– Arkenberg, M.E. (2016). What social-emotional development is and how to “foster”it. Invited talk presented to the City of Raleigh Foster Grandparent Program, October, 14.
– Arkenberg, M.E. (2014). Bestselling picture books: should parents buy them? How vocabulary and syntax measure up. Poster presented at the XIII International Congress for the Study of Child Language, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, July 14 -1 8.
– Arkenberg, M.E. (2013). How dogs, kids, and college students learn new “tricks”: What Dynamic Tricky Mix Theory and child language learning can tell us about teaching. Poster presented at the International Society for the Study of Teaching and Learning, October 2-5.
– Kanoy, K., & Arkenberg, M.E. (2013). When and how can we expect students to learn emotional intelligence if we don’t teach it? Poster to be presented at the International Society for the Study of Teaching and Learning, October 2-5.
– Arkenberg, M.E. (2012). How to teach dogs, kids, and college students new “tricks”. Invited talk presented at the William Peace University Lunch and Learn Series, November 7.
– Arkenberg, M.E., & Newhouse, W. (2012). Ghosts and values: How ethical decision making haunts our curriculum. Paper presented at the 9th Annual Elon University Teaching and Learning Conference, August 16.
– Arkenberg, M.E., Kanoy, K., & Nuesell, J. (2011). Retention and academic performance for First-Generation and Low-Income students: the good, the bad and the (not so) ugly. Poster presented at the 7th Annual CIC-CLA Pathways Conference, Pittsburgh PA, August 1-2.
– Cain, W.J., Arkenberg, M.E., Jones, C.P., Bobbie, C.M., & Aldrich, H. (2011). Friends and foes: Homeless women’s peer memories. Poster presented at the annual meetings for the Association for Psychological Science, Washington, D.C.
– Simuel, J.C., et al. (2011). A picture is worth a 1000 words: Vocabulary and syntax in children’s picture books. Poster presented at the 2011 National Conference for Undergraduate Research, Ithaca, New York, March 31-April 2.
– Hageman, I., Arkenberg, M.E., & the CHD363 Class (2010). Perceptions of the dangers of 3rd-hand smoke. Presented at the 2010 National Conference for Undergraduate Research, Missoula, Montana, April 15-17.
– Arkenberg, M.E., Greeno, J.G., & MacWhinney, B. (2009). How teachers talk: Revoicing and children’s emerging understanding of symmetry. Poster presented at the Sixth Biennial Meeting of the Cognitive Development Society, San Antonio, Texas, October 16-17.
– Arkenberg, M.E., & MacWhinney, B. (2009). The role of conversational questions in children’s vocabulary learning. Poster presented at the Sixth Biennial Meeting of the Cognitive Development Society, San Antonio, Texas, October 16-17.
– Arkenberg, M.E., MacWhinney, B., Bryner, R., & Ydstie, C. (2008). The relation between question-asking and expressive vocabulary in low- and middle-income families. Poster presented at the XIth International Congress for the Study of Child Language, Edinburgh, UK, July 28–August 1.
– Nelson. K. & Arkenberg, M. (2007). Boom-Shoom! Ka-Pow-Kak! Zer-Whoosh! Whapp-Snapp! The theory and practice of vocabulary explosions. Poster presented at the Child Language Seminar 30th Anniversary, University of Reading, Reading, U.K. July 18-20.
– Arkenberg, M.E., & Nelson, K.E. (2006). The words of experts. Paper presented at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomics Society, Houston, TX, November 16-19.
– Arkenberg, M.E., Nelson, K.E., Xuan, Y., & Feld, I. (2005). The ups and downs of children’s acquisition of new words. Paper presented at the Xth International Congress for the Study of Child Language, Berlin, Germany, July 25–29.
– Nelson, K.E., Arkenberg, M.E., Xuan, Y., & Feld, I. (2005). Rates and patterns of syntax acquisition by children with Specific Language Impairment and by children with typical language levels. Paper to be presented at the Xth International Congress for the Study of Child Language, Berlin, Germany, July 25–29.
– Nelson, K.E., Arkenberg, M.E., & Xuan, Y. (2005). Children’s progress in communicative domains: explanations within a Dynamic Tricky Mix theoretical perspective. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child Development biennial conference, Atlanta, GA, April 7 – April 10.
– Arkenberg, M.E., Nelson, K.E., Xuan, Y., & Craven, P.L. (2003). A microgenetic study on children’s word learning. Poster presented at Cognitive Development Society 2003 biannual conference, Park City, Utah.
– Nelson, K.E., Arkenberg, M.E. Mendez, K., Feldman, J., Xuan, Y. & Craven, P.L. (2003). Children’s accelerated vocabulary development in response to conversational language intervention. Poster presented at Cognitive Development Society 2003 biannual conference, Park City, UT.
– Xuan, Y., Nelson, K.E., Arkenberg, M.E., & Craven, P.L. (2003). An intervention study using conversational recasting. Poster presented at Cognitive Development Society 2003 biannual conference, Park City, UT.
– Arkenberg, M. E., & Mendez, K.M. (2003). Converging dynamic factors in children’s novel word-learning: A theory of lexical expertise. Poster presented at 2003 Society for Research in Child Development biannual conference, Tampa, FL.
– Nelson, K.E., Arkenberg, M.E., & Craven, P.L. (2003). The language acquisition rollercoaster: High acceleration, zero acceleration, & everything in-between. Poster presented at 2003 Society for Research in Child Development biannual conference, Tampa, FL.
– Nelson, K. E., Lauck, G., Xuan, Y., Craven, P. L. & Arkenberg, M. E. (2002). Acquisition of passive sentence structures by children during intervention and under naturalistic conditions. Paper presented at the joint conference of the 9th International Congress for the Study of Child Language and the Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders, Madison, WI.
– Nelson, K. E., Welsh, J., Xuan, Y., Arkenberg, M. E., Craven, P. L., & Camarata, S. M. (2002). A dynamic systems account of when children do and do not progress in semantic and syntactic development. Paper presented at the joint conference of the 9th International Congress for the Study of Child Language and the Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders, Madison, WI.
– Arkenberg, M. E. & Ryalls, B.O. (2002). The role of phonological sensitivity and phonological memory in vocabulary development. Poster presented at the Conference on Human Development, Charlotte, NC.
– Arkenberg, M. E. (2002). Individual differences in word learning: The role of phonological sensitivity and phonological memory. Paper presented at the 5th annual Developmental Psychology Colloquium, University Park, PA.
– Nelson, K. E., Craven, P. L., Xuan, Y., & Arkenberg, M. E. (2001). Treating Specific Language Impairment within a dynamic systems framework. Poster presented at the 2nd meeting of the Cognitive Development Society, Virginia Beach, VA.
– Nittrouer, S., & Miller (Arkenberg), M.E., (1999). Developmental changes in perceptual weighting strategies for speech are contrast specific. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 106, S2246.
– Nittrouer, S., Miller (Arkenberg), M.E., & Crowther, C.S. (1998). Children’s perceptual weighting strategies for speech are not as flexible as adults. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 104, S1835.
– Miller (Arkenberg), M. E. & Nittrouer, S. (1997). Acoustic differences between syllable-initial [f] and [th]. Poster presented at the 134th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, San Diego, CA.
– Hendricks, S. E., Yells, D. P., Balogh, S., Prendergast, M. A., Miller (Arkenberg), M., Rosa-Molinar, E., Jacques, D., Paige, S., & Fitzpatrick, D. (1996). Monoaminergic manipulations and sexual behavior: A human-rat comparative study. Poster presented at the Conference on Reproductive Behavior, East Lansing, MI.
– Yells, D. P., Hendricks, S. E., Prendergast, M. A., Wieseler, J., & Miller (Arkenberg), M. (1994). Lesions of the nucleus paragigantocellularis diminish the effects of a DA antagonist but not a 5-HT1B agonist on male rat sexual behavior. Poster presented at the Conference on Reproductive Behavior, Bethlehem, PA.
– Yells, D. P., Hendricks, S. E., Miller (Arkenberg), M., Prendergast, M. A., & Nakamura, M. (1993). Effects of amantadine on pharmacologically-induced suppression of male rat copulatory behavior. Poster presented at the 126th meeting for the Society for Neuroscience, Washington, D.C.

SAU Campus Organizations

• Faculty Assembly Vice-Moderator
• Vice Chair of Institutional Review Board
• Chair of Academic Program Assessment

Community Involvement

Durham School of the Arts PTA

Favorite Quote

A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck.