Research interest focuses on virtual reality as a tool for developing empathetic and inclusive mindsets. She is also interested in the lived experience of hidden populations in engineering education and innovations for more inclusive pedagogies. Coley also co-leads two NSF-funded studies addressing diversity in university-affiliated makerspaces and the impact on the identity formation of underrepresented undergraduate engineering students, and, most recently, exploring the untapped potential of community college undergraduate engineering students and the factors impacting their decision making pathways.
