The direct involvement of students in conducting experiments in order to learn science has been a common part of U.S. educational practice since the late 19th century, the result of the rapid spread of what was known as the "laboratory method" of teaching. Those promoting the laboratory method recognized it as a new educational approach,…

Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have become more commonly incorporated in laboratory courses in undergraduate education. Because CUREs incorporate research within the context of a course, the benefits of mentored research (self-efficacy, science identity, persistence, and more) are extended to each student enrolled. CUREs…

The under-representation of women in undergraduate science courses is well-documented. One significant challenge is that women may both perceive and receive less recognition from their science peers about their abilities as scientists than men. Here we investigate the presence and nature of such gender biases in peer recognition in the discipline…

There is a dominant Discourse that juxtaposes science and Black cultures. This Discourse limits who can be a scientist and creates a racist, seemingly objective landscape in which Black individuals must persevere. This study examines how Black learners perceive their developing racial, scientific, and positional identities within a Black-centered…

This study investigated how the figured world of the RET, and other figured worlds of science that teacher's experience, impacted their conceptions around the nature of science and their identities in science and as science teachers. The main premise behind RET programs is that by partnering science teachers with scientists as mentors, science…

Data science, as a discipline can be used in any area. However, in order to utilize data science techniques, data scientist must be taught domain knowledge, referred to as a partner discipline, in the area with which the techniques are to be utilized. Using a quantitative analysis of publicly available information and survey methodology, this…

Recent calls in education have emphasized the critical need for curricula in the sciences to support student development of the general and disciplinary-specific practices that are relevant to modern scientific research and careers, as well as foundational scientific knowledge that reflects recent advances. In this regard, the life sciences,…

One way to bring about change in higher education is to introduce professional development programs for higher education, however these programs have been found to be ineffective at promoting positive change for individuals and departments. To address the need for better programs, I worked on two projects: one project attempts to identify a way to…

There is little attention and consensus in science education for gifted learners, leading to insufficient support and understanding of their needs, which hinders their potential development as future scientists and professionals. Utilizing a narrative research design, the study explores the experiences of nine scientists identified as gifted in…

This dissertation features a set of three sub-studies situated within a larger Critical Participatory Ethnography investigating how participatory science unfolds between youth and scientists to address issues of marine plastic pollution. Collectively the papers provide insights into how to navigate the slippery, but necessary, terrain of teaching…

High school science teachers require increased skills in science research literacy, so that their students develop research competencies in the classroom (Evans, Warning, & Christodoulou, 2017; Udompong, Traiwichitkhun, & Wongwanich, 2014). For teachers to promote a scientific atmosphere, literature points to training that fosters…

Limited research has been done on the implementation of experiential learning to align with science and engineering practices. This research project developed an instrumental case study to examine the efficacy of an experiential education framework for teaching and learning water science and engineering practices in the elementary science…

The field of biology is becoming increasingly fragmented, and this fragmentation spills over into the ways our students think and learn about biology. Biology education policy documents stress the importance of teaching biology in an integrated manner and call for the biology education research community to establish a unifying paradigm for the…

Science communication can share liberatory ideas or reproduce dominant narratives, perpetuating marginalization (Freire, 2018). Currently, science communication efforts tend to advantage privileged and dominant groups of people (e.g., white, male, cis, heterosexual, non-disabled, neurotypical, affluent) (Canfield & Menezes, 2020; Medin &…

One of the most challenging things a professor of science in a college setting deals with is the apprehension of students toward the very idea of science and scientists. This feeling of science anxiety does not appear to be limited by nation or culture and is often spread across all ages of students. The concept of "science is hard" is…