We know that active learning is better for student outcomes than traditional lecturing, but how do different forms of active learning compare? In this multi-institutional study, we  measure student collaboration networks, student learning on concept inventories, and student and instructor behaviors during class across four different active learning pedagogies in physics: Tutorials, Peer Instruction, ISLE, and SCALE-UP.

Presentations:

American Physical Society April Meeting (2024). 

Who is good at physics and why? In this body of work, I use social network analysis to investigate gender bias in students' recognition of strong physics peers and unpack mechanisms related to how this bias may arise. I also conduct a multi-institutional study directly comparing students' received peer recognition to their perceived peer recognition to inform the design of instructional interventions that mitigate recognition gaps.

Publications:

Bias in peer recognition does not explain differences in how men and women perceive recognition in undergraduate physics courses. (Submitted)

Do first impressions last? Investigating peer recognition across an introductory physics sequence. Physical Review Physics Education Research (2024).

Who and what gets recognized in peer recognition. Physical Review Physics Education Research (2024).

Introductory physics students’ recognition of strong peers: Gender and racial or ethnic bias differ by course level and context. Physical Review Physics Education Research (2022).

Presentations:

American Association of Physics Teachers Summer Meeting (2023). Invited talk.

American Physical Society April Meeting (2023). Contributed talk.

International Conference on Physics Education (2022). Contributed talk.

American Association of Physics Teachers Summer Meeting (2022). Contributed talk.

How does social embeddedness relate to student performance? My work on peer interactions leverages methods of social network analysis to understand (i) which kinds of students are most centrally positioned in their physics course's social community and (ii) how the number and types of peer interactions students engage in relates to their performance.

Publications:

What topics of peer interactions correlate with student performance in physics courses? European Journal of Physics (2024). 

Understanding interaction network formation across instructional contexts in remote physics courses. Physical Review Physics Education Research (2022).

Instructor interactions in traditional and nontraditional labs. Physical Review Physics Education Research (2022).

Examining the effects of lab instruction and gender composition on intergroup interaction networks in introductory physics labs. Physical Review Physics Education Research (2022).

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Presentations:

Physics Education Research Conference (2023). Invited talk.

American Association of Physics Teachers Winter Meeting (2022). Contributed talk.

American Physical Society April Meeting (2021). Contributed talk.

What kinds of knowledge do students expect to construct in inquiry-based physics labs? I use video data to qualitatively create a framework of such expectations and determine the role of lab instructors in shaping student framing. I also investigate the specific ways in which students respond to experimental data that conflicts with canonical physics models.

Publications:

Instructing nontraditional physics labs: Toward responsiveness to student epistemic framing. Physical Review Physics Education Research (2023).

Students’ varying responses to instructor prompts for frame shifts in physics labs. Proceedings of the Physics Education Research Conference (2022).

Not engaging with problems in the lab: Students’ navigation of conflicting data and models. Physical Review Physics Education Research (2021).

Problematizing in inquiry-based labs: how students respond to unexpected results. Proceedings of the Physics Education Research Conference (2020).

Presentations:

American Association of Physics Teachers Summer Meeting (2020). Contributed talk.

How do students handle what they do not know? In a mixed-methods study, I operationalize the construct of intellectual humility-the appropriate owning of one's intellectual limitations-to understand the ways in which undergraduate students view and address gaps in their physics knowledge.

Publications:

Exploring the introductory physics classroom through the lens of intellectual humility: Handling what you do not know. Physical Review Physics Education Research (2021).

Presentations:

American Association of Physics Teachers Summer Meeting (2019). Contributed talk.

American Physical Society March Meeting (2019). Contributed talk.