Research

Research in the Weatherton lab focuses on students' use and perceptions of academic resources. We define a resource as any person, place, or object that a student uses to achieve an academic goal. That means that students have access to MANY different resources and they must constantly make decisions about which resource(s) to use for each academic task they're undertaking. This is a lot of decisions! And proficiency in making those decisions likely takes time to develop as students learn more about what they need to do to succeed in their courses, what works for them, and as they gain experience over time.

As a field, we know very little about what factors drive these processes (is it experience? social context?) and how resource use variation among students might relate to extant academic disparities (e.g., what if variation in resource use is contributing to differences in STEM persistence?). Scholars in our lab seek to explore these questions using a combination of qualitative, quantiative, and mixed-methods approaches.

Below, we've outlined some of the major questions we're working on, but there is always room for novel questions and approaches in our lab - reach out if you're interested in learning more!

Figure from Weatherton & Aikens, 2026

Characterizing existing variation in students’ resource use patterns

We know that variation exsists in which resources students are using - ask 10 students how they study for an exam, and you'll get 10 different answers! Research in this area seeks to collect data on that variation and evaluate whether there are overarching patterns within those data. Furthermore, we want to explore the outcomes of that variation - are there some patterns of resource use that are "better"? Which patterns are related to higher course grades, or higher science identity?

Papers that we've published under this line of work include: Weatherton & Aikens, 2026; Weatherton & Schussler, 2022; Weatherton et al., in revision

What drives students to use different resources?

Once you realize how much resource use varies among students, you might naturally start wondering why does this happen? Great question! We see resource use as an outcome of a much larger help-seeking process, and within this process students' decisions are impacted by a ton of factors: their metacognitive knowledge, previous experiences, identity and sense of belonging, and their expectations and values. Research in this area seeks to understand the extent to which each of those factors impacts students' choices, and whether there are consistent patterns for certain types of resources (e.g., we know that students who are less confident are less likely to ask their instructors for help, because it's nerve-wracking!)

Papers that we've published under this line of work include: Weatherton et al., 2023; Silva & Weatherton, in review; Von der Mehden & Weatherton, in prep.

Figure from Dr. Silva's 2026 SABER presentation

Exploring specific resources and contexts

In the two other areas of our work, we are looking at academic resources broadly; that encompasses everything from YouTube videos to the textbook to classmates. Sometimes, it's easier to just focus on one of these resources and really dig deep. That's what we do in this line of work.

We have several in-progress projects happening under this line of work! Keep your eyes peeled for forthcoming publications.

Non-Focal Areas of Research

While resources are our jam, we dabble in many other areas of biology education research.

Critically examining hegemony in higher education

When you think about 'success' in higher education, what do you think about? Where do those ideas come from, and do they capture the reality of students' goals? I have previous argued that current definitions of success uphold cultural hegemony, and found that prevailing definitions do not match those of life science graduate students. I've recently published work that identifies solutions for how to address systemic biases related to definitions of success in higher education.

Exploring student anxiety in STEM classrooms

In collaboration with Drs. Elisabeth Schussler and Joshua Rosenberg, I am part of a team that seeks to understand 1) how student anxiety in Introductory Biology changes over time, 2) how levels of anxiety impact students' perceptions of their instructor, and 3) what characteristics of instructor behavior can ameliorate anxiety.

Student perceptions of culturally-relevant biological topics

I have previous worked with Dr. Mali Hubert to explore Introductory Biology students' perceptions of anthropogenic disturbances, like wildfires and urbanization; and through my own teaching, I am currently exploring how students percieve culturally-relevant topics in Evolution courses.

A new collaboration?!

Interested in seeing your project on this list? I am always interested in collaboration opportunities, so please email me and I'd be happy to discuss!

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