Physics Education Research

I worked with Professor Tim McKay at the University of Michigan on various topics related to Physics Education Research.

My work primarily focused on two areas:
1) Modifying the undergraduate physics lab curriculum
2) Integration of computation into the undergraduate physics curriculum

A team of graduate students and I–dubbed the Developers of Instruction, Assessment, and Lessons/Labs for Undergraduate Physics (DIALUP) team–have been revamping the undergraduate physics labs in a process we call “Curriculum Maintenance.”
-In the Winter 2018 term, the team developed a suite of new computational labs for Calculus-based Introductory Electricity and Magnetism.
-In the Fall 2018 semester, a new group is modifying the current suite of Calculus-based Introductory Mechanics labs, giving them explicit Learning Goals and modifying the assessments to match these Learning Goals.

My research has focused on interviewing faculty and graduate student instructors to determine their attitudes and beliefs regarding the utility of computation in the physics classroom. I looked at how physics instructors’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge develops and evolves. This work is being conducted in collaboration with Professor Danny Caballero at Michigan State University.