Mentors

Jessica Arlett is a physics education researcher. Her project examines whether students taking a physics lab course that emphasizes in-lab decision making are better able to make use of data and experimental observations to make appropriate experimental decisions. The VERSA fellow will conduct quantitative analysis of survey responses.

Stacey Brydges is a chemistry education researcher. 

Ivonne González-Gamboa studies nanoengineering and biology education. Her project focuses on the effects of a card game designed to teach first-year biology students about the size and scale of various biological objects. The VERSA fellow will analyze survey responses and identify patterns in how students reason about size and scale.

Bella Maita studies biology education. Her project focuses on the relationship between academic stress, uncertainty, and academic transparency. The VERSA fellows will analyze transcripts of student focus groups and student survey data for these ideas and their effects. (2 students)

Holly Okonkwo studies how Black undergraduate students navigate, construct, and expand their identities through participation in transdisciplinary computational learning environments. Using iterative design cycles, the VERSA fellow will co-develop and evaluate curriculum modules that integrate computing with the social sciences, art, and design. 

Melinda T. Owens studies biology education research. Her VERSA project focuses on whether and how college STEM faculty act on advice given by teaching and learning centers after their teaching is observed. The VERSA fellow will qualitatively and qualitatively analyze video-recordings of classrooms.

Katie Petrie is a biology education researcher. Her project will explore the relationship between student's views on social issues related to evolutionary biology and the changing social landscape. The VERSA fellow will conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis of survey responses.