Education Research by Domain

With 20 education research faculty across multiple STEM departments, the RiSE Center conducts research in multiple domains, including:

Instructional Strategies and Active Learning

Research in this domain includes uses of clickers in University and K-12 classrooms, trends in active learning strategies observed through a campus-wide classroom observation program, studies of peer-led team learning and undergraduate learning assistants, and design and study of analogies-based laboratory activities for teaching chemistry.

Knowledge for Teaching

Research in this domain includes investigations of knowledge for assessment, content knowledge and knowledge of student ideas, knowledge of pedagogical strategies, orientations toward science teaching, and specialized content knowledge.

Pre-Service Teacher Preparation and Professional Development

Research in this domain includes studies of pre-service STEM teacher preparation for undergraduate and graduate students and studies of professional development for K-12 science and mathematics teachers.

Student Learning, Student Ideas, and Metacognition

Research in this domain includes a wide variety of studies into student ideas and student learning across multiple STEM disciplines, including physics, engineering, chemistry, earth sciences, biology, marine sciences, mathematics, statistics, and data literacy. Additional topics investigated within this domain include: the role of metacognition in student learning, the role of emotion in student learning, and the nature of perceptual learning.