Maine Center for Research in STEM Education

2018

2017

2016

• Gregory Kranich (May 2016) – Physics – Inconsistent Conceptions of Acceleration Contributing to Formative Assessment Limitations
• Justin Lewin (May 2016) – Generalist (Life Sciences) – A Campus-wide Investigation of University-level Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Instruction: The Status of Clicker Use and Peer Discussion
• Rachel (Short) Martin (May 2016) – Generalist (Life Sciences) – Discussion in Middle and High School Earth Science Classrooms and Its Impact on Students’ Abilities to Construct Evidence-Based Arguments in Their Written Work
• Jen Tyne (May 2016) – Mathematics – Calculus Students’ Reasoning About Slope and Derivative as Rates of Change
• Marina Van der Eb (May 2016) – Generalist (Physical Sciences) – Evaluation of the Collaborative Design Process and Classroom Implementation of a Place-Relevant Lesson in Ninth Grade Earth Science Classrooms

2015

• Sundance Campbell (May 2015) – Mathematics – College Student Difficulties with Applied Optimization Problems in Introductory Calculus
• Joshua Case (August 2015) – Mathematics – Calculus Students’ Understanding of Logical Implication and its Relationship to their Understanding of Calculus Theorems
• Jonathan Dumont (May 2015) – Generalist (Life Sciences) – Analysis of Struggling Student Performance in Response to Academic Intervention
• Daniel Laverty (May 2015) – Generalist (Physical Sciences) –  Investigating Teachers’ Content Knowledge and Pedogogical Content Knowledge in a Middle School Physical Science Curriculum on Force and Motion
• Ryan Weatherbee (May 2015) – Generalist (Marine Sciences) – Cross-Sectional Assessment of Student Content Knowledge in an Undergraduate Marine Science Program

2014

• Zachary Batz (August 2014) – Generalist (Mathematics/Biology) – Reaching Struggling Introductory Biology Students with a Targeted Peer Tutoring Program
• Dan Bragdon (May 2014) – Mathematics – University Students’ Graph Interpretation and Comprehension Abilities
• Shawn Firouzian (August 2014 – MST/MA) – Mathematics – Correlations Between Students’ Multiple Ways of Thinking About the Derivative and their Abilities to Solve Applied Derivative Problems
• Kalee (Gurschick) Gwarjanski (May 2014) – Generalist (Physics & Mathematics) – Paying Attention to Theory in Science Classroom Argumentation
• Jon Janelle (May 2014) – Mathematics – Proof Conceptions of College Calculus Students
• Kendra Michaud (August 2014) – Generalist (Physics & Mathematics) – Using Personal Response Devices as a Method to Study Visitor Experience at Informal Science Learning Environments

2013

• Evan Chase (May 2013) – Generalist (Physics/Mathematics) – Investigating physics students’ simultaneous use of gestures & speech to describe multiple quantities of a vertically-tossed ball
• Adi Levy Conlogue (May 2013) – Mathematics – Students’ Understanding of Recursion: When Do They Use It and Why?
• Mary Jean (MJ) Jones (August 2013) – Generalist (Life & Physical Sciences) – An Assessment of Ninth Graders’ Use of Graphs and Explanations to Communicate Scientific Ideas
• Levi Lucy (December 2013) – Physics – Correlations Between Students Performance on Assessments and Teachers’ Knowledge of Students and Energy
• Nitisha Mitchell (August 2013) – Generalist (Life Sciences) – Student Understanding of Cardiovascular Physiology: The Relationship Between Pressure, Flow, and Resistance
• Sarah Rizzo (May 2013) – Mathematics – College students’ understanding of geometric transformations
• Kara Soule (May 2013) – Generalist (Life & Physical Sciences) – Assessing and enhancing student understanding of carbon cycling in organisms
• Ashley Young (May 2013) – Generalist (Life & Physical Sciences) – Teachers’ Understandings of Inquiry and Reported Use of Scientific Practices: A Survey of NTSA Conference Attendees

2012

• Rabindra Bajracharya (December 2012) – Physics – Student Understanding of Definite Integrals with Relevance to Physics Using Graphical Representations
• Elizabeth Burroughs (May 2012) – Generalist (Biology/Math) – The Astrobiology Project: Effects on Students’ Science Aspirations and Achievement, and an Analysis of Self-Handicapping Behavior
• Allison Dorko (May 2012) – Mathematics Calculus Students’ Understanding of Area and Volume in Non-calculus Contexts
• Virginia Flood (December 2012) – Chemistry – A Phenomenological Approach to Understanding the Role of Bodily Activity in Chemical Imagining. Currently a PhD student at UC Berkeley.

2011

• Katie Clegg (December 2011) – Life Science – Assessing Middle and High School Students’ Conceptual Understanding about Photosynthesis
• Erik K. DaSilva (May 2011) – General Science – Procedural Skills — The Missing Link in Ninth Graders’ Comprehension of Geography’s Influence on Climate
• Maggie L. Hutchinson (May 2011) – General Science – College Chemistry Students Understanding and Application of the Relationship between Algebra and Stoichiometry
• Casey E. Murphy (May 2011) – General Science – Answer-Seeking and Idea-Constructing During Collaborative Active-Learning Activities in a Physics Laboratory
• John Stahley (May 2011) – Mathematics – Students’ Qualitative Understanding of the Relationship between the Graph of a Function and the Graphs of Its Derivatives

2010

• William L. Hall Jr. (August 2010) – Mathematics – Language and Area: Influences on Student Understanding of Integration

2009

• Molly Harris (May 2009) – General Science – Investigation into the Effectiveness of an Inquiry-Based Curriculum in an Introductory Biology Laboratory
• Mindi Kvaal Anderson (August 2009) – Physics – Comparing the Effectiveness of Three Unique Research Based Tutorials for Introducing Newton’s Second Law
• Megan McOsker (August 2009) – General Science – Student Understanding of Error and Variability in Primary Science Communication
• Danielle Miniutti (May 2009) – General Science – Assessing Impacts of the Aquatic Invaders in Maine (AIM) Workshop on Inquiry Pedagogy and Student Learning
• Lisa Schultz (August 2009) – Earth Science – Understanding the Greenhouse Effect Using a Computer Model
• Kate McCann (August 2009) – Physics

2008

• Karen Abbey (December 2008) – Mathematics – Students’ Understanding of Deriving Properties of a Function’s Graph from the Sign Chart of the First Derivative
• Glen Davenport (August 2008) – Physics – The Reliability of the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation
• Ashley (Graves) Smith (August 2008) – Mathematics – An Investigation into the Effectiveness of Web-Based College Algebra in Conceptual and Procedural Mathematics Knowledge
• Bhupendra Nagpure (August 2008) – Physics – The Effects of Reasoning about Vector Components on Student Understanding of Two-Dimensional Acceleration
• Joel Van Deventer (August 2008) – Physics – Comparing Student Performance on Isomorphic Math and Physics Vector Representations
• Adam Zukowski (August 2008) – Mathematics – Attitude and Learning at Upward Bound in the Field of Statistics

2007

• Glenn Colby (August 2007) – Mathematics – Students’ Epistemological Beliefs of Mathematics When Taught Using Traditional Versus Reform Curricula in Rural Maine High Schools
• Roger Feeley (May 2007) – Physics – Identifying Student Concepts of Gravity
• Matthew Leland (May 2007) – Chemistry – Using Analogical Models in Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory Courses to Improve Student Understanding of Beer’s Law
• Danielle Martin (December 2007) – Earth Science – Student Understanding of Groundwater Concepts in Two Undergraduate Geology Courses
• Zachary McIntyre (August 2007) – Mathematics – An Analysis of Variable Misconceptions before and after Various Collegiate Level Mathematics Courses
• Jonathon Moyer (May 2007) – Biology – A Comparative Study of How High School Students Understand Stem Cells
• Elliot Rappaport (December 2007) – Earth Science – Understanding Weather: Phase Changes of Water in the Atmosphere
• Daniel Reed (August 2007) – Physics – Evaluating Factors Contributing to Engineering Technology Students’ Introductory Physics Experience
• Trevor I. Smith (May 2007) – Physics – Comparing the Effectiveness of Research-based Curricula for Teaching Introductory Mechanics
• Medea Steinman (May 2007) – General Science – Using Online Data to Teach Science Skills to Middle School Students

2006

• Dina Blodgett (May 2006) – Mathematics – The Effects of Implementing an Interactive Student Response System in a College Algebra Classroom
• Kathleen Knight (May 2006) – Mathematics – An Investigation into the Change in the Van Hiele Levels of Understanding Geometry of Pre-service Elementary and Secondary Mathematics Teachers
• David Nelson (August 2006) – Physics – Effect of a Concentrated In-service Elementary Teacher Force and Motion Workshop
• Michael O’Brien (May 2006) – Physics – An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Physics First in Maine
• Karen Snyder (May 2006) – Mathematics – Roles of Students and Instructors in a Pilot Computer-based College Algebra Course
• Adrienne Traxler (May 2006) – Astronomy – Assessment and Modification of an Introductory Astronomy Laboratory Lesson on Astronomical Time-keeping
• Emily (Klinger) Jacesko (May 2006) – Earth Science
• Jonathon Pratt (December 2006) – General Science

2005

• James Cohen (August 2005) – Astronomy – Student Ideas about the Moon and its Phases and the Impact of a Real 3D Model of the Sun/Earth/Moon System in an Introductory Astronomy Laboratory Course
• Katherine Menchen (August 2005) – Physics – Investigations of Student Understanding of Sound Propogation and Resonance
• Michael Murphy (December 2005) – Physics – Measuring the Effects of Mathematics Instruction in a Physics Classroom with Mathematics and Physics Diagnostics
• Jessica Odell (August 2005) – General Science – Student Understanding of Conservation of Energy and Mass in Introductory University Science Courses
• Eleanor Sayre (August 2005) – Physics – Advanced Students’ Resource Selection in Nearly-Novel Situations

2003

Jeffrey Owen (December 2003) – Earth Science – Design, Implementation and Assessment of an Earth Systems Science Course for Secondary Teachers