Research in Science Education seeks to understand teaching and learning in the sciences with the goal of improving it. This can take the form of examining the scientific reasoning skills and content knowledge of students at any level (K-12, undergraduate, or graduate) as well as assessing teaching methods. In MCB, faculty are focusing on several areas. These include improving training of science teachers in secondary schools, rigorously analyzing undergraduate and graduate student learning in biology, and assessing the success (or failure) of science outreach programs and teaching reforms. In order to be globally competitive, it is essential that future scientists and policy-makers, as well as the general population, have superior scientific training. It is therefore critical to determine, scientifically, how best to train students in science to achieve that goal.
Faculty with primary research interest: Corin Gray
Faculty with secondary research interest: Ingmar Riedel-Kruse