Our Research
Equity in STEM Education & Alternative Grading Practices
Our lab broadly studies ways to make science more accessible for undergraduate students. We have worked on studies related to increasing representation in curriculum through the introduction of counter-stereotypical scientists (e.g., LGBTQIA+, first-generation, scientists of color, etc.) (Ovid et al., 2024; Acosta-Parra et al., 2024; Costello et al., 2025) We also investigate the impact of alternative grading practices to increase autonomy and relatedness among students (Tripp et al., 2025).
Justice-Centered Science Curricula
An ongoing project in our lab is the creation of student and community co-authored justice-centered science case studies that examine the intersection of science and medicine with public health and advocacy (Elias et al., 2026). We are particularly interested in the growth of students' critical consciousness (Freire, 1970)—the ability to recognize systems of oppression and act in solidarity with those most affected.
Theoretical Frameworks in Discipline-Based Education Research
Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) is defined as interdisciplinary research that conceptualizes teaching and learning within a STEM discipline while considering the priorities, viewpoints, knowledge, and practices of that discipline. High-quality DBER brings in expertise from a specific STEM field, including its unique educational challenges, with broader insights from the science of teaching and learning (e.g., education, psychology, and cognitive science research).
Theoretical frameworks serve as critical guideposts in the design of DBER studies, enabling researchers to make sense of the complexity of particular phenomena. Yet, many DBER projects either do not engage with theoretical frameworks or rely primarily on positivistic lenses. We are currently examining this apparent paradox and exploring how DBER can be strengthened through more expansive frameworks that account for the multidimensionality of humans and learning.