Scaling Up STEM learning with the VCL        

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The Team

Our team of researchers includes:

Dr. Sarah Stein - Principal Investigator
Research Interests/Bio: Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at North Carolina State University, and teaches media production as well as criticism and theories of mediated communication. Her scholarly emphasis is in the integration of technology in education, in particular the cultural barriers toward adoption of new technologies and the communication conceptual frameworks and strategies that lead to successful use of technology in pedagogical practices. She is also a Media Studies scholar, with interests in visual communication, gender, and the rhetorical constructions used by technology advertising, and to contemporary popular attitudes toward abundance and rhetorics of immortality.

Dr. Eric Wiebe - Co-Principal Invesigator
Dr. Wiebe is an Associate Professor in Science and Technology Education in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education and Senior Research Fellow at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at NC State University. The focus of his research is on looking at multi-modal communication of scientific and technical information and in the design and evaluation of innovative uses of computing technologies in STEM instructional settings. Since the integration of these technology tools are essential for their effective use, research with instructional technologies is also being pursued at large scales, looking at how specific technologies influence teaching and learning at the classroom and school level and how schools and teachers could change practice to maximize the potential of these new technologies.

Dr. Karen Hollebrands - Co-Principal Investigator
Research Interests/Bio: Associate Professor of Mathematics Education in the Math, Science & Technology Education Department at North Carolina State University. Dr. Hollebrands research interests include: Understanding students' mathematical understandings in technological contexts; Investigating the use of dynamic geometry software programs in the teaching and learning of mathematics; Preparing pre-service and in-service teachers to incorporate technology into classroom instruction.

Dr. Henry Schaffer - Co- Principal Investigator
Research Interests/Bio: Professor Emeritus of Genetics and Biomathematics at North Carolina State University. Coordinator of Special IT Projects & Faculty Collaboration/OIT.

Jennifer Ware - Graduate Research Assistant
Research Interests/Bio: PhD candidate in the Communication, Rhetoric, & Digital Media Program at North Carolina State University. Jennifer's research interests include exploring technological integration in educational environments, rhetorical strategies in technology implementation, visual communication, and multi-modal composition.

Charity Cayton - Research Associate
Research Interests/Bio: PhD in Mathematics Education from the Mathematics, Science & Technology Education Department at North Carolina State University. Charity's research interests include: discourse and interactions in mathematics classrooms; students' use of technology while learning mathematics; and teachers use and implementation of technology while teaching mathematics.

 

  Lindsay Patterson - Graduate Research Assistant
Research Interests/Bio: Lindsay's research interests include: facilitating continuing education for classroom teachers in pedagogy and content knowledge.

Johanne Laboy: Graduate Research Assistant
Research Interests/Bio: PhD student in the Communication, Rhetoric, & Digital Media Program at North Carolina State University. Johanne's research interests include exploring the intersections of communication, digital media, and healthcare sciences within underserved populations, especially low-income Hispanics.

Ethan Boehm - Graduate Research Assistant
Research Interests/Bio: Former classroom mathematics teacher in North Carolina and Morocco. Masters student in Mathematics Education in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Department at North Carolina State University. Ethan's research interests include dynamic geometry, mathematical discourse, and technology in secondary math classrooms.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0929543. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.