Science and Mathematics Education Research Collaborative (SMERC)
The Science and Mathematics Education Research Collaborative (SMERC) is a multi-disciplinary group of faculty conducting research in physics, biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and mathematics education research. The group's mission is:
- To conduct discipline-based education research (DBER), assessment, and curriculum development at the highest levels of rigor, embodied by national dissemination (publications and presentations) and external funding.
- To serve as an agent for culture change in the College of Science toward evidence-based teaching practice.
The group runs a weekly journal club and monthly seminar series, open to all, and consults with faculty interested in incorporating research-based methods and assessment into their classrooms.
NEW! Tom Kim receives $40,000 CREATE Fellowship. Congratulations to SMERC member Tom Kim for his being awarded a $40,000 CREATE Fellowship for his proposal "Evaluation of spatial reasoning and its impact on learning in Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry." The Fellowship, awarded by the Michigan State University CREATE for STEM Institute (CREATE stands for "Collaborative Research for Educational Assessment and Teaching Environments") will fund Tom's sabbatical work during the 2012-2013 academic year, which he will conduct at Michigan State. (4/2012)
Explorations in Physics wins Science AwardThe first Science Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction has been awarded to Explorations in Physics (EiP), an activity-based course for non-science majors co-written by SMERC member Scott Franklin. More details about the award and EiP can be found in this accompanying Science essay and a separate story in RIT's News and Events. (1/2012)
Dina Newman named BEN Scholar. Congratulations to SMERC member Dina Newman for being named a 2011 BiosciEdNet (BEN) Scholar. BEN Scholars are leaders in biological sciences teaching and learning, with a passion for improving undergraduate education. Scholars receive a stipend and travel funds to share their research and development. Read the RIT news store here.(10/2011)
Collaborative Members
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Scott Franklin Research Projects: Rapid Assessment and Web Reports (RAWR), Variability of instructional techniques in Introductory Physics Classrooms |
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Thomas Kim Assistant Professor, Chemistry Research Projects: Enhancing learning in Biochemistry with concept maps, Student understanding of acids/bases across the chemistry curriculum |
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Dina Newman Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences Cognitive resources and barriers in understanding chromosome structure and behavior; consequences of textbook assumptions about student prior knowledge on learning; digital imaging vs. traditional microscopy
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Leslie Kate Wright Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences Research Projects: Cognitive issues in student understanding of biological processes, Research based tools for improving student understanding in cell and molecular biology |
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Robert Teese Professor, Physics Research Projects: physics education research and curriculum development. Director of the LivePhoto Physics project, developing video-analysis activities for introductory physics courses. He also leads the Teamworks project, which is developing an on-line authoring system for undergraduate laboratory reports. |
