I am passionate about both biology and biology-education research. My research interests have been, and continue to be, broad in scope and mission. I’ve published papers on teaching with technology, barriers to teaching and learning evolution, and gender disparities in the sciences. I have also published articles on strategies for engaging students in large lectures, including work with the Active Learning Classrooms project at the University of Minnesota. Current work involves identifying which elements of course-based research experiences (CUREs) are key to promoting scientific literacy; identifying and countering barriers to learning science; evolution education in Galápagos; and facilitating meaningful group interactions in the large-lecture setting.
I am passionate about bringing high level science to students at a young age. I believe that students do not get nearly enough instruction on the nature and process of science at a young age and in turn this handicaps their abilities to understand how science works later in life. I am interested in designing and implementing new educational techniques to bring these concepts to younger students and to work with K-20 schools to have an impact on the way we approach science education for students of all ages.I am passionate about bringing high level science to students at a young age. I believe that students do not get nearly enough instruction on the nature and process of science at a young age and in turn this handicaps their abilities to understand how science works later in life. I am interested in designing and implementing new educational techniques to bring these concepts to younger students and to work with K-20 schools to have an impact on the way we approach science education for students of all ages.
I'm working on understanding what qualities of a learning environment help students acquire the content knowledge and skills needed to be scientifically literate. More specifically, I'm interested in how social factors and collaborative learning tasks mediate learning in an undergraduate science course for non majors.
My research interests are investigating equitable science learning and teaching practices that promote inclusiveness and engagement in the science classroom. I am currently examining the influence of cooperative learning methods in the laboratory space and exploring how students learn and co-construct knowledge in small peer group settings.
Margaret Sleeth, Undergraduate
