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STEM Equity is run by a team of education and research specialists. We are passionate about our work and believe the mission of STEM Equity to be crucial in the mission of better serving the needs of all students in STEM education. Contact us if you have questions about engaging in scholarship of teaching and learning, creating more equitable student outcomes, using a QuantCrit framework in their research, attending a workshop, using LASSO as an instructor, using LASSO data as a researcher, or using learning assistants.
THE TEAM
Dr. Eleanor Close
I am an associate professor of physics at Texas State University, with background in both physics and education. I direct the Physics Learning Assistant (LA) Program and co-lead an expanding LA team through the Faculty-Student STEM Communities project. My research focuses on faculty teaching practices and professional development; and on physics identity development, particularly for LAs, future teachers, and minoritized physics students. Between receiving my B.A. in physics from Bryn Mawr College and starting grad school, I taught high school physics and physical science for three years in a rural public school. In my non-work life, I co-parent three tween / teen kids.
Alicen Morley
Dr. Jayson Nissen
I founded Nissen Education Research and Design LLC to pursue doing science as a discipline-based education researcher wherever my wife’s career takes her. I also love to teach and have taught at the University of Maine as a graduate student and at Oregon State University. At both universities, I have worked with learning assistants and had the fortune to serve on the leadership council for the Learning Assistant Alliance. My research often looks at the efficacy and impacts of the LA model nationally. This work uses quantitative methods and a QuantCrit framework to investigate racism, sexism, and classism in college science classrooms through the analyses of large datasets.
Dr. Bud Talbot
I’m a science educator, teacher, and researcher. More specifically, I am an Associate Professor of science education at the University of Colorado Denver in the School of Education and Human Development. I currently teach pre-service and in-service science teachers, undergraduate peer Learning Assistants (LAs), and doctoral students. My research focuses on peer learning support in undergraduate science courses across the disciplines, and my particular interest is in physics education research (PER). Prior to entering academia, I taught science in grades 7-12 for seven years in US public schools, primarily physics in 11th and 12th grade.
Dr. Mollee Shulz
I am a Postdoctoral Researcher for the Learning About STEM Evaluations and Research (LASER) project at Texas State University. I received my Ph.D. in mathematics education from the University of Michigan and M.S. in mathematics from California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo. My dissertation focused on inquiry-oriented instruction in undergraduate mathematics and the decision-making of instructors to use various components or types of it. I am currently interested in instructor decision-making and the use of active learning strategies, particularly in the context of Hispanic Serving Institutions.
Dr. Ben Van Dusen
I am an assistant professor of education at Iowa State University, where I study diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM learning environments. My expertise are in quantitative critical methods and physics education research. When not at work, I can often be found playing outside with my kids or on a disc golf course.