Dissertation Ideas

Here I will keep a list of potential dissertation topics and important conversations I have with faculty to help me determine my topic, my chair, and my committee.

Potential Chair/Committee Members
Dr. Ryan Brown (C&I)
Dr. Allison Meyer (C&I)
Dr. Wendy Troxel (EAF)
Dr. Tony Lorsbach (C&I)

Potential Research Ideas

1. My main interests lie in the area of informal science and science outreach events.  I would love to do something on the impact of outreach events at a young age.  I would also like to explore how programs can impact science/math of students, persistence in education, and maybe even look at whether there is a tipping point when students experience so much informal science that they have a positive outlook on science regardless of their classroom experience.
2. I also am interested in the topic of civic engagement.  In particular, I think it would be interesting to look at how incorporating civic engagement into methods courses might impact the amount of civic engagement that is done by those teachers once they are in the field and how that transfers to their students.
3. After talking to Allison about her research interests, I would be interested to see how the ideas of creativity in science tie together with science outreach.  It would be interesting to see if there is a link between creativity and the amount of informal science a student receives.
4. I am interested in anything having to do with STEM, especially if it involves integration of content in the traditional classroom, and I am particularly interested in the concept of mastery learning in the classroom as a pedagogical model.