Educational Research
I have been working in higher education for over ten years in various capacities. I am committed to fostering student success, championing diverse initiatives, and advocating for accessibility both within and beyond the classroom. See some projects below for more information.
Open Educational Resources
I am dedicated to the transformative potential of Open Education Resources (OER) and showcasing the impactful work OER in classroom settings. As an advocate for accessible knowledge, I believe that education should be inclusive and available to all. Through the utilization of OER, I strive to break down barriers by working to provide freely accessible teaching and learning materials that can be utilized, shared, and adapted by educators and learners globally.
Read more about the latest blog post in OER, from IU Library Blogs:
Check out the IU Scholarly Communications YouTube Channel:
Charting the Future
Previous Higher Education Research:
Charting the Future: seeks to provide broad access to high school and undergraduate learners throughout Indiana. The ultimate goal of the project is to help improve the state's educational system and workforce while creating opportunities for students who face barriers to access and success.
​
As part of this initiative, I conducted ethnographic research including classroom observations, interviews, and focus groups to explore "sense of belonging" and equity in the classroom. The purpose of the ethnography is to gain insight into the experiences of students and to identify any challenges or barriers they may face in achieving their academic goals. By understanding these experiences, the project can work towards creating a more equitable and inclusive learning environment that supports the success of all students.
Using Ethnography to capture Sense of Belonging in Introductory STEM Classrooms
Read the publication here:
Despite substantial instructional attention to large-enrollment university courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), they tend to have high rates of D, F, and Withdraw (DFW) at the introductory level that disproportionally disadvantage historically minoritized and underrepresented students, such as students identified as women, low-income, first-generation, or of color. While postsecondary institutions have recently explored big data and learning analytics to drive their institutional student success efforts, well-known shortfalls in student success in large STEM courses remain. This chapter documents an evidence-based approach at a large, R1 midwestern university that enriches robust data infrastructure with qualitative ethnographic methods. Applied to a gateway computer science course, these methods center students’ day-to-day learning realities, including disparate educational opportunities, in ways that interrogate barriers to and shortfalls in student success. The resulting case study describes our ethnographic approach, the shortfalls it uncovers, our future directions with this work, and how other faculty members and institutions can apply lessons learned to promote efficacy, attainment, and equity in gateway STEM courses. Implementations drawn from course vignettes point to revisions in design and preparation of group learning activities, strategic integration of lecture and lab sessions, course navigation aids, and pedagogical training for teaching assistants.​
Armenian Cultural/Language School Ethnography
This ethnographic paper explores the Friday Night Armenian School in the small, afluent community of Laguna Hills, California. There, volunteers teach pre-school through elementary school-aged children Western Armenian culture, language, and religion. This program is one of many put forth by the non-profit foundation, Armenian Relief Society: Karni Chapter. Based on my research, observations, and interviews from parents, teachers, and volunteers, I found that Karni Chapter attempts to preserve Western Armenian culture by passing on language, religion, identity, and culture to their youth by developing this foundation early on in their Friday Night School program.