Jennifer Doherty , Ph.D.
Holmes Hall, W-28
919 E. Shaw Lane
East Lansing, MI 48825
United States
LBC Courses Taught
Biography
I’m a biology professor who enjoys helping students learn how to reason, not just memorize. In my courses, I focus on teaching students to reason about biological systems using underlying mechanisms and principles. I also use alternative grading strategies, like offering exam retakes without penalty, to improve equity and align my teaching with how I believe people learn: we learn from our mistakes!
Education
Ph.D. in Biology, University of Pennsylvania with Certificate of College Teaching and Learning
B.A. cum laude in Biology, with Distinction, University of Pennsylvania
Honors and Awards
MSU Teacher-Scholar Award, 2024
University of Washington Distinguished Teaching Award, 2019
Research
My research explores how students learn to think like physiologists — using big ideas like flux and mass balance to explain how systems work. I investigate how students apply these principles to tackle complex problems and how we can design assessments and teaching tools that help them build deeper, more connected understanding.
Publications
Directed or random? Student reasoning about diffusion across contexts Advances in Physiology Education (2025)
Student perceptions of the usefulness of core concepts when reasoning in physiology Advances in Physiology Education (2025)
Covariational reasoning and item context affect language in undergraduate mass balance written explanations Advances in Physiology Education (2023)
Oaks to arteries: the Physiology Core Concept of flow down gradients supports transfer of student reasoning Advances in Physiology Education (2023)
Undergraduate students’ neurophysiological reasoning: what we learn from the attractive distractors students select Advances in Physiology Education (2023)
What a Difference in Pressure Makes! A Framework Describing Undergraduate Students’ Reasoning about Bulk Flow Down Pressure Gradients CBE—Life Sciences Education (2023)
How students reason about matter flows and accumulations in complex biological phenomena: An emerging learning progression for mass balance Journal of Research in Science Teaching (2023)
Doherty et al. Adv. Phys. Ed. EGAD2. Supplemental Figure Set (2022)
Daytime light exposure is a strong predictor of seasonal variation in sleep and circadian timing of university students Journal of Pineal Research (2022)
Which evidence-based teaching practices change over time? Results from a university-wide STEM faculty development program International Journal of STEM Education (2022)
Doherty et al. (2022) Adv. Phys. Ed. EGAD2. Table S1 (2022)
Caring to know a name: An examination of New York City student attitudes towards knowing a tree's name PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET (2022)
Evidence-based teaching practices correlate with increased exam performance in biology PLOS ONE (2021)
Comparison of Machine Learning Performance Using Analytic and Holistic Coding Approaches Across Constructed Response Assessments Aligned to a Science Learning Progression Journal of Science Education and Technology (2021)
Seeing the trees: what urban middle school students notice about the street trees that surround them Journal of Biological Education (2021)
Design-based research: A methodology to extend and enrich biology education research CBE Life Sciences Education (2020)
Does the Format of Preclass Reading Quizzes Matter? An Evaluation of Traditional and Gamified, Adaptive Preclass Reading Quizzes CBE—Life Sciences Education (2019)
Impact of automated response systems on in‐class cell phone use Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education (2019)
Impact of automated response systems on in-class cell phone use Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education (2019)
Exploring student ideas about biological variation International Journal of Science Education (2019)
A new assessment to monitor student performance in introductory neurophysiology: Electrochemical Gradients Assessment Device Advances in Physiology Education (2019)
Deconstruction of holistic rubrics into analytic rubrics for large-scale assessments of students' reasoning of complex science concepts Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation (2019)
Learning progressions: An empirically grounded, learner-centered framework to guide biology instruction CBE Life Sciences Education (2019)
Is being familiar with biodiversity related to reasoning about ecology? Ecosphere (2018)
Peer vs. Self-grading of practice exams: Which is better? CBE Life Sciences Education (2018)
Developing a learning progression for three-dimensional learning of the patterns of evolution Science Education (2017)
Connections between student explanations and arguments from evidence about plant growth CBE Life Sciences Education (2014)
Plant soil feedback: Testing the generality with the same grasses in serpentine and prairie soils Ecology (2008)
Testing nickel tolerance of Sorghastrum nutans and its associated soil microbial community from serpentine and prairie soils Environmental Pollution (2008)