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Current Research Projects with LBC Faculty

Here at Briggs we value undergraduate research experiences, as we know they set our students up for success as scientists. Each year, many of our faculty have projects for which they need student assistants. Below, find opportunities to work with LBC faculty members on research in Summer 2023.

To apply for any of these positions, visit this Qualtrics form. The deadline for applications is March 29, 2023.

Summer 2023 Projects

Impact of Freeze Thaw Events on Infrastructure and Increased Frequency Due to Climate Change 

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Gerald Urquhart
Term: Summer 2023
Maximum number of research positions: 2 
Expected hours/week: 8 hours per week; from May 15–June 30
Location: Student may work in-person in East Lansing or work remotely

Overview 

The power of water has sculpted the face of the earth long before humans started forming the planet to support complex societies.  Humans have added myriad complex structures that may last for centuries or millennia.  Counteracting the permanence of human structures are the forces of nature, in particular the force of water. While the force of rushing water wiping out coastal communities or flooding river valleys is the first thing that comes to mind, the power of expanding water during the freezing process is on a small scale much stronger.   

Michigan is in a major freeze-thaw zone and this likely has a major role in the degradation of infrastructure projects—especially the roads.  Frequent freeze-thaw events (when temperature falls below zero and then rises above it) are very frequent at the latitude of Michigan and, anecdotally, have increased in frequency in the last 50 years.  Lansing, for example, historically fell below freezing in November and infrequently rose above freezing until spring.  In present day Lansing, approximately 50% of the “winter” days have a freeze-thaw event.   

I am proposing a large-scale data harvest and analysis of freeze-thaw events using historical weather data from municipalities across the United States.  Because of the scale of this, it will require automated analysis of countless weather records.  I am looking for an undergraduate student or two with computer programming skills or at minimum, excellent data analysis skills.  

Project specific qualifications or preferences: Computer programming and data analysis skills

 

An Investigation of Physics Teachers’ Identity Towards Culture-Based Equitable Instruction and its Impact on Curriculum Development and Student Learning of Physics Ideas

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Clausell Mathis
Term: Summer 2023 
Maximum number of research positions: 1 
Expected hours/week: 10 hours per week over 10 weeks
Location: Either remote or in person is acceptable

Overview 

Currently, there is a challenge among many physics teachers when asked the question: How can you teach for equity in a physics class? The answer to this question varies depending on teachers' beliefs and experiences that define their teaching identity and what constitutes equitable instruction. This collaborative exploratory study addresses the research question: How does physics teachers' identity towards culture-based equitable instruction affect their development of physics curricula and student learning of physics ideas? We expect that having an understanding of the more nuanced aspects of physics teaching identity with an emphasis on their perceptions and enactment of equitable instruction ultimately impacts student learning. To address our research question, we will use a mixed-method approach to accomplish three goals: (1) The first goal is to conceptualize physics teachers' identity, which is the beliefs, values, and commitments individuals have toward being a physics teacher (Hsieh, 2010). To examine teachers' physics identity, we will conduct interviews and administer surveys with physics teachers that will ask for common conceptions a select group of physics teachers has regarding equitable instruction. (2) The second goal of this work is to understand how physics teachers' conceptions around equitable instruction impact their classroom practices, specifically curriculum development and classroom experiences. This will involve meeting with teachers during professional learning experiences and doing classroom observations of curriculum enactment. (3) The third goal is to understand how students respond to teachers' enactment of equitable-based instruction, which will involve collecting data on student artifacts such as assessment of model development, explanations, and responses to problems; student interviews about how equitable-based instruction impacted their learning of physics concepts. Previous studies have found that “physics culture” has an influence on teachers’ approaches toward equitable instruction, with regard to teachers' approach towards student expectations, engagement, accountability, and relationship building toward students (Mathis & Robertson, 2021; Mathis et al., 2018; Mathis & Southerland, 2022). 

Project specific qualifications or preferences: Someone interested and passionate about this work. 


Title: Critical Making in the Classroom 

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Isaac Record 
Term: Summer 2023 
Maximum number of research positions: 1 
Expected hours/week:10 hours per week for 10 weeks
Location: Either remote or in-person is acceptable.

Overview

Overview: Critical Making combines traditional humanities and social science “critical thinking” research techniques with creative and constructive “making” (Ratto 2011). I have been developing teaching tools and practice to use Critical Making in the classroom, and this project aims to study the effectiveness of these teaching innovations. I am collecting data in my sections of LB 322A, which employs a Critical Making curriculum. The student researcher will work collaboratively with the Faculty Mentor to collect and analyze the data, research relevant literature, develop a research question focused on the effectiveness of the curriculum, prepare a manuscript for submission to a peer reviewed journal, and revise the survey instrument for use in the Fall semester. The Critical Making curriculum involves three overlapping modes of work: the review of relevant literature, concepts, and theories; the construction of material prototypes; and an iterative process of discussion and reflection about the changing relationships and meanings formed between these three modes. All of these activities are collaborative, and throughout the course students are encouraged to identify problems and topics relevant to their own lives or interests. I am especially interested in whether students learn effective collaboration techniques, transfer skills and knowledge from one project to another, and whether they view all three modes of work as valuable.   

Project specific qualifications or preferences: No requirements. Experience with project management or literature review an asse

 

Field Research at Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center (CMERC) 

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Melissa Charenko and Dr. Jen Owen (Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and Associate Chair-Research of Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center) 
Term: Summer 2023 
Maximum number of research positions: 1 
Expected hours/week: 10 hours/week over 10 weeks 
Location: In-person only (student must be available regularly in East Lansing) 

Overview 

Design and undertake a research project at Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center (CMERC). CMERC is a 400-acre property that sits on MSU's former Muck Farm. Today, it is home to scientific research that aims to build awareness of better land stewardship practices and the relevance of science to society to natural resource management. You will design and undertake your own research project at CMERC; previous summer projects have examined birds, bats, turtles, wild rice, and more. You will be guided by Jen Owen, the director of CMERC who specializes in the behavioral ecology of migratory birds and the ecology of zoonotic diseases, and Melissa Charenko, who studies the history of climate. This is a field-based research experience. Students will need transportation to CMERC, about a 20-minute drive from campus. 

Project specific qualifications or preferences: None 

 

Understanding the Quality of Chemistry Educational Videos on YouTube 

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ryan Sweeder  
Term: Summer 2023 
Maximum number of research positions: 2
Expected hours/week: 5 hours/week for 5-8 weeks
Location: Either remote or in person is acceptable 

Overview 

The advent of websites like YouTube has provided a way for learners to get additional just-in-time instructional help outside of the classroom. This is good as it has the potential to help meet the unique and diverse needs of students. However, the instructional quality of chemistry videos available on sites like YouTube varies greatly. Thus, learners or instructors looking for quality videos frequently need to spend considerable time to find what they seek. This project will evaluate the instructional quality of frequently watched chemistry videos using a set of measures that have been shown to positively affect learning, and then use these data to create a curated database of videos for several core chemistry concepts. To support conceptual chemistry learning, instructional videos should include a focus on things such as connecting the various levels of chemistry instruction (macroscopic, particulate, and symbolic), three-dimensional learning, causal mechanistic reasoning, and active engagement of students in the learning process, all characteristics which research has shown to support deep conceptual learning of core chemistry concepts. The students who participate in this project will gain familiarity with the expected criteria for quality chemistry educational videos and then work to catalog frequently viewed or the top results for relevant general chemistry topics. Through this process, students will help to identify appropriate videos for analysis and contribute to building the curated database of videos that will then be disseminated broadly to support both students and instructors of general chemistry. 

Project specific qualifications or preferences: Students must have completed general chemistry or an equivalent course. 

 

Title: Engaging first-year students in mathematical disciplinary practices 

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kristen Vroom  
Term: Summer 2023  
Maximum number of research positions: 1  
Expected hours/week: 10 hours for 10 weeks
Location: Either remote or in-person is acceptable

Overview

There has been increased emphasis to incorporate mathematical disciplinary practices – such as defining and conjecturing - into undergraduate mathematics classrooms. These classrooms aim to position the students as creators of the mathematics that they develop, creating active classrooms that shift the mathematical authority from the teacher and textbook to the students themselves. This project is currently (Spring 2023) implementing curriculum materials in a laboratory setting that support students to do just that. The student researcher will work collaboratively with Dr. Kristen Vroom (faculty mentor) and Jose Saul Barbosa (PRIME graduate research assistant) to analyze data that was collected during Spring 2023 and write research reports of the findings. 

Project specific qualifications or preferences: Student must be enrolled in or have taken Calculus 1 (LB 118 or equivalent).

 

Investigating students' solving complex problems   

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Doherty 
Term: Summer 2023  
Maximum number of research positions: 2  
Expected hours/week: 20 hours/week for 10 weeks  
Location: Either remote or in person is acceptable   
 

Overview  

Many undergraduates, including those from minoritized populations, leave science because they feel there is too heavy an emphasis on memorization or insufficient guidance on complex topics (Seymour and Hewitt, 1997). My research program focuses on how students develop principle-based reasoning in biology. By focusing instruction on principle-based reasoning, I propose students will rely less on memorization and use underlying principle to simplify complex problems, helping more students succeed in their course work. Currently, research in my group focuses on investigating how students reason through complex problems and how we can design instruction to better support students' use of principles. In this specific project, I am proposing to interview groups of student volunteers and see how they work together and use their prior knowledge and scientific principles to make sense of complex biological problems. We will characterize how different students reason and what type of student actions (e.g., brainstorming, listing prior knowledge) and questions characteristics (e.g., scaffolding) lead to more productive student reasoning. This work will involve reading the literature to find out what other education researchers already know about this topic, collecting and analyzing in class recordings and presenting our findings to the broader research community. 

Project specific qualifications or preferences: Students should have completed LB145 or equivalent. Preference will be for students who have taken a physiology course, such as PSL 310, 431 or 432.  

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