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I am currently a PhD student in physics at the University of British Columbia in physics education research. My main research focus is in how and what students learn from undergraduate physics labs. Outside of school, I am involved in science outreach through Let’s Talk Science, a member of a local community choir called Choralation, and keep up old ballet training as best I can. I am originally from southern Ontario, but spent much of my youth in Al Ain, UAE.

Research Interests

My research mainly focuses on introductory college-level labs. We use the labs to introduce students to data analysis tools, measurement techniques and processes (including uncertainties), and other skills associated with understanding and conducting experiments in physics. While the labs are conducted in a physics setting, none of the goals of the lab involve learning or understanding physics concepts. This has involved using Invention and Productive Failure activities, worked examples, and targeted lab exercises. We have also started looking at issues of motivation and attitudes during different activities and across the course, and plan to design new structures and assessments that provide greater emphasis on students’ scientific process during the lab over products at the end of the lab.