Dr. Jessica Karch

Research Interests

Learning does not happen in a vacuum. Although chemistry and science learning is often framed as an individual, cognitive endeavor, contextual and sociocultural factors such as interactions among peers (micro level), classroom practices (meso level), and disciplinary norms and policies (macro level) influence how students learn and what kinds of learning and knowledge are seen as valuable. To systematically create equitable, student-centered chemistry learning environments, it is important to develop deep, empirically grounded understandings of how these contextual factors influence learning, as well as how these factors interact across the micro, meso, and macro levels. Research in this group explores these dynamics through three broad research areas: in-the-moment learning and sensemaking processes in disciplinary and interdisciplinary chemistry learning; how reforms in introductory chemistry courses create opportunities for equitable and expansive learning for both students and instructors; and how policies mediate students’ access to and pathways through higher education, particularly in chemistry and STEM graduate education.