I am a learning scientist who uses ethnographic, interaction analysis, and design-based research methods to study the cognitive and cultural resources used by youth as they move across social settings.  I analyze how multiple learning experiences contribute to children’s understanding of scientific knowledge, practices, and career trajectories.  Through this research agenda, my goal is to both understand and design for learning.

My background is in cognition and development, designing for learning in formal and informal institutions, science communication, youth and digital technology, and understanding gender issues as they intersect with STEM disciplines.

In my research, I work to elucidate the processes that families and youth use to learn about science in homes, museums, and community settings. At Penn State, I am in partnership with Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center to study learning about ecology. Additionally, I have been working the LIFE Center’s Everyday Science and Technology Group, led by Dr. Philip Bell at the University of Washington, for over four years on an ethnographic study of the scientific and technological practices in one urban community— with the goal of designing science curriculum based on the findings.