STUDENT RESEARCHER
ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
JUN 2019 - AUG 2019
Faculty Mentor: Kelly Martin (RIT)
I participated in a research experience for undergraduates (REU) in communication in physics education and STEM Industries. Throughout the summer of 2019, I worked on multiple projects related to communication education in physics, higher education, and the larger STEM workforce.
American Journal of Physics & BPUPP
Working with the American Journal of Physics, my team laid out a framework for enlarging physics faculty conceptions of teaching communication. Related to this article, I also worked on contributing to a section on communication in the American Physical Society Best Practices in Undergraduate Physics Program (BPUPP) Report. As of December of 2021, this work is waiting to be published in the EP3 Guide Section on Communication Skills.
Teaching Communication in STEM Higher Education
Additional Research argued that funding and attention should be devoted to communication practices beyond communication for the general public. I investigated current practices and recommendations for teaching students about teamwork in STEM higher education based on data gathered from faculty interviews and student focus groups from STEM programs in 4 different regions of the country.
Comparing and Improving Communication Competency in Higher Education and STEM Industries
Comparing and Improving Communication Competency in Higher Education and STEM Industries
Comparing and Improving Communication Competency in Higher Education and STEM Industries built upon an earlier study within the optics and photonics workplace. Five themes – proactive questioning, efficient decision-making, familial-like humor, tactful translation, and fluent modality switching – were found to describe communication in this field. Using these themes, we analyzed presumed communication competencies in different STEM industries. We then created potential recommendations for both higher education and STEM industries on how to improve communication competencies.
