Emily Driessen

Dr. Emily Driessen has a joint appointment in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Mallinson Institute for Science Education at Western Michigan University. She is trained as both a biologist and an educator through formal coursework and research projects focused on: 

1) sequencing the dry bean genome; 

2) mixed-methods investigations of seventh grade students’ understanding of engineering and lunar phases;

3) quantitative analyses (e.g., descriptive statistics, linear regression models, structural equation modeling, meta-analysis) of the impact of content and/or active learning practices on student performance and/or student affect in undergraduate biology and courses; 

4) qualitative examinations of how instructors accurately and inclusively connect biology topics (e.g., sexual dimorphism) with societal topics (e.g., human sex development and gender diversity) in their undergraduate biology courses.

 

At Western Michigan University, Dr. Driessen’s research program focuses on investigating why instructors implement novel teaching strategies in their undergraduate biology courses and how these strategies impact their students. Example teaching strategies of interest include assigning student group work discussions of science and society topics, building and using R packages to assist students to develop content-specific data literacy, and implementing assessments that are resistant to the use of artificial intelligence. 

 

Link to personal webpage:  https://emilydriessen.weebly.com/