The science education doctorate was one of the first four Ph.D. degrees offered at Western Michigan University. From 1964 until the time the Department of Biological Sciences gained its own doctoral program, students interested in biological and environmental science research completed their programs under the science education doctorate. Since 2002 we have been known as the Mallinson Institute for Science Education. Doctoral graduates are listed below by name, graduation year, advisor, dissertation title, and employer (if available).
Ph.D. Graduates—2000 to Present
2023
Peng (Pearl) Dai
Advisor: David Rudge
The Impact of Historical Narratives on Students’ NOS Understanding and Science Motivation: A Proposed Three-Paper Dissertation
Allison Witucki
Advisor: David Rudge
Student Experience and Learning in a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience
Jade Woodcock
Advisor: Charles Henderson
Implementation of Team-Based Learning in Pre-Clerkship Medical Education: Investigating Essential Elements
2022
Listiani Eran
Advisor: William Cobern
Examining Indonesian Preservice Science Teachers’ Teaching Orientations and Pedagogical Reasoning
Manal Almalki
Advisor: Brandy Pleasants
The Experiences of Undergraduate Saudi Students in the STEM Trajectory: A Closer Look at Major Choice and Persistence Intentions
Maryam Bojulaia
Advisor: Brandy Pleasants
Understanding Creative Pedagogy of Saudi High School STEM teachers: Three Case Studies of Mawhiba and Public Science Classes
Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University
Madison Fitzgerald-Russell
Advisor: Megan Kowalske
What We Say Matters: Exploring the Importance of Microaggression Language for LGBTQ+ Science Major Undergraduate Students
2021
Samuel Nyarko
Advisor: Heather Petcovic
In an Era of Soft Skills: Investigating Teamwork Skills in the Geosciences
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
Diana Sachmpazidi
Advisor: Charles Henderson
Investigating the Relationship between Departmental Support Structures and Persistence Intentions and the Role of Self-Efficacy: An Examination of Students' Experiences from 19 Physics Graduate Programs across the United States
University of Maryland
Tasia Bryson
Advisor: Megan Grunert Kowalske
The Impact of the Advisor-Advisee Relationship Among Minority Students in STEM Graduate Programs
University of Massachusetts, Boston
Saman Khan
Advisor: Charles Henderson
Institutional Changes in Western Michigan University for Incorporation of Education for Sustainability
2020
Esty Haryani
Advisor: William Cobern
Are They Ready? Implementing 21st-Century Learning Skills Integration into Indonesia Science Instruction
Vocational High School Coaching Division, Department of Education and Culture, West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia
Khalid Abdullah Kariri
Advisor: William Cobern
Saudi Arabian Science Teachers and Formative Assessment in the Gender Segregated Male School System
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University
Eva Nyutu
Advisor: William Cobern
Student Perceptions of Their Undergraduate Laboratory Environment
University of Detroit Mercy
Jasvir Pannu
Advisor: Brandy Pleasants
Female Graduate Students’ Experiences and Career Orientations in STEM: A Comparative Case Study
Lonza Biotech & Pharma
2019
Adam Channell
Advisor: William Cobern
Teacher and Parent Perspectives on Alignment to the Next Generation Science Standards Following Teacher Professional Development
WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine
2018
Zahrah Aljuzayri
Advisor: Brandy Pleasants
High School Science Teachers' Professional Development and Self-Efficacy in Using Technology Tools in the Classroom
Kathy Eaton
Advisor: Marcia Fetters
Impacts of Cohort Membership on Teacher Candidates in an Alternative Certification Program
University of Michigan - Flint
2017
Betty Adams
Advisor: William Cobern
Metaphysics in Science Education: Balancing Between Religious and Physicalist Extremism
Western Michigan University
Andrew Bentley
Advisor: Heather Petcovic
The Relationship Between Individuals' Anthropogenic Climate Change Acceptance and Belief in Anti-Climate Change Dissenter Messages
University of Pittsburgh
Leah Cook
Advisor: Brandy Pleasants
Using Concept Maps to Monitor Knowledge Structure Changes in a Science Classroom
Davenport University
Peggy McNeal
Advisor: Heather Petcovic
Identifying and Characterizing Cognitive Factors Significant to Practicing and Learning Meteorology
Towson University
Selçuk Şahingöz
Advisor: William Cobern
Turkish Middle School Science Teachers' Pedagogical Orientations Towards Direct and Inquiry Instructional Approaches
Kastamonu University, Turkey
Cody Williams
Advisor: David Rudge
Effects of Historical Story Telling on Student Understanding of NOS and Mendelian Genetics
Western Michigan University
2016
Janice Fulford
Advisor: David Rudge
Assessing the Impact of Historical Story Telling on Student Learning of Natural Selection
Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC)
Joseph Lane
Advisor: Joseph Stoltman
Guided Educational Tourism as Informal Science Education: An Empirical Study
The University of Minnesota - Deluth
Gunkut Mesci
Advisor: Brandy Skjold
Preservice Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Nature of Science and Nature of Scientific Inquiry: A successful case study
University of Georgia
2015
Robert Kagumba
Advisor: William Cobern
Uganda Science Teacher Educators: A Concurrent Mixed Methods Investigation of Nature of Science, Pedagogy and Classroom Learning Environment Perspectives
Delta State University
Sarah Krajewski
Advisor: Brandy Skjold
Retention of Community College Students in Online Courses
Grand Rapids Community College
Phyllis Pennock
Advisor: William Cobern
African-American girls and scientific argumentation: lived experiences, and intersecting identities and their roles in constructing and evaluating claims
Michigan State University
Chaiphat Plybour
Advisor: David Schuster
Integrating Formative Assessment Into Physics Instruction, and the Effect of Formative vs. Summative Assessment on Student Physics Learning and Attitudes
Mahasarakham University
Rex Taibu
Advisor: David Schuster
A Study of Conceptual and Language Issues Surrounding Weight, Weightlessness, and Free Fall: Textbook Analysis, Instructional Design, and Assessment
Queensborough Community College (CUNY)
2014
Ramón Barthelemy
Advisor: Charles Henderson
The Experiences of Women in Post Graduate Physics and Astronomy Programs: The Roles of Support, Career Choices, and Gendered Experiences
University of Utah
Amy Bentz
Advisor: William Cobern
Using Case Method to Explicitly Teach Formative Assessment in Preservice Science Teacher Education
Western Michigan University
Andrea Bierema
Advisor: Renee' Schwartz
Conceptual Framework Alignment between Primary Literature and Education in Animal Behaviour
Michigan State University
Tammy Coleman
Advisor: Joseph Stoltman
Place-Based Education: An Impetus for Teacher Efficacy
Northwestern Michigan College
Kathy Quardokus Fisher
Advisor: Charles Henderson
Instructional change in academic departments: An analysis from the perspective of two environment-focused change strategies
Florida International University
Lloyd Mataka
Advisor: Megan Grunert
Problem Based Learning in College Chemistry Laboratory: Student Views of PBL and its Relationship with Attitudes and Self-Efficacy Beliefs
Lewis-Clark State College
Jacinta Mutambuki
Advisor: Herb Fynewever
Integrating Nanotechnology into the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum: The Impact on Students' Affective Domain
Oklahoma State University
2013
Caitlin Callahan
Advisor: Heather Petcovic
An Embodied Perspective on Expertise in Solving the Problem of Making a Geologic Map
Grand Valley State University
Kelly Sparks
Advisor: Joseph Stoltman
Student conceptions of learning and the approaches to learning adopted in an introductory science course: A Q Methodology Study
University of Southern Indiana
2012
Brandy Skjold (Pleasants)
Advisor: Renee' Schwartz
Describing the Apprenticeship of Chemists Through the Language of Faculty Scientists
Western Michigan University
2011
Donya Dobbin
Advisor: Charles Henderson
Experiences That Influence a Student's Choice on Majoring in Physics
Lakeview School District
Kara Kits
Advisor: William Cobern
An Exploration of Worldview and Conceptions of Nature of Science Among Science Teachers at a Private Christian High School
Grand Rapids Christian Schools
2010
George Viche Akom
Advisor: Herb Fynewever
Using Formative Assessment Despite the Constraints of High Stakes Testing and Limited Resources: A Case Study of Chemistry Teachers in Anglophone Cameroon
Faculty of Science, University of Hong Kong
Fang Huang
Advisor: Marcia Fetters
Curriculum Coherence: A Comparative Analysis of Elementary Science Content Standards in People's Republic of China and the USA
Huazhong University of Science & Technology
Kevin D. Weakley
Advisor: Joseph Stoltman
The Effects of an Inquiry-based Earth Science Course on the Spatial Thinking of Pre-service Elementary Teacher Education Students
NorthWest Arkansas Community College
2009
Betty Udongo
Advisor: William W. Cobern
Science Education Policy for Emergency, Conflict, and Post-Conflict: an Analysis Of Trends and Implications for The Science Education Program in Uganda
2007
Ozcan Gulacar
Advisor: Herb Fynewever
An Investigation of Successful and Unsuccessful Students' Problem Solving in Stoichiometry
UC Davis
Thomas F. Rienzo
Advisor: William W. Cobern
Conceptual Change Resulting From Experiential Learning With Business Enterprise Software
Western Michigan University
2006
Robert Ruhf
Advisor: Joseph Stoltman
Analyzing the Effects of Inquiry-Based Instruction on the Learning of Atmospheric Science Among Pre-Service Teacher Education Students
Western Michigan University
2005
Mary Brown
Advisor: Reneé Schwartz
Understanding Photosynthesis And Plant Cellular Respiration As "Nested Systems": The Characterization Of Pre-Service Teachers' Conceptions
Lansing Community College
Pat Meyer
Advisor: William W. Cobern
A Study of How Precursor Key Concepts for Organic Chemistry Success are Understood by General Chemistry Students
Grand Valley State University
2004
Eric Howe
Advisor: David Rudge
Using the History of Research on Sickle-Cell Anemia to Affect Preservice Teachers' Conceptions of the Nature of Science
Assumption College
Robert Keys
Advisor: William W. Cobern
The Interactions Between An Orthodox Christian Worldview And Environmental Attitudes And Beliefs; For The Purpose Of Developing Better Instructional Practice In Support Of Environmental/Ecological Attitudes And Knowledge
Cornerstone University
2003
Melissa Howse
Advisor: Leonard Ginsberg
Student Ecosystems Problem Solving with Computer Simulation
Lake Michigan College
Chokchai Usawinchai
Advisor: Aletta Zietsman
Understanding Concepts of Force of Thai Freshmen
2002
Linda Goossen
Advisor: Robert Poel
Classroom Questioning Strategies as Indicators of Inquiry Based Science
Grand Valley State University
Keith Schramm
Advisor: William W. Cobern
A Study of Expert Problem-Solving in Qualitative Organic Analysis
Harding University
2000
Terrance Brisbin
Advisor: Robert Hafner
An Account of Novice Phylogenetic Tree Construction from the Problem-Solving Research Tradition