Congratulations!
Wysheka Austin
2021 BEYA STEM Science Spectrum Trailblazer Award
Rachel Lanning
Clemson Graduate Student Government Award for Exceptional Student Service
The Gallagher Research Group is led by Dr. Eliza Gallagher. Her primary faculty appointment is in Engineering and Science Education within the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences at Clemson University.
She also has faculty appointments in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences within the College of Science, and to the Department of Education and Human Development within the College of Education.
The group includes PhD students in Engineering and Science Education, PhD students in Learning Sciences, and undergraduate researchers.
Group Structure
The group meets weekly for two hours for research updates, discussion of relevant archival literature, peer review of drafts in preparation, and professional development in support of each member's professional goals.
Each student member also meets individually with Eliza on a regular basis to discuss their own progress.
Undergraduate researchers and first-year graduate students join an existing research project to gain authentic experience in data collection, data analysis, and dissemination. Graduate students who have completed coursework move into project management roles and begin to mentor more junior members of the group. PhD candidates form research teams of their own within the group.
Active Funded Projects
Exploring the Strategies Used by Two-year Colleges to Support Academic Continuity in STEM Education During the COVID-19 Crisis. With funding from the National Sciences Foundation under grant NSF-ATE#2037809, this project uses the engineering resiliency framework and technology acceptance model to understand what strategies have been and are being employed by two-year technical colleges to maintain academic continuity during the pandemic.
SC:SUPPORTED. With support from the National Science Foundation under grant #1744497 and as part of the national INCLUDES network, the SC:SUPPORTED project is examining factors associated with mathematics preparation and major selection in South Carolina. The goal of the project is to use statewide data to identify interventions that will broaden participation in engineering and engineering-related fields.
Congratulations to Clemson COVID Challenge Team E6! Their project, Developing New Course Structures & Compiling Resources for Various Educational Settings in Response to Unique Instructional Demands during COVID-19, won an Award of Excellence with prize funds to continue their work in Fall 2020.
Members and Their Interests
Eliza Gallagher, PhD, education research methodologist with a disciplinary background in mathematics.
Tony Nguyen, PhD Candidate in Engineering and Science Education, MS Mathematical Sciences, Lecturer in Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Symbol Load, Symbol Familiarity, and Statement Complexity in Mathematics
Rachel Lanning, PhD Student in Engineering and Science Education, MS Mathematics, Graduate Teaching Assistant Identity Development
Wysheka Austin, PhD Student in Engineering and Science Education, MS Supply Chain Management, Engineer at General Electric, Engineering Identity of Black Middle School Girls
Sharetta Bufford, PhD Student in Learning Sciences, MEd Higher Education Administration, Recruiting Program Coordinator for Inclusive Excellence and Graduate Education, Stereotype Threat and Perceived Discrimination of Minoritized Students in STEM
Tim Ransom, PhD Student in Engineering and Science Education, MS Computer Science, Clemson School of Computing IT, Computational Thinking Regarding Parallel Systems
Tyler Sullivan, PhD student in Engineering and Science Education, MS Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Simplifying Mathematical Concepts to Encourage Greater Participation in STEM
Selected Recent Publications and Presentations
Eliza Gallagher, Anna Marie Vagnozzi, Rachel Lanning, D. Andrew Brown, Christy J. Brown, Kristin K. Frady, Julia M. Brisbane, Michael A. Matthews, Joseph C. Murphy, Khushikumari Patel, Aubrie L. Pfirman, Robert J. Rabb, Richard H. Roberts, Ronald W. Welch, and Anand Gramopadhye (2020). "Poverty and Guidance: Challenges and Opportunities in Mathematics Preparation for Engineering," Proceedings of the 2020 American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exhibition
Staci N. Johnson, Eliza Gallagher, Claire Dancz, Khushikumari Patel, and Aubrie L. Pfirman. (2020) “Forming Team-Based Learning Teams with Kolbe ATM: The Effect of Team Construction and Training about Conation on Team Satisfaction,” Journal on Excellence in College Teaching 31(3), 159-188.
Eliza Gallagher, Tony Nguyen, Catherine M. Kenyon, and Luke Duncan (2020). Statement Complexity and Calculus I Exam Performance, Tennessee STEM Education Research Conference, Cookeville, TN.
Eliza Gallagher, Andrea Perla, and Roo Walker (2020). Reasons Students Do Not Take Advanced Mathematics Courses in High School, Tennessee STEM Education Research Conference, Cookeville, TN.
Khushikumari Patel, Eliza Gallagher, Rachel Lanning, and Catherine M. Kenyon (2020). A Graph-Theoretic Approach in Analyzing Concept Maps, Tennessee STEM Education Research Conference, Cookeville, TN.
Staci N. Johnson, Eliza Gallagher, and Anna Marie Vagnozzi (2020). Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Revised Study Process Questionnaire with Undergraduate Anatomy & Physiology Students, Tennessee STEM Education Research Conference, Cookeville, TN.
Julia Brisbane, Eliza Gallagher, L. Armoni Dunwoody, Abigail Hines, Joseph C. Murphy, Khushikumari Patel, Aubrie L. Pfirman, Shannon L. Roberson, and Anand Gramopadhye (2019). “Family and Fictive Family Influences on Engineering Students at Two-Year and Four-Year Institutions,” Proceedings of the 2nd Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity (CoNECD) Annual Conference, Alexandria, VA.
Eliza Gallagher, D. Andrew Brown, Christy J. Brown, Kristin Frady, Patrick Bass, Michael Matthews, Thomas Peters, Robert Rabb, Ikhalfani Solan, Ronald Welch, and Anand Gramopadhye (2018). “Identifying Prevalent Mathematical Pathways to Engineering in South Carolina,” Proceedings of the 125th American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exhibition, Salt Lake City, UT.
Eliza Gallagher, Aubrie L. Pfirman, Tony Nguyen, and Khushikumari Patel (2018). Testing the Stability of Items in a Survey to Measure Relative Instructional Priorities Among Graduate Teaching Assistants, 2018 Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (C-RUME), San Diego, CA.
Research Group Alumni
Roo Walker was the STEM Research Intern with the SC:SUPPORTED project for two semesters before graduating with her BS in Materials Science and Engineering in May 2020. During her time with the project she helped aggregate and analyze survey data and prepare results for publication. She co-authored a conference poster and a journal article currently in preparation. Roo is currently pursuing a PhD in Energy Science and Engineering with an interdisciplinary concentration in education and policy at The Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education at University of Tennessee Knoxville.
Dr. Staci Neas Johnson is an Associate Professor of Biology and Chair of the Division of Science at Southern Wesleyan University, where she teaches a range of courses including Bioethics, Animal Science and Microbiology. Dissertation: Cognitive Processes in Undergraduate Anatomy and Physiology Courses.
Dr. Aubrie L. Pfirman is an Assistant Professor of Chemical Education in the Department of Physical Sciences at Lander University, where she teaches General Chemistry and is developing the Secondary Education Chemistry program. Dissertation: Exploring Underrepresented Doctoral Students’ Conceptualizations of the Student-Advisor Relationship in Chemistry.
Joseph Murphy worked as a Creative Inquiry for one semester and as an undergraduate research intern with the SC:SUPPORTED project before his graduation with a BS in Sociology in December 2018. During that time, he was lead author on two conference presentations, and co-author on three additional conference presentations and posters. He is co-author on a journal article currently in preparation stemming from his work on the project and is currently pursuing a PhD in Sociology at UCLA.
Julia Brisbane worked as an undergraduate research intern on the SC:SUPPORTED project for three semesters before her graduation with a BS in Bioengineering in May 2019. During that time, she was lead author on one peer-reviewed conference paper, one conference presentation, and one conference poster. She was co-author on two additional conference presentations and two additional conference posters. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech.
Shannon Roberson worked as an undergraduate research intern with the SC:SUPPORTED project for two semesters until her graduation with a BS in Chemical Engineering. During that time, she co-authored two peer-reviewed conference papers and one conference poster. She is currently a Consultant Engineer at FM Global in Atlanta, Georgia.
Abigail Hines was a Creative Inquiry student and then an undergraduate research intern with the SC:SUPPORTED project until her graduation with a BS in Industrial Engineering in May 2018. During her time with the project, she co-authored two peer-reviewed conference papers and two conference posters. She is currently an Operations Development Associate at The Timken Company in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dr. Gallagher's Professional Highlights Prior to Joining the Faculty at Clemson
Tenured Associate Professor of Mathematics and Mathematics Education in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at California State University, Chico.
Co-Director of the Chico Math Project, one site of the statewide California Mathematics Project. The Chico Math Project provides professional development to inservice mathematics teachers grades K-12 throughout northern California.
Founding co-Director of Project MATH (Mathematics And Teaching on the Horizon) under FIPSE grant P116D990273.