Faculty
Graduate Student Researchers
Allison Johnson is a first-year doctoral student in the department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education with a focus in STEM Education. She obtained a master’s degree in Biological Sciences while engaging in discipline-based education research (DBER) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). She completed her B.S. in Biology at Southern Illinois-University Edwardsville. She works as an adjunct science instructor at Southeast Community College in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Allison has worked as both a graduate research assistant and graduate teaching assistant throughout both of her programs at UNL. She taught biology labs (LIFE120L and BIOS101L) while enrolled in her master’s program and is currently an Instructor of Record for TEAC315. Allison worked with Dr. Brian Couch during her master’s program and currently works with Dr. Deepika Menon (PhD thesis Advisor).
Allison’s research background is in life science formative assessment research and undergraduate science identity. She is currently involved in research regarding preservice teacher science self-efficacy. Her primary research interest is life science education teaching preparation, particularly at the undergraduate level.
Katie L. Johnson is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education. She holds a M.A. in Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Arizona. She worked as a middle school math teacher for three years in Tucson, Arizona before attending UNL.
While at UNL, Katie has been a graduate research assistant with Drs. Amanda Thomas, Wendy Smith, and Allan Donsig. She has also been an instructor for TEAC 308, TEAC 161, and TEAC 397P/894P. Katie is an active member of the Racial Justice Alliance RSO and former president of the TLTE Graduate Student Association.
Katie’s research interests include discourse practices in mathematics education, equitable teaching practices, and STEM education.
Derek Cox is a 3rd year Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Teaching, Learning & Teacher Education (TLTE) in the College of Education and Human Sciences. Previously, Derek taught biology, chemistry, physics, and computer science at the secondary level for 7 years. As Derek aspires to become a teacher educator, his research intends to push teacher education forward by creating knowledge about science teacher education that can be used as a foundation to new innovative, equitable pedagogy. Current research investigates how preservice elementary teachers’ achievement goals align with STEM teaching self-efficacy during their participation in STEM this semester. Derek will proudly present this research at the international National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) conference in March at Sheraton Downtown in Denver, CO.