Hillary Swanson
Faculty Profile
Research Assistant Professor
Biography
EHillary Swanson is a research assistant professor of Learning Sciences in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. She holds a PhD in Science and Mathematics Education from the University of California at Berkeley and a BA in Physics from Colorado College. She taught high school physics, chemistry, and math for six years before transitioning to research. Broadly, her work explores how students’ everyday thinking can play a productive role in their science learning. More specifically, she investigates how classroom instruction can be designed to meaningfully engage students in scientific theory building in order to help them refine their thinking and develop theory-building competencies. In a related strand of research, Dr. Swanson investigates students’ joint development of scientific knowledge and computational thinking practices through engagement in computationally-rich science curriculum.
Research Interests
Science education, the nature of scientific theory building, the role of intuitive knowledge in conceptual change, constructivist instruction and constructionist learning environments, computational thinking
Websites
Education
Year | Degree | Institution |
2015 | PhD, Science and Mathematics Education | University of California at Berkeley |
2002 | BA, Physics | Colorado College |
Grants/Funding
Year | Title | Source | Period | Amount | Status | |||||
2019 | Building Theories of Scientific Phenomena: Comparing and Integrating Aggregate Pattern-based and Agent-based Computational Approaches | National Science Foundation | 2019 – 2022 | $1,642,149 | Funded | |||||
PI: Wilensky, Uri Sherin, Bruce Swanson, Hillary
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