Team Members
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The SEEL Team is a group of educational researchers based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We are a group of science educators with experience in K-16 teaching, teacher education, curriculum development, STEM education in informal settings, and a wide range of research approaches.
Troy D. Sadler
Thomas James Distinguished Professor in Experiential Learning
Sadler is a Professor of Education at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Education. He serves as the Thomas James Distinguished Professor in Experiential Learning. Sadler began his career as a high school science teacher. While working as a teacher, he became interested in using complex issues to teach science. His students were engaged and motivated to learn when they had opportunities to think about issues that mattered beyond the walls of the classroom. When he started graduate school at the University of South Florida, issues-based teaching became the focus of his research, and he has maintained this focus ever since. He teaches classes in the UNC teacher preparation program and serves as the Co-Editor for the Journal of Research in Science Teaching.
Zhen Xu
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Zhen Xu is a postdoctoral research associate at the School of Education at UNC Chapel Hill. Before joining UNC, Zhen Xu received her Ph.D. and M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Educational Technology from the University of Florida. She also obtained a minor in Research in Evaluation and Methodology, focusing on quantitative research methods. Her research centers around designing technology-enhanced learning environments and exploring strategies to scaffold visuospatial thinking in science learning in the context of socio-scientific issues.
Jamie Elsner
Doctoral Student
Jamie Elsner is a doctoral student in the Learning Sciences and Psychological Studies (LSPS) program at UNC. She is interested in studying science learning that occurs in informal contexts, including science museums, summer camps, and after school programs. Jamie is currently working on a study that explores experiential learning during a study abroad program in the Galapagos. Prior to UNC, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Skidmore College and taught English in the Netherlands as a
Fulbright scholar. She also completed a service year with AmeriCorps, where she conducted a study focused on cultural inclusivity in undergraduate STEM courses.
Nannan Fan
Doctoral Student
Nannan Fan is a doctoral student at UNC and working with Dr. Troy Sadler as an editorial associate for the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (JRST) now. She received her master’s degree in education at the East China Normal University in China. Her research interests focus on how to make science learning more interesting and useful to students, specifically how to facilitate students’ science learning and application by engaging them with socio-scientific issues.
Eric Kirk
Doctoral Student
Eric Kirk is a doctoral student in the Learning Sciences and Psychological Studies program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before arriving at UNC, Eric earned his BS in Biology and MAT in Science Education at the University of Georgia and taught high school biology, environmental science, and physical science in Atlanta. He is interested in how experiences in the science classroom can be used to support democratic dialogue and justice-oriented decision-making in the context of polarizing societal issues. His current work focuses on how students think about and represent complex systems, use models to understand social issues and engage with new information about these issues as they unfold.
Heewoo Lee
Doctoral Student
Heewoo Lee is a PhD student in the Learning Sciences and Psychological Studies (LSPS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She began her career as an elementary school teacher and participated in multiple STEAM research programs. Lee is interested in developing students into independent scientific thinkers and inquirers of the social issues faced by the field of science. She earned her B.A. and M.A. in Science Education at Gyeongin National University of Education in South Korea. Lee’s earlier work includes research on the instructional effect of learner-generated infographics in science classes.
Rebecca Lesnefsky
Doctoral Student
Rebecca Lesnefsky is a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is in the Culture, Curriculum, and Teacher Education strand, where she works closely with pre-service STEM educators. She is interested in teacher education, specifically developing teachers’ confidence in addressing complex social dimensions, such as social justice and media literacy, in their science classrooms. She is currently involved in projects that explore how issues-based teaching can support student learning and develop competency in science practices. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, she was a middle school science teacher in Georgetown, TX.
Jasmyne Yeldell
Doctoral Student
Jasmyne Yeldell is a Doctoral Student in the Curriculum, Culture, & Teacher Education (CCTE) program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education with a primary focus on science education. Her research focuses on the science identity formation processes of children of color in addition to equitable science curriculum development and hands-on education. Jasmyne is a member of the SEEL Research Team where she works on the Multiple Models Project (MMP) studying equitable modeling practices. She is also a Research Assistant of the I CAN PERSIST [ICP] STEM Initiative at the UNC; a culturally responsive, evidenced-based program that aims to advance academic and career persistence among women and girls of color interested in pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Within this program she teaches undergraduate courses alongside working with a team on developing monthly Empowerment Forums and Professional Development opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students within the initiative. Finally, she partners with the Jackson Center in developing curriculum that educates local students on the rich history of Black communities within Chapel Hill, NC.
SEEL Team Alum
Li Ke
Li Ke was a postdoctoral research associate in the SEEL Team before joining the University of Nevada, Reno as an Assistant Professor of Science Education in 2022. His research centers around fostering meaningful science teaching and learning from elementary through high school classrooms. Li Ke is interested in how students negotiate socio-scientific issues such as climate change and how issue-based learning experiences support students’ development in scientific literacy. His work also explores co-design as an effective way of teacher professional development to promote teacher agency.