Investigations of Conceptual Learning, Motivation, and Problem Solving

"It is really cool to have both the access to the data and the statistical knowledge to be able to ask a question and then analyze the data without having to ask somebody else for help. I am also enjoying weekly readings and discussions. "

Supervising Faculty: Tim Nokes-Malach, Ph.D.

Contact: Tim Nokes-Malach, Ph.D., nokes@pitt.edu

Area of Research: Cognition, Motivation, Learning and Problem Solving

Description of Research: Current projects focus on math (e.g., elementary statistics) and science (e.g., physics) learning. We conduct classroom and laboratory experiments in which we examine the effects of various types of learning activities on conceptual understanding, motivation, and problem solving.

Duties of Students: Coding and scoring of problem-solving data; Data entry in Excel; Conducting Experiments; Transcription and coding of verbal protocols and videos; Article searches.

Requirements:

  • 12 credits of Psychology (including current term)
  • STAT 0200/1000/1100 Statistics
  • PSY 0036 Research Methods Lecture
  • PSY 0037 Research Methods Lab

Additional Requirements: Overall GPA of 3.2 or higher in addition to department requirements

Terms offered: fall and spring

Number of Students: 2

Additional Information: See our lab page for more information: http://www.lrdc.pitt.edu/nokes/CSL-lab-home.html