Scientists and engineers work in teams, using complex semi-formal processes to make breakthrough discoveries and develop innovative products. While we know a lot about how people become fixated on past solutions and how the discovery and design processes can each be better structured, much remains to be understood the process of insight and innovation, particularly regarding the cognition and social interaction that underlies it. We bring the theories and methods of cognitive and social psychology to unpack the complex events of discovery and design that occur in the real teams working on real problems.

I have studied many aspects of STEM teaching and learning. Most unique to my lab, we apply deep integrations of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to reform K-12 instruction. We explore different strategies for integrating different parts of STEM in ways that better match real science and engineering practice to produce stronger learning outcomes, but in ways that today’s teachers can implement. Most commonly, we have explored integrating: 1) engineering to teach science, 2) mathematics to teach science, and 3) robotics to teach mathematics and computer science.