Classroom Learning and Instruction in High School Pre-College Engineering Settings: A Video-Based Analysis (original) (raw)

Madison, where he is Chair of the Learning Sciences program. He holds appointments in Curriculum and Instruction, the Psychology Department, the Wisconsin Center for Educational Research, and the Center on Education and Work. Dr. Nathan received his PhD in experimental (cognitive) psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He holds a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering, mathematics and history from Carnegie Mellon University. As an engineer, Dr. Nathan worked in research and development in artificial intelligence and expert systems, computer vision and robotic systems mobility. This work inspired an interest in how people represent their knowledge of the physical and conceptual realms. Dr. Nathan's research is largely rooted in cognitive, embodied and social perspectives on learning and instruction, and employs quantitative and qualitative methods. Currently, he examines the intersection of student and teacher cognition as it plays out in classroom learning situations, primarily involving middle and high school mathematics, science and engineering. His research on students' reasoning showed that they may invent effective strategies and representations for solving math problems, and these methods can serve as bridges for instruction. He is also exploring the embodied nature of students' knowledge, as exhibited by gestures, and the mediating effects of action on conceptual knowledge. His studies of teachers' beliefs about the development of students' mathematical reasoning showed that content experts can show evidence of expert blind spot, which influences teachers' expectations of what makes things difficult for their students. He is currently co-principal investigator for the AWAKEN Project (funded by NSF-EEP), which examines the nature of high school pre-engineering, early college engineering, and professional engineering practice in order to foster a more diverse and more able pool of engineering students and practitioners.