Contact Information:
rstowe@chem.wisc.edu
- Research Associate
Michigan State University
Dr. Melanie Cooper - Ph.D. (2016)
The Scripps Research Institute
Dr. William Roush - B.A. (2010)
Albion College
Ryan earned his Ph.D. from Scripps Research under the guidance of Prof. William Roush. While enrolled in graduate school, Ryan was appointed a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow with the Board on Science Education at the National Academy of Sciences. Post-Ph.D., Ryan spent 3 years as a postdoctoral fellow mentored by Prof. Melanie Cooper. His postdoctoral work focused on supporting student engagement in expert-like epistemic practices.
Ryan and his research group work to understand what would be required for chemistry classes to prepare students for their post-school daily lives. This agenda is multi-faceted and requires attending to how people and communities use chemistry in daily life, considering how (or whether) knowing and learning in-class resembles knowing and learning in-life, and desettling taken-for-granted assumptions about what chemistry learning could and should look like.