Office Address
3-154 Molecular and Cellular Biology
515 Delaware Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
United States
Sarah
Eddy
Associate Professor
Biology Teaching and Learning
Our lab engages in rigorous research to generate data and resources that support science instructors in creating content and course climates that promote student belonging, student motivation, and a sense that each student’s unique background and experiences are a strength within science.
Research statement
My lab explores inclusive teaching practices in biology. This focus is motivated by several observations of undergraduate education. First, whether or not a person completes a 4-year undergraduate degree is the single biggest driver of income inequality in the US and is a significant obstacle limiting socio-economic mobility. Students from high-income families complete college degrees at much higher rates than students from low-income families. Thus, for many students, the college degree functions as a barrier to social and economic mobility instead of a pathway. This problem is worse in STEM disciplines where students with marginalized racial, gender, and sexual identities leave these majors at much higher rates. This attrition prevents the STEM workforce from meeting the needs of the growing economy and constraining innovation as diverse teams are more creative and more successful at solving complex problems. Finally, as STEM research is increasingly applied to complex social problems, participation from all communities is critical for finding solutions.
The goal of my research is that my findings will inform the teaching and mentoring of other STEM instructors. Thus, the work and questions I explore are often developed and executed in collaboration with stakeholders (instructors, students, and administrators) and strategies for sharing what is learned are explicitly designed in the research.
Selected publications
Donis, K., Aikens, M. L., Swamy, U., Delgado, M., Gillespie, M., Graves, P., & Eddy, S. L. (2024). Learning Assistants and Instructors Provide Social Support That Influences Student Engagement Differently in Undergraduate Active Learning Chemistry Courses. Journal of Chemical Education, 101(8), 2989-3002.
Casper, A. M., Rebolledo, N., Lane, A. K., Jude, L., & Eddy, S.L. (2022). ‘It’s completely erasure’: A qualitative exploration of experiences of transgender, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, and questioning students in biology classes. CBE – Life Sciences Education, 21(4), ar69.
Shah, H., Simeon, J., Quardokus Fisher, K., & Eddy, S. L. (2022). Talking Science: Undergraduates’ everyday conversations as acts of boundary spanning that connect science to local communities. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 21(1), ar12.
Education and background
Associate Professor University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, August 2023-current
Associate Professor Florida International University, August 2022-July 2023
Assistant Professor Florida International University, August 2016-July 2022
Education Research Analyst University of Texas at Austin, February 2015-July 2016
Postdoctoral Scholar University of Washington, June 2012-January 2015
PhD, Oregon State University, Zoology, June 2012