Virginia J. Flood, Ph.D.
she/her/hers
Lab Director
I am an Assistant Professor of Learning Sciences in the Department of Learning and Instruction at UB. My research is focused on embodied communication (e.g., gesture) in STEM teaching and learning, and educational environments that incorporate the body in STEM. I earned my Ph.D. in the Embodied Design Research Laboratory (EDRL) at UC Berkeley. Originally, I’m from Maine.
I also teach a course on Embodiment in Education, LAI 689SEM.
Contact information:
Department of Learning and Instruction
University at Buffalo
vflood@buffalo.edu
(716) 645-2455 (LAI department)
Graduate and Undergraduate Researchers
Emma Booth
Graduate Research Assistant
Emma is a graduate student studying mathematics education and a former teacher. She is interested in the design of learning environments that make the concepts and skills learned through math more accessible and transferable.
Seoyeon Lee
Graduate Research Assistant
As the Graduate Assistant for Program Operation at the UB Teacher Residency Program, a Ph.D. student in Curriculum, Instruction, and Science of Learning, and a former high school teacher, Seoyeon strongly advocates for culturally responsive lessons, beneficial to both monolingual and multilingual students and underscore the often-underappreciated role of embodiment in the education. Her research interests span math education and English as a New Language (ENL) education, STEM education, and the inclusion of Social Emotional Learning in teacher development programs.
Minghui Zhu
Graduate Research Assistant
Minghui is a doctoral student in the UB Graduate School of Education, Department of Learning and Instruction. Her research interest is embodied interaction and argumentation in science education. Prior to UB, she earned her master degree in Curriculum and Instruction at East China Normal University (ECNU) in China. Email: mzhu26@buffalo.edu
Victoria Czech
she/her/hers
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Victoria is currently a senior undergraduate in chemical engineering, with a math minor. Her research interests include medicine, vaccines, and chemistry.
Jade Dennis
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Jade is an undergraduate senior studying English at the University at Buffalo. She enjoys working in the Department of Learning and Instruction as she looks towards a career in Higher Education. Her research interests include resilience in STEM classrooms, and she is curious to see how gesture in learning plays into this.
Challa Zirek
she/her/hers
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Challa is an undergraduate student pursuing a combined BA/EdM degree in Physics/Adolescent Physics Education. In addition to her interest in physics, she also finds the impact of student-educator interactions on student performance intriguing.
Affiliate Faculty
Benedikt W. Harrer, Ph.D.
he/him/his
Clinical Associate Professor, Physics
Benedikt is the Co-Principal Investigator on the EISLab project Dialogic Gesture in Physics (DiGEST Physics). His research centers on how people learn and teach physics in highly interactive formal and informal environments, particularly in the context of energy.
Lab Alumni
Margaret Andersen
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Mars is a Junior in pursuit of a Physics B.S and a Mathematics B.A. In addition to the EISLab, they have been working with UB’s Molecular Beam Epitaxy System and are hoping to go to graduate school for condensed matter physics.
Leah Bartlo
Graduate Research Assistant
Leah is a doctoral student in the curriculum, instruction and the science of learning program in the Department of Learning and Instruction and a Presidential Fellow in the Graduate School of Education. Leah’s research interests include learning science and early childhood.
Li Battista
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Li is a senior in the undergrad program with a major in English, and a minor in Korean. She is heavily interested in linguistics and education behind it.
Nova Crowe
he/they
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Nova is an undergraduate physics major interested in astrophysics education. He is passionate about non-verbal communication and the process of learning physics. They are also secretary of the Society of Physics students and enjoy tutoring others.
Akshay Kedari
he/him/his
Graduate Research Assistant
Akshay is a first-year doctoral student in the curriculum, instruction and the science of learning program in the Department of Learning and Instruction. He is interested in designing and developing socio-culturally appropriate educational programs and innovative teaching-learning resources for rural students in remote parts of India.
Stacy Scheuneman
she/her/hers
Graduate Research Assistant
Stacy is a doctoral student in Curriculum, Instruction and the Science of Learning at the UB Graduate School of Education Department of Learning and Instruction. She has over five years of teaching experience in formal science education, and several more in informal educational settings. Her research interests include collaborative learning in physics and chemistry and the design of learning technologies.
Derek Zurenda
he/him/his
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Derek is a junior undergraduate studying Geology/Earth Science Education. He is interested in hydrogeology, biogeochemistry, and science communication.