Postdoctoral Research, Michigan State University 2012 – 2014
Associate Professor, University of Iowa, 2014 – present

Nicole Becker is originally from South Dakota and attended South Dakota State University, graduating in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. From 2005 to 2006 she taught high school chemistry, math, and physics as a volunteer teacher in Oshigambo, Namibia. Her experiences as a novice teacher motivated her to study how students learn chemistry and how different learning environments contribute to student success. Her doctoral work at Purdue University focused on the impact of collaborative learning environments such as the Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) approach on student learning. As a post-doctoral researcher, she examined the impact of an alternative general chemistry curriculum called Chemistry, Life, the Universe and Everything, a research-based chemistry curriculum funded by the National Science Foundation.

Becker's research at the University of Iowa focuses on how undergraduate chemistry students engage in scientific practices, such as using models to predict and explain chemical behavior. The goal of this work is to inform the design of evidence-based instructional materials for introductory chemistry courses and to improve student performance and retention in these courses.

Please see our projects page for details on specific research projects.