Ryan Benson, M.A.T.

Alumni
Biography

Currently working at Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) in Coralville, Iowa. 

Education:

M.A. Science Education, University of Iowa Class of 2021
B.A. Chemistry, University of Iowa Class of 2020

Hometown:

Iowa City, Iowa

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

In my free time I enjoy playing piano, trumpet, baseball, cycling, and reading.

How did you become interested in CER and what do you hope to do after your time in the Becker Group?

I first learned about CER and this type of research following a recommendation from my advisor. Seeing the direct applications from this field of research to teaching science is what initially sparked my interest. Hopefully many of the skills I have learned and the types of big questions we look at will help me in my pursuits as a future teacher.

What is your main research project?

My work in the Becker Group has mostly surrounded a project denoted as the NSF EAGER Project. A lot of what I do is analyze and inductively code data we have collected from graduate students who have participated in one of two promising approaches to graduate training in scientific ideation and questioning. The goal is that through comparisons of these two groups, and the data provided from them, we can gain further insight into our understanding of the processes by which graduate students develop scientific ideation and questioning skills; skills which are necessary both for positions in higher echelons of academia as well as to practice effective scientific research.

What interests you about this project?

This project relates to areas I have always been interested in that regard how people learn, but more specifically, seeing the processes neurologically that our brains utilize to acquire and develop new ways of thinking. I also enjoy this type of research for its potential contributions to society at large; through deeper understanding of these cognitive processes, we can create more effective education curricula that is both engaging and effective, as well as help create a society that is more scientifically literate and sees the benefit of scientific endeavors.

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