Meet the Team

Dr. Imogen Herrick is a scholar and educator whose work explores how science learning connects to community life and lived experience. She studies how young people make sense of scientific ideas and data in meaningful, relational, and place-based ways.

Her research includes participatory approaches, such as Photovoice, and flexible instructional practices, such as Community Science Data Talks. Through this work, learners document their communities, interpret data together, and engage in dialogue about issues that matter to them. She examines how emotion, identity, and context shape participation in data-rich conversations and how evidence can support agency and collective meaning-making.

Drawing from educational psychology, learning sciences, and community-based research, she collaborates with educators and communities to design learning environments that strengthen connection to ideas, to one another, and to the places they call home.

Dr. Lawson is an Assistant Professor of Math and STEM Education at Kansas State University. His work is focused on supporting teachers’ development of high-quality and equitable mathematics and STEM instruction. Specifically his work explores two areas: (1) understanding and supporting teachers’ visions of ambitious instruction, and (2) developing innovative and place-based approaches for math and STEM teaching and learning. Through this work, he is committed to cultivating classrooms that function as estuaries--spaces where disciplines, identities, and lived experiences coalesce in ways that push the impact of learning beyond the walls of a classroom and into the places students and teachers live. When he's not thinking about work, Dr. Lawson is hanging out with his dog (who's been with him since he was student teaching in Knoxville, Tennessee), catching the newest movie, or cooking a new dish. 

​Meredith Bittel is a Ph.D. Candidate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Kansas, with a concentration in Social and Cultural Studies in Education. She is a qualitative methodologist whose research examines social justice in science education in a global context, with additional experience in educational leadership and higher education. Prior to pursuing doctoral study, she earned an M.S. in architectural engineering and served in the United States Peace Corps as a mathematics teacher in Guinea, West Africa.

Jaclyn is an Assistant Professor in Curriculum and Teaching at the University of Kansas. She earned her doctorate in Learning, Design, and Technology from Penn State.

Jaclyn began her career teaching cool Humanities courses like World Mythology and Classical Civilizations before switching fields to Education. In addition to being a Learning Sciences researcher, she is also a professional learning designer. She infuses both her research and design work with arts-based inquiry, playfulness, and a focus on materiality.

Growing up in northern Michigan, Jaclyn developed a deep love of nature and the special power of the Great Lakes. She is a self-proclaimed gardener, performer, artist, and Midwest mermaid.

Peyman is a PhD student in Curriculum and Instruction (TESOL emphasis) whose research focuses on validity and fairness in automated assessment for English language learners. He uses quantitative methods to evaluate algorithmic scores and develop data-informed approaches to assessment and instruction. 

Alpaslan Çiftçi is a learning design researcher and practitioner focused on design justice and neurodivergent studies. As a doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Kansas and a Fulbright alum, he studies how learning systems and AI-mediated environments shape belonging, authorship, and participation.

Keelie is an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the School of Education & Human Sciences under Dr. Herrick through the Emerging Scholars program. Keelie is a Secondary Education Major with an emphasis on English with the intent of getting Special Education licensed to become a gifted facilitator at the High School level. Keelie is interested in learning about the foundations of care and support for students in education. She is a social chair at her Scholarship Hall and is focused on building positive relationships with her community through events and interaction. 

John Harrison is a musician, electrical/computer engineer, educator and new media artist. He is best known as the inventor of Friendship Lamps, interactive lights that connect you with those you love. Previously, John served served as a full-time faculty member at Wichita State University's College of Engineering. Before that he was Associate Professor of Violin at Wichita State University’s School of Music and Concertmaster of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.