Dr. Meena Kharatmal is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the D-BERG lab, contributing to research in informal science education. Through her work with the Texas Master Naturalist program, she explores how volunteer activities influence science engagement and motivation, using qualitative methods to understand the challenges and sustainability of citizen science efforts. She also supports community outreach through the Seasons of Science program and is investigating the integration of AI tools in informal science education.

In the lab, Dr. Kharatmal actively mentors Master’s and PhD students at various stages of their research and leads sessions on research methodologies. She holds a PhD in Science Education from the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India. With over a decade of experience, her work spans science education research, curriculum development, teacher professional development, and science communication. Her research interests include undergraduate biology education, student understanding of experimentation, the nature and language of science, and science popularization.

meenakharatmal@txstate.edu

https://meenakharatmal.wp.txstate.edu/

Dr. Tina A. Marcroft is a postdoctoral researcher conducting discipline-based education research (DBER) in biology education. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2009 with her BS in Biology followed by a MS in Biology in 2015. She most recently completed a joint doctoral program—the Math and Science Education Doctoral (MSED) program—at both the University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University.

Dr. Marcroft is currently working on an NSF funded project (2222586) investigating and modeling the interactions of multiple cognitive and behavioral factors on tree-thinking, i.e. the interpretation of phylogenetic trees. Her primary interest is therefore in representational competence and related topics but she is also interested in methodological research. Dr. Marcroft is specifically interested in assessment and how DBER researchers can appropriately evaluate the adequacy of such assessments by gathering better data quality evidence. Accordingly, she was the primary developer of the database tools used in CHIRAL, the Chemistry Instrument Review and Assessment Library created by Dr. Regis Komperda, Dr. Jordan Harshman, and Dr. Jack Barbera. CHIRAL is a repository of educational instruments meant to help researcher and practitioners save time and effort by compiling existing educational instruments from the literature as well as providing panel reviews of associated data quality evidence. Dr. Marcroft’s future work seeks to further investigate both of these topics.

In her free time, Tina bakes, crochets, plays board games, and is a cinephile!

ORC ID link: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4758-8548

Google Scholar link: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jl_JdIkAAAAJ&hl=en

Ryan Spencer graduated from Texas State University – San Marcos in December 2009 where he received his BS in Water Studies with a minor in Geology. He continued his education at Texas State University and in December of 2013 graduated with a Master of Applied Geography in Geographic Information Science. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Aquatic Resources and Integrative Biology at Texas State University. His research is centered on the impacts of Place-Based Education Pedagogy and Environmental Mindfulness on Informal Science Education.

Jill Zipperer, a self-proclaimed “nature nerd,” is a Doctoral Candidate studying various types of community members’ perceptions of science and scientists. She earned her BS in Interdisciplinary Studies at Texas State University in 2017 before becoming a 5th-grade science teacher. During her time in the classroom, she earned her MA in Science Education-Middle Grades from Western Governors University.

Jill is passionate about informal science education, having spent time as an intern at GirlStart, science educator at the TXST Aquatic Science Adventure Camp, board member of the Informal Science Education Association of Texas, and Certified Interpretive Guide & Trainer through NAI. She is a proud member of the Hays County Master Naturalists and spends her free time hiking and looking for critters!

Mallika Saha is a research enthusiast who wants to explore new things. She completed her BSc and MSc in Zoology from Jagannath University, Bangladesh. After graduation, she worked as a Research Assistant at the Department of Biology at Jagannath University. Later, she joined a developmental organization as a Liaison and Monitoring officer of a British Council project. The project was focused on food safety and the empowerment of rural women.

Mallika completed her second Master’s degree in Biology at Texas State University and is currently pursuing her doctoral studies. Her research focuses on visual assessments of college biology students, with a particular interest in exploring students’ cognitive interpretation of scientific diagrams by using eye-tracking methods.

Carolyn Jess graduated from Sam Houston State University in 2022 where she earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental science with a track in sustainability. Here, she furthered her passion for wildlife conservation and Texas’s endangered species.

She is now working toward earning her master’s degree in biology at Texas State University. She is currently working on a project to determine what makes 5th-grade students feel most like a scientist when taking part in a science-based activity. Using these findings, she plans to create an activity for Minding the Hill Country to engage and involve others in the world of science.

Kyle Tucker

Past Graduate Researchers (Current Position):

• Brady Pringle (Georgetown IDS, Substitute Teacher)
  Research Rangers: Nature Invaders (Master’s Project)
• Miranda Wait (The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Deputy Director of Spring Lake Education)
  Connecting Interest in and Awareness of the Environment with an Informal Experience (Master’s Thesis)
• Rachel Lincoln Seets (Hill Country Alliance, Landowner Outreach Stewardship Manager)
  An examination of best practices and impact of an outdoor science inquiry with elementary students (Master’s Thesis)
• Jenn Idema (Texas State University, Functional Biology Lab Coordinator)
  Exploring the Impacts of Socioscientific Environmental Issues Through Aquarium Exhibits (Doctoral Dissertation)
• Myra McConnell (Inver Hills Community College, University of Minnesota, Biology Faculty)
  An In-depth Investigation into a Faculty’s Development of an Active-Learning Course (Master’s Thesis)
• Bria Marty (Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, Doctoral Student)
  Assessing Public Perceptions of Spiders and Identifying Trends in Community Science Participation
• Zach Nolen (Austin Community College, Faculty & Elgin IDS, Science Teacher)
  A Consideration into Ways Biology-Based Student Organizations Facilitate Participation in STEM (Doctoral Dissertation)
• Sara Salisbury (Middle Tennessee State University, Doctoral Candidate)
  An Investigation of Preservice Teachers’ Engagement and Perceptions of Science Learning in Outdoor Learning Environments (Master’s Thesis)
• Austin Leone (USDA, Staff Scientist & Program Evaluator)
  An Investigation of Relationships between Student Acceptance of Evolution, Tree-Thinking, and Eye Movement among different Instructional Interventions (Master’s Thesis)
• Jennifer Mraz-Craig (Southern Utah University, Faculty)
  Identities and Motives of Naturalist Development Program Attendees and their Relation to Professional Careers (Doctoral Dissertation)
• Chandrani Mishra, (Purdue, Postdoctoral Scholar)
  Investigating the Impact of Reflexive Practices on College Students in a Science Laboratory Course (Doctoral Dissertation)
• Aubin St. Clair (Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, OPC-FSD-South Regional Office)
  Naturalists’ Perspectives on the Use of Mobile Technology during a Nature Hike (Master’s Thesis)
• Carrie Jo Bucklin (née Boyce) (Texas State University, Biology Education Faculty)
  Investigating How Students Communicate Tree-Thinking (Doctoral Dissertation)
• Jill Maroo (University of Northern Iowa, Faculty)
  Nursing Students’ Attitudes toward Science in the Nursing Curricula (Doctoral Dissertation)

Past Undergraduate Honor’s Theses:

• Victoria Reyes
  Family Interpretation of Conservation Messaging in an Aquarium (Honor’s Thesis)
• Antonia Mac Crossan
  Student Hormonal Responses in Two Learning Environments (Honor’s Thesis)
• Austin Wilkes
  The Relationship between Religiosity and Acceptance of Evolutionary Theory among Students in an Introductory Zoology Course (Honor’s Thesis)
• Leah Cuddeback
  Lions and Tigers and Teens: Exploring Volunteer Influences at the Saint Louis Zoo (Honor’s Thesis)
• Jeremy Norris
  Validity and Reliability Evaluation of an Instrument Measuring Plant Blindness (Honor’s Thesis)
• Ashleigh Davis Moore
  A Look into Informal Science Education and Students with Individual Education Plans (Honor’s Thesis)
• Donaven McLaurin
  Using Manipulative Models to Develop Tree-Thinking (Honor’s Thesis)

Other Past Members:

• Maggie Pappano, Michelle Nguyen, Dominique Ocampo, Ariana Corral, Ryan Ament, Lyric Pullman, Jackie Baez, Kaitlin Villarreal, Karina Salinas, Katherine Stefanik, Sierra Roman Hicks, Brittney Covington, Gabrielle Payne, Karen Alvarado Rodriguez, Izaak DeLeon, Sandra Bohn, Lauren Pittman, Matthew Planchard, and Megan Pallo