Ph.D. Student Profiles

Jamie Elsner is a doctoral candidate in the Learning Sciences and Psychological Studies (LSPS) Ph.D. program. Her research focuses on how to support student learning in K-12 science education. Currently, Jamie is working on a research project that engages middle school students in modeling activities to promote understanding of viral disease spread. She is also interested in science learning that occurs outside of school, including science museums, summer camps, and after school programs. Prior to UNC, Jamie earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Skidmore College and taught English in the Netherlands as a Fulbright scholar. She also completed a service year with AmeriCorps, where she conducted a study focused on cultural inclusivity in undergraduate STEM courses.

Publications

• Elsner, J. N., Sadler, T. D., Zangori, L., Friedrichsen, P. J., & Ke, L. (2022). Student interest, concerns, and information-seeking behaviors related to COVID-19. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research, 4(1), 11.
• Elsner, J., Sadler, T., Kirk, E., Rawson, R., Friedrichsen, P., & Ke, L. (2023). Using multiple models to learn about COVID-19. The Science Teacher, 90(3), 40-45.
• Kirk, E. A., Romine, W. L., Sadler, T. D., Elsner, J. N., Zangori, L. A., & Ke, L. (2023). Interest and effort: exploring the relationship between students Covid-19 interest and information-seeking behavior. International Journal of Science Education, Part B, 1-20.
• Kirk, E. A., Sadler, T. D., Xu, Z., Elsner, J. N., Lesnefsky, R. R., Ke, L., & Zangori, L. (2024). Socioscientific Modeling: Helping Students See Systems and Understand Messy Issues. Science Scope, 47(2), 12-17.

Presentations

• Elsner, J.N., Zahran, W., Garcia-Baza, I., Klasik, D., Hewitt, K., Sadler, T. (2024, March). Does attending a selective STEM high school influence college outcomes? [Conference presentation]. NARST 2024, Denver, CO, USA.
• Elsner, J.N., Kirk, E.A., Xu, Z., Zangori, L., Ke, L., Sadler, T.D. (Accepted for 2024, March). Promoting Model-informed Reasoning through Engagement with Multiple Models. [Conference poster presentation]. NARST 2024, Denver, CO, USA.
• Elsner, J.N., Kirk, E.A., Ke, L., Sadler, T.D. (2023, April). Epistemic dispositions in SSI-based systems modeling. [Virtual conference presentation]. NARST 2023, Chicago, IL, USA.