This July, I had the honor of presenting at the 2025 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Chemical Education Research. My talk, “Mapping Student Perceptions of Chemistry Labs: A Shift from Qualitative to Quantitative Approaches,” focused on exploring how students interpret and experience chemistry labs and how those experiences can be captured through a survey.
Standing in front of the GRC community, I shared how my work has evolved from deep, qualitative inquiry into student narratives to the development of frameworks that allow for broader, more scalable insights using quantitative tools. This shift isn’t about leaving stories behind instead it’s about finding ways to honor complexity while reaching more learners.
Huge thanks to everyone who asked questions, offered feedback, and pushed my thinking forward. And shoutout to Monmouth University for supporting this work and the students whose voices helped shape this research.
I left the conference energized and deeply inspired by the work happening in chemistry education research spaces.
Stay tuned, there’s much more to come!