معرفی
Luke Conlin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Physics at Salem State University, teaching courses including College Physics II, General Physics with Calculus sequences, Principles of Astronomy, and Directed Study in Physics. He coordinates the Collins Observatory on Meier Hall's roof and emphasizes creating space for students' thinking to connect ideas with complex phenomena in his teaching philosophy.
His research focuses on:
- Physics Education Research (PER) and Learning Sciences
- Scientific sensemaking and epistemic emotions
- Quantitative inquiry-based physics labs
- Learning astronomy in informal environments
- Group work dynamics and computational modeling integration
His 15 most recent publications (2017-2024) reveal strong trends in computational modeling integration with physics education, synergistic learning of physics and computational thinking, and family astronomy workshops. Significant themes include epistemic distancing for safe sensemaking spaces, the value of null results in PER, and Next Generation Science Standards alignment. Work spans K-12 to university settings with emphasis on collaborative, inquiry-based approaches.
Dr. Conlin actively involves students in research through:
- NSF DRK12-funded DC-Models project (collaborating with MIT and DC Public Schools)
- Solve-It: Algebra skills assessment in physics
- Family Astronomy Workshops
- Weekly SSU-PER DBER Group meetings ('Super Duper Group')
He leads two key initiatives:
- Collins Observatory for astronomy education and public outreach
- SSU-PER DBER Group for collaborative physics education research
