Research

Primary Project

My current position is as a Research Associate in the School of Education at the University of Michigan. I am a part of the hi-ce group (Center for Highly Interactive Classrooms, Curricula & Computing in Education) and am working on a National Science Foundation grant entitled, Developing an Empirically-Tested Learning Progression for the Transformation of Matter to Inform Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Design (NSF, UMich). My role is primarily as a data manager, which includes distributing and collecting student assessments and teacher surveys, conducting classrooms observations, and evaluating curricula from participating classrooms. I hope to be more involved in analysis and writing as those phases of the project move forward.

Commission Work

I am also actively working on two commissioned papers.

Integrated STEM Learning

The first paper is for the National Academy of Engineering's Committee on Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (iSTEM) Education. I am working with Chris Schunn, my graduate school advisor, on reviewing the cognitive science literature that is relevant for understanding the opportunities and challenges for iSTEM learning. We presented a draft of our findings at the committee's first meeting and are now working on revising the paper with the goal of completing it before the end of the calendar year.

Design-Make-Play Learning Methodologies

The second paper is for the New York Hall of Science's (NYSCI) Sara Lee Schupf Family Center for Play, Science, and Technology Learning (SciPlay). I am working with David Kanter to build a framework for classifying learning activities into three learning methodologies - Design, Make, and Play. The goal is for the framework to highlight both the commonalities and differences between the learning methodologies and to provide a tool for doing the classification. I have completed a draft and am in the process of getting feedback from the NYSCI community.

Silk, E. M. (2012). Ends and means: A framework for design, make, and play learning activities. Paper presented at the Design, Make, Play - Growing the Next Generation of Science Innovators workshop at the New York Hall of Science, Queens, NY. [Draft Paper (PDF)] [Presentation (PDF)]

Curriculum Vitae

CV (last updated: December 29, 2011)

Math in Educational Robotics

Silk, E. M. (2011). Resources for learning robots: Environments and framings connecting math in robotics (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh). Available from Dissertations and Theses at the University of Pittsburgh and from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database (Publication No. AAT 3485771). [Paper (PDF)] [Presentation (PDF)] [University of Pittsburgh ETD] [ProQuest UMI Database]

Silk, E. M., Higashi, R., & Schunn, C. D. (2011, June). Resources for robot competition success: Assessing math use in grade-school-level engineering design. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Engineering Education, Vancouver, BC, Canada. [Paper (PDF)] [Presentation (PDF)]

Silk, E. M., & Schunn, C. D. (2011, June). Calculational versus mechanistic mathematics in propelling the development of physical knowledge. Paper presented at the 41st annual meeting of the Jean Piaget Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. [Paper (PDF)] [Presentation (PDF)]

Silk, E. M., & Schunn, C. D. (2011, April). Resources for learning robots: Facilitating the incorporation of mathematical models in students' engineering design strategies. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA, USA. [Paper (PDF)] [Presentation (PDF)]

Silk, E. M., Schunn, C. D., Shoop, R., & Stein, M. K. (2011, March). The Robot Algebra Project. Poster presented at the eighth annual NSF ITEST Summit, Arlington, VA, USA. [Poster (PDF)]

Silk, E. M. (2010, August 25). Can math help in LEGO robotics competitions? [4-part web log post]. Retrieved from http://robotics-academy.org/blog/?p=356 [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]

Silk, E. M., Higashi, R., Shoop, R., & Schunn, C. D. (2010). Designing technology activities that teach mathematics. The Technology Teacher, 69(4), 21-27. [Paper (PDF)]

Silk, E. M., Schunn, C. D., & Shoop, R. (2009). Synchronized robot dancing: Motivating efficiency & meaning in problem-solving with robotics. Robot Magazine, 17, 74-77. [Author Proof (PDF)]

Silk, E. M., & Schunn, C. D. (2008, June). Using robotics to teach mathematics: Analysis of a curriculum designed and implemented. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Engineering Education, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. [Paper (PDF)] [Presentation (PDF)]

Silk, E. M., Schunn, C. D., Higashi, R., Shoop, R., Dietrich, A., & Reed, R. (2007). The use of robotics to teach mathematics. Robotics Educators Conference, Butler, PA, USA. [Presentation (PDF)]

Design for Science Learning

Schunn, C. D., Silk, E. M., & Apedoe, X. S. (in press). Engineering in/&/or/for science education. In S. Carver & J. Shrager (Eds.), The Journey from Child to Scientist: Integrating Cognitive Development and the Education Sciences. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. [Publisher URL] [Amazon]

Schunn, C. D., & Silk, E. M. (2011). Learning theories for engineering and technology education. In M. Barak & M. Hacker (Eds.), Fostering Human Development through Engineering and Technology Education (pp. 3-18), Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. [Paper (PDF)] [Publisher URL]

Silk, E. M., Schunn, C. D., & Strand Cary, M. (2009). The impact of an engineering design curriculum on science reasoning in an urban setting. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 18(3), 209-223. doi: 10.1007/s10956-009-9144-8 [Final Draft (PDF)]

Doppelt, Y., Schunn, C. D., Silk, E. M., Mehalik, M. M., Reynolds, B., & Ward, E. (2009). Evaluating the impact of a facilitated learning community approach to professional development on teacher practice and student achievement. Research in Science & Technological Education, 27(3), 339-354. doi: 10.1080/02635140903166026

Silk, E. M., & Schunn, C. D. (2008, January). Core concepts in engineering as a basis for understanding and improving K-12 engineering education in the United States. Paper commissioned for the report Engineering in K-12 Education: Understanding the Status and Improving the Prospects and presented at the National Academy of Engineering/National Research Council workshop on K-12 Engineering Education, Washington, DC, USA. [Final Draft (PDF)]

Doppelt, Y., Mehalik, M. M., Schunn, C. D., Silk, E., & Krysinski, D. (2008). Engagement and achievements: A case study of design-based learning in a science context. Journal of Technology Education, 19(2), 22-39. [Paper (HTML)] [Paper (PDF)]

Silk, E. M., & Schunn, C. D. (2008, April). Utilizing contrasting cases to target science reasoning and content in a design-for-science unit. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Baltimore, MD, USA. [Paper (PDF)] [Presentation (PDF)]

Silk, E. M., Schunn, C. D., & Strand Cary, M. (2007, April). The impact of an engineering design curriculum on science reasoning in an urban setting. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, New Orleans, LA, USA. [Paper (PDF)] [Presentation (PDF)]

Silk, E. M., & Schunn, C. D. (2006). Learning science by participating in design: A case where multiple design subgoals interfere with systematic progress. In S. Barab, K. Hay, & D. Hickey (Eds.), Proceedings of the 7th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (pp. 988-989). Bloomington, IN: International Society of the Learning Sciences. [Paper (PDF)] [Poster (PDF)]

Doppelt, Y., Silk, E. M., Mehalik, M. M., Schunn, C. D., Reynolds, B., & Ward, E. (2006, April). Evaluating the impact of a facilitated learning community approach to professional development on student achievement. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, San Francisco, CA, USA. [Paper (PDF)] [Presentation (PDF)]

Cognitive Modeling

Qin, Y., Carter, C. S., Silk, E. M., Stenger, V. A., Fissell, K., Goode, A., & Anderson, J. R. (2004). The change of the brain activation patterns as children learn algebra equation solving. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 101(15), 5686-5691. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0401227101

Mobile Robotics

Maxwell, B. A., Meeden, L. A., Addo, N. S., Dickson, P., Fairfield, N., Johnson, N., Jones, E. G., Kim, S., Malla, P., Murphy, M., Rutter, B., & Silk, E. M. (2001). REAPER: A reflexive architecture for perceptive agents. AI Magazine, 22(1), 53-66. [Paper (Online)]

Maxwell, B. A., Meeden, L. A., Addo, N. S., Brown, L., Dickson, P., Ng, J., Olshfski, S., Silk, E. M., & Wales, J. (1999). Alfred: The Robot Waiter Who Remembers You. Proceedings of the AAAI Workshop on Robotics. Menlo Park, CA: AAAI Press. [Paper (PDF)]