Address
    45th Street Plaza
   Box 354941
   University of Washington
   Seattle, WA  98103-4941

Email
    tlee13@u.washington.edu

Tel
    (206) 221-6625

Fax
    (206) 221-0610

Curriculum Vitae (pdf)

Research Interests

My research interests lie at the intersection of child development (i.e., focusing on the learning and development of young children through age 8), science education (i.e., what, where, when, and how young children learn about science; implications for learning and teaching in school and everyday contexts), and learning sciences (i.e., using socio-cultural theories of learning and mixed methods to better understand how people learn across time and settings).

Currently, I am developing a line of research to understand how to best support young children’s scientific understanding and interests by leveraging their existing ideas and experiences. My dissertation research provides the foundation for this work: beginning with a study of kindergarten through second grade students, I seek to identify children’s developing conceptions of science and scientists, their sources of scientific information, and their reported school and everyday science-related activities. I am particularly interested in the possible factors and sources of information, as reported by young children, that contribute to the developmental changes in their thinking.