Jackie Chini is an assistant professor in physics and Director of the Learning Assistant Program. She is a disciplinary-based education researcher interested in a broad range of diversity issues in STEM education. Specifically, she studies how research-based instructional strategies can be adapted to work at institutions like UCF, where students have a variety of academic backgrounds and commitments competing for their time. She is also an active participant in several education programs, including the American Physical Society Physics Teacher Education Coalition, which strives to improve high school physics teacher preparation, and Bridge Program, which strives to increase the number of under-represented minorities earning physics PhDs.
Jackie has experience assessing student learning and attitudes, observing courses, interviewing students and faculty, developing teaching assistant professional development, and developing courses for future and in-service teachers. She is open to many types of collaborations. Specifically, her own work could be strengthened by collaboration with social scientists with expertise in diversity issues and statisticians with interest in educational data.