Minsu Ha, a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Science and Mathematics Education (CESAME) and the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University, received the prestigious Young Scholar Award from the Korean Association for Science Education (KASE). This national award is given annually to the most accomplished science education researcher in the country.
Dr. Ha was recognized by KASE for his outstanding scholarly contributions published in the Journal of the Korean Association for Science Education (the official journal of KASE) and high-impact international journals such as the Journal of Research in Science Teaching.
Dr. Ha works in the lab of Ross Nehm, an associate professor of Ecology and Evolution, on two of his National Science Foundation-funded research projects. Both of these projects harness advances in computer technology to build more sophisticated assessments of students’ biological understanding. In particular, they are using machine-learning methods to automatically score open-ended text with a goal of expanding the use of more authentic tests in large, introductory biology courses. This research has drawn national attention and was recently highlighted as Editor’s Choice in the journal Science and featured in the New Republic.
“The Stony Brook community should be proud of Dr. Ha’s outstanding achievements in the field of STEM education,” said Professor Nehm. “Minsu’s research has opened the doors to new ways of thinking about how to meaningfully assess biology students’ understandings of core ideas. We are all fortunate to have him as part of the SBU community.”
Minsu Ha received a BA and EdM in Biology Education from Korea National University of Education and a PhD in Science Education from Ohio State University. He has studied machine-learning methods in educational assessment, assessment design and evaluation, studies of science learning in different countries and cultures, and the learning and teaching of evolution.
Dr. serves on the International Committee of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching. His other awards include the Young IHPST Scholar Award (2012) and the Marilyn Ruth Hathaway Scholarship (2012).
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