Who am I?

Hello, I'm Ali! I'm currently an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UC Santa Cruz. Prior to this, I got my Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences at Rutgers University–New Brunswick and then went on to get my Master's in Biological Science Education at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education. After graduating, I taught high school biology and also worked at Khan Academy as a biology content fellow. After Khan Academy, I returned to school to get my PhD in Science and Math Education in the SESAME program at UC Berkeley. 

What am I doing?

My overarching goal is to improve undergraduate STEM education. This passion of mine actually began while I was an undergrad at Rutgers. I made this very site (bi-ALI-gy, get it?) as a way to help struggling undergrads in an "introductory" STEM course. I've seen the difference a site like this can make, so now, I want to figure out even more ways to help even more students succeed, while also showing them that STEM disciplines are worth pursuing. 

Why am I doing it?

Because STEM is AWESOME! I truly believe it's the most applicable, the most relevant, and quite frankly, the most beautiful set of subjects imaginable. But unfortunately, so much of its applicability, relevancy, and especially its beauty gets diminished at the undergraduate level. Nowadays, a fancy STEM degree is all the rage, but are all STEM students really getting the best education possible? In many cases, I don't think so. However, it's reassuring to know that a huge push has begun all around the world to start teaching STEM with research-based pedagogy, educational psychology, and even cognitive science in mind (and hopefully, in practice). I'm so excited to fully immerse myself in this transition now and for many years to come!

​How am I doing it?

I am determined to make undergraduate STEM education more inclusive, interpersonal, and interdisciplinary. I specialize in assessment, evaluation, and design-based research. In my dissertation research, I measured the development of "Innovation Skills" in undergraduate students taking a Challenge-Based Learning course called "Bioinspired Design." In this course, students work in collaborative, interdisciplinary teams to solve design problems in society with design solutions inspired by nature. In my postdoctoral research, I'm focused on assessing the impact of field-based courses on student learning outcomes. 

Learn more about what I'm doing below!

Connect with me on LinkedIn

See a collection of my research here
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See some of my research presentations here

See my full CV here