Dr. Lindsay Wheeler is an Associate Professor and Senior Associate Director in the Center for Teaching Excellence at the University of Virginia and teaches in the Department of Chemistry and School of Education. Over the last decade she has published over 30 peer reviewed publications, book chapters, and white papers around teaching and learning in higher education and presents regularly at educational development, STEM education, and higher education conferences. She has helped secure nearly $10 million in grant funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Association for American Universities (AAU), and Network of STEM Education Centers (NSEC).
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Dr. Wheeler's scholarship is published in top tier research journals as well as in teaching-focused journals and has won numerous awards, including...
POD Network's Menges Award for Outstanding Research in 2015 and Menges Award honorable mention in 2018
International Journal of Academic Development's (IJAD) article of the year award in 2023 and 2023
American Chemical Society's Chemistry Education Research New and Noteworthy paper award in 2023
Her scholarship has been featured in Inside Higher Education, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Change Magazine, and Tea for Teaching podcast. Dr. Wheeler has also served as Editor for To Improve The Academy from 2019-2024 and has been an Editorial Board Member for the International Journal of Science Education and Journal of Research in Science Teaching.
Current STEM Education Research Projects
Image created by Anne McAlister
Social justice in STEM courses
Social justice in STEM courses
As part of an internal 3 Cavs grant, my collaborators and I aim to understand students experiences in and perceptions of STEM courses that integrate social justice pedagogies. We also aim to understand how these experiences differ based on students' social identities and relate to their STEM identity, career choices, and transformational resistance. We are currently in the process of analyzing student interviews and artifacts from dozens of students as well as pre/post survey data from nearly 200 students enrolled in 18 different social justice STEM courses across the U.S.
Assessment, grading, and feedback in Introductory Biology
Assessment, grading, and feedback in Introductory Biology
As part of an NSF RCN-UBE grant, my collaborators and I surveyed nearly 200 introductory biology instructors across the U.S. to begin to characterize various assessment, grading, and feedback practices used in these courses. We also interviewed a subset of instructors to further probe these ideas and are in the process of analyzing these qualitative data.
Image created by Sarah Rose Cavanagh
Image my Martin Springborg
Student and TA ability beliefs in Introductory lab courses
Student and TA ability beliefs in Introductory lab courses
As the former introductory laboratory instructor, my colleague and I were interested in understanding students and TAs' ability beliefs about chemistry and how these beliefs predict student performance. We have collected pre/post surveys from students and TAs and are currently exploring how students' descriptions of what it means to be successful in chemistry align with their ability beliefs, and how these might vary given their prior chemistry experience.
Published Scholarship
STEM Instruction in Higher Education
STEM Instruction in Higher Education
Sloane, J., Wheeler, L.B., & Manson, J. (2023). Teaching Nature of Science in introductory biology: Impacts on students’ acceptance of biological evolution. PLOS One. 18(8). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289680
Wheeler, L. B., Thompson, K., Marbach-Ad, G., Sheehan, P., Bortiatynski, J., & Ghent, C. (2023). Factors predicting students’ values of STEM cross-disciplinary skills: A study across four institutions. CBE Life Sciences Education. 22: ar20, 1-20. DOI:10.1187/cbe.22-06-0101
**Wheeler, L. B., & Gonczi, A. L. (2023). Finding the variables that react: Relationships between ability beliefs and student achievement in an inquiry‐based introductory chemistry laboratory course. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 60(7), 1488-1519.DOI: 10.1002/tea.21840
McAlister, A., McDermott, J., Garibay, J., & Wheeler, L. (June, 2022). “Man, I am a Black Engineer”: The Co-development of Transformational Resistance and Engineering Identity. In 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition.
Wheeler, L. B., Mulvey, B.K., Maeng, J.L., Librea-Carden, M.R., & Bell, R. L. (2019). Teaching the teacher: Exploring STEM graduate students’ Nature of Science conceptions in a teaching methods course. International Journal of Science Education, 41, 1905-1925. DOI: 10.1080/09500693.2019.1647473
Stains, M., Harshman, J., Barker, M.K., Chasteen, S.V., Cole, R., DeChenne-Peters, S.E., Eagan Jr., M.K., Esson, J.M., Knight, J.K., Laski, F.A., Levis-Fitzgerald, M., Lee, C.J., Lo, S.M., McDonnell, L.M., McKay, T.A., Michelotti, N., Musgrove, A., Palmer, M.S., Plank, K.M., Rodela, T.M., Sanders, E.R., Schimpf, N.G., Schulte, P.M., Smith, M.K., Stetzer, M., Van Valkenburgh, B., Vinson, E., Weir, L.K., Wendel, P.J., Wheeler, L. B., Young, A.M. (2018). Anatomy of STEM teaching in American universities: A snapshot from a large-scale observation study. Science, 359, 1468-1470. DOI: 10.1126/science.aap8892
Wheeler, L. B., Maeng, J.L., Chiu, J.L., & Bell, R.L. (2017). Do Teaching Assistants matter? Investigating relationships between Teaching Assistants and student outcomes in undergraduate science laboratory classes. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 54, 463-492. DOI: 10.1002/tea.21373
Wheeler, L. B., Clark, C.P., & Grisham, C.M. (2017). Transforming a traditional laboratory to an inquiry-based course: Importance of training TAs when redesigning a curriculum. Journal of Chemical Education, 94, 1019-1026. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00831
Wheeler, L. B., Chiu, J.L., & Grisham, C.M. (2016). Computational methods in general chemistry: Perceptions of programming, prior experience, and student outcomes. Journal of College Science Teaching, 45, 3, 83-91.
Faculty & TA Professional Development
Faculty & TA Professional Development
Taggart, J., Wheeler, L.B., & Dela Cruz, K. (2024). Getting started with SoTL: Supporting faculty with SoTL through a multi-faceted SoTL Scholars program. New Directions in Teaching & Learning, 124, 23-34. DOI: 10.1002/tl.20576
St. Claire, T., Wheeler, L. B., Maeng, J.L., & Bell, R.L. (2023). Mixed-methods analysis of science teacher educator professional development. Professional Development in Education. DOI: 10.1080/19415257.2020.1787191
Wheeler, L. B. & Sloane, J. (2021). A mixed methods exploration of the Learning Assistant model: How do Learning Assistants benefit? Journal on the Excellence in College Teaching. 32(4), 21-41.
Wheeler, L. B (2021). Supporting STEM faculty of large enrollment courses: A mixed methods study of impact. International Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 15 (1), article 7. DOI: 10.20429/ijsotl.2021.150107
Favre, D., Bach, D., & Wheeler, L. B. (2021). Measuring institutional transformation: A multi-faceted assessment of a new faculty development program. Journal of Research in Innovation Teaching & Learning. DOI: 10.1108/JRIT-04-2020-0023
**Wheeler, L. B. & Bach, D. (2021). Understanding the impact of educational development interventions on classroom instruction and student success. International Journal of Academic Development, 26(1), 24-40. DOI: 10.1080/1360144X.2020.1777555
Wheeler, L., Sturtevant, H., & Mumba, F. (2019). An exploratory study of the impact of a teaching methods course for International Teaching Assistants in an inquiry-based general chemistry laboratory. Journal of Chemical Education, 96, 2393-2402. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00239
Guadagni, G., Ma, H., & Wheeler, L. (2018, June). The Benefit of Training Undergraduate Teaching Assistants. In 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition.
Wheeler, L. B., Maeng, J.L., & Whitworth, B.A. (2017). Teaching assistant (TA) professional development within an inquiry-based general chemistry context: Characterization of TA knowledge and beliefs. Journal of Chemical Education, 94, 19-28. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00373
Wheeler, L. B., Maeng, J.L., & Whitworth, B.A. (2015). Teaching Assistants perceptions of a training to support an inquiry-based general chemistry laboratory course. Chemical Education Research and Practice, 16, 824-842. DOI: 10.1039/c5rp00104h
Instrument Development
Instrument Development
Sanders, M., Walsh, K., & Wheeler, L. B. (2021). Effective survey design: Asking the right questions to get the data you need. POD Scholar: Guides to Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities in Educational Development, (2).
Sturtevant, H. & Wheeler, L. B. (2019). The STEM Faculty Instructional Barriers and Identity Survey (FIBIS): Development and exploratory results. International Journal of STEM Education, 6(35), 1-22. DOI: 10.1186/s40594-019-0185-0
Wheeler, L. B., Navy, S. L., Maeng, J.L., & Whitworth, B.A. (2019). Development and validation of the Classroom Observation Protocol for Engineering Design (COPED). Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 56, 1285-1305. DOI: 10.1002/tea.21557
Scholarship of Educational Development
Scholarship of Educational Development
Abbot, S., Lukes, L., Henry, D. & Wheeler, L. (2024). Presenting a theory of change for cultivating institutional-level SoTL cultures through a cross-institutional community of practice. New Directions in Teaching & Learning., 124, 91-102. DOI: 10.1002/tl.20581
Lukes, L., Abbot, S., Henry, D., Wells, M., Baum, L., Case, K., Brantmeier, E. J., & Wheeler, L. (2023). Impact of a regional community of practice for academic developers engaged in institution-level support for SoTL. International Journal of Academic Development. DOI: 10.1080/1360144X.2022.2135005
**Cruz, L., Dickens, E., Flaming, A., & Wheeler, L. B. (2022). Embracing complexity: An inclusive framework for the scholarship of educational development. International Journal of Academic Development, 27(1), 45-57. DOI: 10.1080/1360144X.2021.1901102
Little, D., Caulkins, J., Kaldor, E., & Wheeler, L. B. (2021). Fractal reflection: Cultivating community and meaning in times of crises. To Improve the Academy, 39(3), 25-38. DOI: 10.3998/tia.17063888.0039.302
** Award winning publications
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