CV
Education
- B.S. in Astrophysics, Rutgers University, 2020
- M.S. in Physics, Drexel University, 2022 (expected)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Department of Physics, Drexel University
Teaching Assistant September 2021 - Present
- facilitate weekly recitation and lab sessions in course ”Electricity and Motion” for non-STEM majors
- use own enthusiasm about physics and science in order to encourage students to learn and work through material
- use pedagogical tools to relate course content to students’ majors and the world around them
- use simulations when appropriate to help students visualize course concepts
- grade recitations and lab work, update grade book, and proctor and grade exams
Teaching Assistant January-May 2021
- facilitate weekly recitation and lab sessions in introductory electricity and magnetism and mechanics courses
- use virtual meeting software to facilitate class sessions
- grade assignments and provide feedback to students
- attend weekly meetings to discuss and prepare content before class sessions
- use pedagogical tools and physics content knowledge to assist students during office hours and reinforce their own content knowledge
Research Assistant November 2020 - Present
- use natural language processing tools to analyze participant responses and perform sentiment analysis
- build and train machine learning model using Keras to make sentiment predictions based on other participant data
- use linear regression, logistic regression, and cross-validation to analyze data
- use lasso regularization to determine which variables in the data have the most impact on target sentiment
- log all steps and in-progress work, write draft for publication and presentation
- project will be presented in the spring quarter as masters thesis
Department of Physics & Astronomy, Rutgers University
Lecturer January - May 2020
- facilitate weekly lab course sessions in an introductory electricity and magnetism course
- use virtual meeting software to facilitate second half of labs virtually
- grade lab reports and provide feedback to students
- attend weekly lab meetings to discuss and prepare lab content before class sessions
- communicate with students about course content and grades
Rutgers University New Brunswick, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Student Research Assistant June 2018 - May 2020
- mixed method study looking at impact of flipped classroom structure on student self-efficacy and learning experiences in introductory calculus course
- transcribed 12 student interviews
- emergent coding for themes found amongst interviews
- create code book for coauthor to use for coding, calculate inter-rater reliability score
- use Nvivo software to keep track of codes, calculate word frequency, and create graphics for presentation
- paper written presented as undergraduate honors thesis entitled ”Qualitative analysis of students’ perceptions of their self-efficacy in a flipped integral calculus course”
Student Research Assistant February 2018 - June 2018
- literature review looking at how instructors view teaching of gravitation
- look through journals and databases online for relevant peer-reviewed journal articles
- compile articles with faculty interviews and interview questions
Rutgers Learning Centers; Department of Physics & Astronomy
Learning Assistant Fall Semesters 2017/2018
- facilitate discussion and inquiry to further students’ understanding of course material
- attend professional development workshops to further understanding of relevant pedagogy and develop peer leader skills
- attend weekly staff meetings to gain insight into pedagogy in physics, and solidify understanding of relevant topics
Skills
Publications
Kerrigan, J., & Prendergast, L., & Mellen, J. A., & Cochran, G. L., & Silva, A. D. (2020, June), Supporting Engineering Students’ Self-efficacy in a Flipped Calculus II Course. Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--35255.
Talks
March 01, 2013
Tutorial at UC-Berkeley Institute for Testing Science, Berkeley CA, USA
March 01, 2014
Conference proceedings talk at Testing Institute of America 2014 Annual Conference, Los Angeles, CA
July 01, 2019
Talk at American Association of Physics Teachers Summer Meeting, Provo, UT
July 24, 2019
Talk at Marriott Hotel, AAPT Summer Meeting, Provo, UT
Teaching
Service and leadership
- Committee member of the Drexel Physics Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, June 2021-Present
- Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion of the Drexel Physics Graduate Student Association, June 2021-Present
- Secretary/Treasurer of the Drexel University Chapter of the American Physical Society’s Chapters pilot program, October 2020-Present
- Reviewer for The Physics Teacher, 2019
