Karen McNeal
Geosciences
Molette Endowed Professor

Research Areas: Geoscience Education, Geocognition, Global Change Education, Discipline Based Education Research, Climate Communication, Active Learning

Office: 2081 Beard Eaves Coliseum

Address:
2050 Beard Eaves Coliseum
Auburn, AL 36849

Phone: (334) 844-4806
Fax: (334) 844-4486
E-Mail: ksm0041@auburn.edu

Curriculum vitae

Website

Education

Professional Employment

Research and Teaching Interests

I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in Earth System Science, Global Change, Climate Change Literacy and Communication, and Discipline Based Education Research in the STEM Undergraduate Classroom.  Students in my group conduct research in the field of geoscience education/geocognition and typically use mixed methods research (e.g., qualitative and quantitative approaches) to investigate geoscience teaching and learning challenges in formal and informal settings. My work ties together the affective and cognitive domains of learning in the geoscience education/geocognition field. My group uses a suite of tools to investigate including psychomotor tools (e.g., eye-tracking, pupillometry, and skin biosensors), psychometric tools (e.g., concept inventories), and open-ended approaches (e.g., interviews, concept-maps, etc.) to measure people's engagement, conceptual understanding, and perceptions about the Earth.

Selected Publications

1. McNeal, K.S., Zhong, M., Soltis, N., Doukolpoulos, L. Alwan, A., Johnson, E., Courtney, S., Porch, M. 2019. Measuring Student Engagement in an Active Learning Biology Classroom Using Galvanic Skin Response. CBE-Life Sciences Education (in revision).
2. Maudlin, L. McNeal, K.S., Dinon-Aldridge, H., Davis, C. Boyles, R., Atkins R.M., 2019. Website Usability Differences between Males and Females: An Eye-tracking Evaluation of a Climate Decision Support System, Weather, Climate and Society (in press).
3. McNeal, K.S., Ryker, K., Atkins, R., Whitemeyer, S., Giorgis, S., Clark, C., Soltis, N., LaDue, N., Pingel, T. 2019. A Multi-institutional Study of Inquiry-Based Lab Activities Using the Augmented Reality Sandbox: Impacts on Undergraduate Student Learning. Journal of Geography in Higher Education: DOI: 10.1080/03098265.2019.1694875.
4. Soltis, N., McNeal, K.S., Forbes, C. & Lally, D. 2019.  The Relationship Between Active Learning, Course Innovation and Teaching Earth System Thinking: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach. Geosphere, 15 (5): 1703-1721. DOI 10.1130/GES02071.1
5. Beane, R., McNeal, K.S., MacDonald, R.H. 2019. Probing the National Geoscience Faculty Survey for Reported Use of Practices that Support Inclusive Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses. Journal of Geoscience Education, 67: 427-445. DOI: 10.1080/10899995.2019.1621714