Bio

As undergraduate classrooms become increasingly shaped by technology, intentionally restoring the human dimensions of learning has become essential. Dr. Brie Tripp examines how purposeful course design situates scientific content within meaningful social and personal contexts, strengthening students’ engagement and well-being. Grounded in her empirical research, she highlights the Scientist Spotlight initiative, a metacognitive intervention featuring diverse, counter-stereotypical scientists that has been shown to significantly increase students’ sense of relatability to science. Dr. Tripp’s scholarship also empirically investigates alternative grading practices, including quiz retakes and other low-stakes assessments. When paired with contextualized learning, these approaches shift the focus away from rigid content coverage and toward deeper, more durable learning. Collectively, this body of work reframes STEM classrooms as spaces where scientific inquiry and student well-being are mutually reinforced, where every learner can recognize their story as part of science.