Researcher HighLights
Shenna Shearin, PH.d
Dr. Shenna Shearin is an alumna of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University where she obtained her B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry and a PhD in Computational Science and Engineering. She is also an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Bennett College where she teaches General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry. Her research interests focuses on STEM education and retention of minority students. She enjoys teaching, conduct research, working her online business, outdoor activities, and spending time with family and friends.
Current Project:
Dr. Shenna Shearin is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Bennett College. Her research focuses on STEM retention at Bennett College. More specifically, her current project employs mixed methods to investigate and understand the correlation between achievement motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic) and student learning and academic performance in STEM courses. From an academic context, her research aims to shed light on students’ goal orientations (goal theory), whether learning- or performance- oriented, and how this influences students’ persistence in lower division, gateway STEM courses which includes biology, chemistry, computer science, and mathematics. She seeks to examine students’ task choices, goal orientations, attitudes, learning strategies, and attributions to understand, from a panoramic view, the motivational factors that influence perception, learning and engagement in STEM fields. This research is instrumental in the College’s development of a systematic retention plan designed to reduce the attrition rates of Bennett College female students.
Education
B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Alma Mater
North Carolina Agricultural, Technical State University
Research Area
Chemistry, Computational Science and Engineering
Adrian Neely, PH.d
Dr. Adrian N. Neely is an educator, researcher, and evaluator with expertise in school connectedness and culturally responsive praxis. Dr. Neely began her STEM teaching career as a high school science instructor in the Atlanta metropolitan area. She has served as an Aerospace Education Specialist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) serving urban and rural communities throughout the United States. Dr. Neely spent several years in educational leadership at the state level. In the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, Dr. Neely successfully developed the academic auditing program and supported local education agency’s with internal control processes related to data collection and test administration. She also managed and facilitated the publication of the state’s annual education report card. At the Georgia Department of Education, Dr. Neely successfully coordinated and facilitated the development of middle and high school performance standards frameworks that were used by practitioners in Georgia and beyond.
Current Project:
I envision my research focus on examining data using the Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theoretical framework to understand more about the programs and social context that make HBCUs unique in producing the most STEM undergraduates across the nation. I hope to further explore research using PVEST in the K-12 space to understand student connectivity to their institutions, peers, and adults in the school building.I envision my research focus on examining data using the Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theoretical framework to understand more about the programs and social context that make HBCUs unique in producing the most STEM undergraduates across the nation. I hope to further explore research using PVEST in the K-12 space to understand student connectivity to their institutions, peers, and adults in the school building.
Education
B.S., M.Ed., Ph.D.
Alma Mater
University of Georgia, Georgia State University
Research Area
Education Research
Publications
- The conscious capitalist and education Policy: Southwire's STEM for Life Program
- Building the transdisciplinary resistance collective for research and policy: Implications for dismantling structural racism as a determinant of health inequity
- Testing injustice: Examining the consequential validity of edTPA
- Pedagogy for partisanship: Research training for Black graduate students in the Black intellectual tradition
- Resilience in Times of a Double Catastrophe: Unpacking the Benefits of an Intervention Course for Freshman STEM Majors during Times of Uncertainty
Jennifer Bobenko, PH.d
Dr. Bobenko is a professor of biochemistry and Institutional Review Board Chairperson at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). She has advocated for the incorporation of technology into course delivery since 2006 when she participated in the Maryland Course Redesign Initiative, a collaboration between the University System of Maryland (USM) and the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT). Since then she has served as an NCAT and USM fellow for academic transformation and continue to explore the use of new technologies in the delivery of science courses. Her biochemical research interests are in the area of enzymology.
Current Project:
At present, her primary focus lies in fulfilling her responsibilities related to teaching and administration, with no current engagement in research activities.
Education
B.S., Ph.D.
Alma Mater
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Research Area
Biochemistry
Publications
- Delineation of Xenobiotic Substrate Sites in Rat Glutathione S-Transferase M1-1. Protein Science
- Catalytically Active Monomer of Class Mu Glutathione Transferase from Rat. Biochemistry
- Contribution of the Mu Loop to the Structure and Function of Glutathione Transferase M1-1. Protein Science
- Enabling initiative and enterprise: Faculty-led course redesign in a STEM discipline. Educational Research Quarterly
malik b. malik, PH.d
Born in Sudan, Africa where I had all my education up to High Secondary School. Earned my B. Sc (Honors) in Statistics University of Khartoum, appointed Teaching Assistant and awarded a Scholarship to do my Ph.D. in the United Kingdom (University of Essex 1985). Appointed as Assistant Professor at University of Khartoum 1986. In 1994 I was awarded a Senior Scholar Fulbright Fellowship as a sabbatical year at Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA. Joined Computer Learning Centers as a Lead Instructor 1995-1998, Then I joined University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) as an Assistant Professor in 1998, and was promoted to Associate Professor 2005 and I am still at UMES with the Department of Mathematics.
Current Project:
Currently engaged in finalizing a study that compares educational methodologies employed in clinical medical education with those in rural community-based medical education within Sudan.
Education
B.SC., MS., Ph.D.
Alma Mater
University of Khartoum, University of Essex
Research Area
Mathematics
Publications
- Weighted Inspection Sampling Methods Based on Winsorization
- A comparison of graduates of an innovative medical school and a conventional school in relation to primary health care.
- An Eco-Engineering Mathematical Model for the Traffic Congestion Fee