Clausell Mathis
Assistant Professor of Physics and Science Education | Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI, UNITED STATES
Clausell Mathis examines how physics instructors can optimally incorporate culture-based equitable approaches in the classroom.
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Biography
Clausell Mathis is an assistant professor at Michigan State University, where he has a joint appointment with the Lyman Briggs College and the Department of Teacher Education.
His research interests include examining how physics instructors can optimally incorporate culture-based equitable approaches in the classroom where teachers leverage students' cultural resources and build connections to physics phenomena.
Specifically, Clausell examines how culture-based equitable approaches have impacted teachers in three areas: (1) curriculum development by creating cultural connections to physics ideas; (2) student learning through identifying productive ideas as a tool for learning; and (3) teacher identity by understanding how their conceptions of self, others, and learning have shifted towards a more equitable approach.
Industry Expertise (1)
Education/Learning
Areas of Expertise (4)
Physics Education
Curriculum Development
Teacher Identity
Student Learning
Education (1)
Florida State University: Ph.D., Curriculum & Instruction - Science Education
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News (1)
Making physics instruction more equitable
Phys Org online
2022-03-31
"While some of her efforts revolved around lesson plans, we also learned culturally relevant pedagogy isn't just about how teachers instruct," said Clausell Mathis, from the University of Washington and a co-author on the study. "It also shapes extra-instructional factors, such as developing relationships with students, encouraging them to succeed, and the willingness to acknowledge and help students make sense of sociopolitical concerns that influence their lives."
Journal Articles (3)
Teacher learning about the integration of energy and equity: A case study
Physical Review Physics Education Research2023 Multicultural education invites teachers to support students in critiquing the foundations of a given discipline, with the aim of reimagining that discipline and the purposes it serves. In this paper, we present a series of cases in which high school physics teachers who are enrolled in a summer professional development course expressed vexation as they tried to integrate equity with the physics concept of energy and in which one teacher made significant progress in this integration. These cases serve to illustrate what teacher learning about multicultural education might look like in physics and what resources may support this learning.
How instructors can view knowledge to implement culturally relevant pedagogy
Physical Review Physics Education Research2023 Culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) described in Ladson-Billings’ framework has three conceptions: conceptions of self and others, conceptions of knowledge, and conceptions of social relations. Instructors can support students with positive learning experiences when they are cognizant of all three conceptions. In 13 interviews of physics instructors about CRP, we found many instructors shared only two productive conceptions: conceptions of self and others and conceptions of social relations. However, we found two instructors who effectively described all three conceptions.
Preservice elementary teachers’ explanations of properties of sound using a Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE)
Research in Science and Technological Education2022 Background Understanding the properties of sound is difficult for students across all grade levels and even preservice elementary teachers (PSETs). Because of their abstract nature, there are challenges interpreting common features of sound waves. Purpose The goal of this study is to understand pre-service elementary teachers’ (PSETs) understanding of the properties of sound waves, specifically frequency, wavelength, and amplitude. Sample We had 59 PSETs from an elementary methods science course learn about the properties of sound in small groups through a Web-based interface.
