The Sci-Files – 02/21/2021 – Selin Akgun – Educational Research During a Pandemic
February 22, 2021

On this week’s The Sci-Files, your hosts Chelsie and Danny interview Selin Akgun. Selin is working as a research assistant in the Multiple Literacies in Project-Based Learning (ML-PBL) project at CREATE for STEM Institute. As a part of the ML-PBL team, she works with 3rd-grade elementary school teachers. She supports their teaching practices through professional learning sessions and virtual curriculum materials for 3rd-grade science units. Selin’s research focuses on promoting students’ science sense-making, achievement, and social and emotional learning. One aspect of her research also raises the question of what counts as learning, and the role of culture, social context, and identity on students’ learning process. Recently, she enjoys reading about the applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in educational settings considering their societal and ethical implications for teachers and students.
If you’re interested in talking about your MSU research on the radio or nominating a student, please email Chelsie and Danny at [email protected] Check The Sci-Files out on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube!

Chelsie is a Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. student at Michigan State University. She studies what happens to the extracellular matrix of cells after they have been stressed. She co-hosts "The Sci-Files" with Daniel Puentes. Together they explore the different topics that MSU students research on "The Sci-Files" at WDBM.

Daniel is a graduate student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, where he does research at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. His research involves measuring the mass of radioactive nuclei, and how it can tell us how protons and neutrons are arranged inside of a nucleus. This research also helps scientists understand how the elements were created in different stellar environments! At WDBM, he and Chelsie Boodoo co-host The Sci-Files.