Mallinson Institute for Science Education

04/24/2026

Dear MISE Friends! We have a graduate student who is looking for research participants for her PhD research. Please see the following and pass along if you know of anyone or contact her if you fit the bill! Thank you all so much!
Hello,
You are invited to participate in a research study designed to learn about your perspective and experience as a science instructor with a disability. We are interested in hearing how professionals navigate and complete their teaching responsibilities in a lab and/or field related science class.

In order to participate in this study, you must meet the following criteria: 1) Work as a professional in higher education working in the United States 2) Teach either a lab and/or field science class 3) Have completed at least one year of teaching, 4) Be currently teaching or have taught a class within the last three years, 5) Self-identify as having a disability; and 6) Be willing to participate in a virtual interview.

If you agree to participate in this study, you will first be asked to complete a short demographic survey, then participate in an interview that will take approximately 1.5 hours to complete. Once all interviews have been completed, transcripts will be produced, and any information that could identify you will be removed.

If you are interested in learning more or participating in this study, please visit https://wmich.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d1n0PBOiXmkbqOG

You may choose to discontinue participation in the study at any time, and you may also choose not to answer any question that you find uncomfortable.

If you have any questions or concerns about this study, feel free to contact me by e-mail listed below.

Thank you for your time,

The most powerful, simple and trusted way to gather experience data. Start your journey to experience management and try a free account today.

03/25/2026

Friends! MISE is one of only 3 units in the College of Arts and Sciences with no current donations on giving day! If you are able to support us, the link is here:

Join me and make a gift to Western Michigan on Giving Day!

03/25/2026

Congratulations to MISE post-doc Dr. Taormina Lepore and her co-authors on their latest publication in the Journal of Geoscience Education!

Neurodivergent perspectives in geoscience: Reflections from the development of paleontology museum educational materials

It can be found open access here:

As neurodivergent paleontologists, museum practitioners, and allies, we recognize that the museum world is not always welcoming to neurodivergent needs and perspectives. Science museums have made a...

03/24/2026

We want to shout out PhD students Abby Flowers and Rabby Sanyat for presenting this past week at the American Physical Society (APT) meeting in Denver!

Abby presented a talk entitled: A qualitative exploration of neurodivergent student experiences in undergraduate and graduate physics programs

Rabby presented a talk entitled: Instructors' interpretations of social exclusion in undergraduate STEM courses

Great work Abby and Rabby! We are very proud of you!

03/16/2026

The WMU community is gearing up for Giving Day, which is March 26 this year! MISE relies on donations and gifts for everything from getting our students to conference presentations, helping with publishing costs, to funding graduate students on teaching or research assistantships! If MISE has been an important part of your life trajectory, please consider a donation this year. Our MISE specific giving page is here: https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.givecampus.com%2Fs%2Fdae1fg&data=05%7C02%7Cbrandy.pleasants%40wmich.edu%7C8ace1a06e9ef429c72cc08de80813256%7C257622517aa94c72905f39bf026a8a84%7C0%7C0%7C639089489535824529%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Q3INr0nnl7RLH0Al4i7V4VdMFfaQ6P2DUmrEzVXMjdg%3D&reserved=0

Thank you everyone!!

02/12/2026

I have recently been going through old filing cabinets and storage rooms to clean up and assess our space situation (with digital access to everything comes much less need for books, copies of articles, and papers). But, one thing that was nice about the not so digital age is that we actually had to print off pictures as we went. And everyone once in awhile I find a stack of old pictures, put away and long forgotten. Today was one of those days, and I needed the smile (I was even in some of them and goodness it was nice seeing myself without all the gray hair!). This one was my favorite, though. We lost both Jackie Mallinson and Dr. Bob Poel this past year or so, and having a picture of the two of them together, sitting in a classroom (where they did their best work), filled my heart and bucket a little. I thought the rest of us could also use a little lift. We are doing good work, following in the steps of these two (and many other) folks who made pretty extraordinary differences. Thanks Jackie and Bob, we miss you and hope we are making you proud!

12/24/2025

I would like to extend well wishes and joy to all celebrating this season. May Hanukkah have brought you faith last week. May Christmas bring you comfort tomorrow (or in a couple of weeks if orthodox). May Kwanza bring you togetherness over the weekend. May my Muslim friends be able to relax and reflect as you prepare for Ramadan upcoming. And to all those who do not celebrate during this time, may you truly embrace these few days off to be kind to yourself and rest.

I will see you again in January! Be safe ♥️

12/17/2025

Congratulations to MISE PhD student Mirna Mohamed who successfully presented a poster presentation at the AGU (American Geophysical Union) conference in New Orleans this week! Her research was titled Understanding compound extreme events: Sea surface temperature and chlorophyll-a in the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf. Her work was done in conjunction with colleagues from the University of Liege (Belgium), Alexandria University (Egypt), and the Ireland Marine Institute. Amazing work by a graduate student who is truly working toward our mission of advancing global scientific literacy!

12/11/2025

Congratulations to current and former MISE researchers Dr. Pearl Dai, Dr. Allison Witucki, Dr. Cody Williams, and Dr. David Rudge who worked with WMU College of Education and Human Development faculty Dr. Brian Horvitz in their publication: The Impact of a Woman Role Model on Students' Understanding of NOS and Motivation to do Science! It was published in the December 10, 2025 issue of Science and Education! Congrats to Pearl, Allison, Cody, Dave, and Brian!

Send a message to learn more

12/05/2025

We finished up the Fall 2025 semester with our traditional potluck this afternoon. I want to thank everyone who was able to come and spend time with us, and we even had one or two people who tried to join us on-line (though some technical issues prevented a few things from going as smoothly as I had hoped...but it was super cool to say hello to our virtual students, too!). We ate good food, watched K-Pop Demon Hunters, and had great conversations. It was so good in fact that Erin and I realized that we were both so engaged that neither of us thought to take pictures. So, instead I'll leave this picture here:

WMUs Lee Honors College asked its students to write down their favorite instructor. MISE gets to claim BOTH David R. (who got THREE nods) and Morgan B. (though she is teaching for math for this semester). I am a pretty proud Director and also a very lucky one to have so many good people to surround me!

11/21/2025

Check out this news story! MISE PhD student Carolina Calvo designed a large chunk of the fossil activity in the story!

https://wwmt.com/news/local/bronco-buds-western-michigan-university-freshman-kalamazoo-public-schools-education-college-state

With the Kalamazoo Promise guaranteeing students a chance at college, the question for Kalamazoo ninth graders is where they will be studying after graduation.