In this section

Research

Current Projects 

Wood, S.L. (2017-2023) WasisÉ™k kisihtohtit [Children made it]. Coding, learning, and constructing digital/STEM literacies: Families and communities becoming creators.  

[NSERC PromoScience grants, New Brunswick Innovation Funding-RA assistance grants, STU Major Research Grant, Association of Professional Engineers, and Geoscientists of NB-Community Outreach Grant.]   

 

Wood, S.L. (2020-present). Perspectives of transition from engineering programs to industry. [St. Thomas University, Harrison McCain Research Grant] 

Graduate Research 

Wood, S.L. (2004). Becoming an engineer: Doctoral women’s perspectives on identity and learning in the culture of engineering. Dissertation in partial fulfillment of PhD, Educational Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. 

 

Wood, S.L. (1997). The family, home, and school environment’s influence on gifted girls’ perceptions of choice to take extracurricular science classes. Masters’ thesis in partial fulfillment of Master of Arts in Education, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. 

Focus of Research

Having been educated in the sciences, the evolution of Dr. Wood's research questions and choice of methodologies very much reflects a change in her epistemological perspective. Although her need to understand how science and mathematics are best learned has not changed, the way she views knowledge, with its structural links to the complex relationships that are regulated by cultural, institutional, and historical circumstances and influences, has advanced since her master's thesis and continues today. The examination of underrepresented peoples in science and engineering is seen as an ongoing investigation by Dr. Wood, along with exploring best practices for teaching and learning in these fields. It is not seen as a linear process but one that emerges from her data and her participants. While there is overlap, the three main areas of Dr. Wood's research are:

 

  • Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics [STEM]  
  • Educational Psychology and its’ many subfields  
  • Teaching and Learning