Eduardo Gonzalez

Biography

Dr. Gonzalez earned a BS in Chemistry at Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez, in Ciudad Juarez Chihuahua, Mexico. He received his doctorate degree in 2013 from New Mexico State University, studying the regulation of cell adhesion by small GTPases during development. Later, he became interested in Discipline Based Educational Research, focusing in understanding how Active learning, learning communities and mentoring communities can reduce the disparities observed in higher education.

Research

Disparities in higher education achievement are observed across students from diverse historically marginalized communities. Often these disparities are addressed from a student deficit model: what does the student needs or lacks to be successful in college? Instead, my research approach focuses on the changes that we can implement to make education an equitable process where all students can thrive. These changes include the implementation of pedagogical approaches (including active learning) the development of support structures (near-peer mentors, learning communities) and mentoring strategies (better office hours). We define and describe the impact of these changes using a holistic approach that includes metrics for sense of belonging, sense of proficiency, scientific identity and academic achievement.

Recent Publications

Mike Wilton, Daniel Katz, Anthony Clairmont, Eduardo Gonzalez-Nino, Kathy R. Foltz, and Rolf E. Christoffersen. "Improving Academic Performance and Retention of First-Year Biology Students through a Scalable Peer Mentorship Program." CBE—Life Sciences Education 20, no. 4 (2021): ar63.

Mike Wilton, Eduardo Gonzalez-Nino, Peter McPartlan, Zach Terner, Rolf Christoffersen, and Joel Rothman. 2019. “A highly structured Introductory Biology Class promotes underrepresented student success and persistence.” CBE Life Sciences Education. 18(4), 18:ar53, 1–13.