Mic Fenech is a STEM Education Ph.D. candidate and Assistant Instructor at The University of Texas at Austin. His research interests center around how students' classroom experiences influence their attitudes toward mathematics and how mathematics teachers can instill positive attitudes in their students. His dissertation study revolves around how mathematics students' classroom goals relate to their attitudes toward mathematics, as well as how those attitudes influence their views of mathematics as an academic discipline. After he graduates, he wants to continue working in academia at the university level, teaching future mathematics educators best practices and innovative methods to provide positive experiences for their students.
PhD candidate / Mixed-methods researcher. Dissertation on how students' classroom goals relate to their attitudes toward mathematics.
Catherine Riegle-Crumb (Supervisor)Focuses on the social construction of gender and racial/ethnic inequality in educational opportunities and experiences in STEM fields from a sociological perspective. Methodological expertise in quantitative research methods and analyses of large scale datasets.
Carlos Nicolas Gómez Marchant (Committee Member)Investigates intersections of race, language, and mathematics through the experiences of Latinx students learning and doing mathematics.
Maura Borrego (Committee Member)Studies engineering and STEM higher education, including faculty, graduate students and undergraduates.
Matt S Giani (Committee Member)Focuses on policies, practices, and interventions that promote social mobility and reduce socioeconomic stratification in K12 and higher education.
Baze, C., González?Howard, M., Sampson, V., Fenech, M., Crawford, R., Hutner, T., Chu, L. & Hamilton, X. (2023). Understanding student use of epistemic criteria in engineering design contexts.
Science Education, 1–35.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/sce.21795. doi:10.1002/sce.21795.
Walsh, J., Fenech, M., Tucker, D., Riegle-Crumb, C. & La Cour, B. (2021). Piloting a full-year, optics-based high school course on quantum computing.
Physic Education,
57(2).
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6552/ac3dc2/meta?casa_token=v0wiygur2p4AAAAA:9eyQKZmps-OSsjhgzzf56p37ZBWc6dYXNWbAuVivXm01NjmLD7UMBSlaC-XXGqyxn-jCax_KmBIDgUM. doi:10.1088/1361-6552/ac3dc2.
Using Quantum Computing to Enhance STEM Education
Developed curriculum for first year-long quantum computing course
CEDI
Identified impacts of Computing Educator Diversity Initiative for teachers of color
OpenSciEd
Analyzed implementations and outcomes of OpenSciEd science curriculum
TEA MOU
Identified best practices in dual credit MOUs for TEA
Texas Mindset Initiative
Assisted in creating metrics to measure student and teacher mindsets
Graduate Research Grant, Phi Kappa Phi (2022)
The Addison E. Lee Fellowship, The University of Texas at Austin (2022)
Professional Development Award, The University of Texas at Austin (2021)
The Bascombe Royall and Frances Fallon Fuller Scholarship, The University of Texas at Austin (2020)
The Quantum Computing Project, Connected Learning Summit, Virtual (2021)
