Ala Samarapungavan

• Ph.D. — Educational Psychology, University of Illinois Champaign
• M.S. — Clinical Psychology, Delhi University
• B.S. — Psychology, Bombay University

• 2008 – present
  Professor in Educational Psychology
  Department of Educational Studies, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
• 2008 – 2015
  Department Head
  Educational Studies
  Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
• 1999 – 2007
  Associate Professor in Educational Psychology
  Department of Educational Studies, Purdue University
• 1995 – 1998
  Assistant Professor in Educational Psychology
  Department of Educational Studies, Purdue University
• 1993-1995
  Spencer Post-Doctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Studies, Purdue University
• 1992-1993
  Research Associate, Department of Psychonomics, Division of Cognitive Psychology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• 1990-1991
  Research Associate, Department of Psychonomics, Division of Cognitive Psychology, Free University of Amsterdam. The Netherlands

• Samarapungavan, A. (2018). Construing scientific evidence: The role of disciplinary knowledge in reasoning with and about evidence in scientific practice. In F. Fischer, K. Englemann, J. Osborne, & C. A. Chinn, (Eds.), Interplay of Domain-Specific and Domain General Aspects of Scientific Reasoning and Argumentation Skills. Taylor and Francis.
• Roegman, R., Samarapungavan, A., Maeda, Y., & Johns, G. (2018). Color-neutral disaggregation? Principals’ practices around disaggregating data from three school districts. Educational Administration Quarterly. Online first: https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X18769052.
• Samarapungavan, A., Bryan, L. and Wills, J. (2017), Second graders’ emerging particle models of matter in the context of learning through model-based inquiry. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. doi:10.1002/tea.21394
• Samarapungavan, A., Wills, J., & Bryan, L.A. (2017). Exploring the scope and boundaries of inquiry strategies: What do young learners generalize from inquiry-based science learning? In E. Manalo, Y. Uesaka, & C. A. Chinn (Eds.). Promoting spontaneous use of learning and reasoning strategies: Theory, research, and practice. Singapore: Routledge.
• Jen, E., Samarapungavan, A., & Moon, S. (2015). Use Design-Based Research in Gifted Education, Gifted Child Quarterly, 59(3), 190-200.
• Samarapungavan, A., Tippins, D., & Bryan, L.A. (2015). A modeling-based inquiry framework for early childhood science learning. In K. Trundle & M. Sackes (Eds.), Research in Early Childhood Science Education (pp.259-278). Dordrecht: NL. Springer Publishing.
• Senocak, E., Samarapungavan, A., Aksoy, P., & Tosun, C. (2013). A study on development of an instrument to determine Turkish kindergarten students’ understandings of scientific concepts and scientific inquiry process skills. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 00(0), 1-12. DOI: 10.12738/estp.2013.4.1721
• Mantzicopoulos, P., Patrick, H., & Samarapungavan, A., (2013). Science literacy in school and home contexts: Kindergarteners’ Science Achievement and Motivation. Cognition and Instruction, 31(1), 62-119.
• Samarapungavan, A., Patrick, H., & Mantzicopoulos, P. (2011). What Kindergarten Students Learn in Inquiry-Based Science Classrooms. Cognition and Instruction, 29(4), 416-470.
• Chinn, C. A., Buckland, L. A., & Samarapungavan, A. (2011). Expanding the dimensions of epistemic cognition: Arguments from philosophy and psychology. Educational Psychologist, 46(3), 1-27.
• Samarapungavan, A. (2010). Ontological Assumptions about Species and Their Influence on Children’s Understanding of Evolutionary Biology. In R. Taylor, & M. Ferrari (Eds.), Epistemology and Science Education: Understanding the Evolution vs. Intelligent Design Controversy. Springer Publishing.
• Samarapungavan, A., Mantzicopoulos, P., Patrick, H., * French B. (2009). The development and validation of the Science Learning Assessment (SLA): A measure of kindergarten science learning. Advanced Academics, 20(3), 502-535.
• Chinn, C. A., & Samarapungavan, A. (2009). Conceptual Change-Multiple Routes, Multiple Mechanisms: A Commentary on Ohlsson. Educational Psychologist, 44(1), 1-10.
• Samarapungavan, A., Mantzicopoulos, P., & Patrick, H. (2008). Learning Science Through Inquiry in Kindergarten. Science Education, 92(5), 868 – 908.
• Samarapungavan, A., Westby, E. L. & Bodner, G. M. (2006). Contextual epistemic development in science: A comparison of chemistry students and research chemists. Science Education, 90 (3), 468-495.
• Samarapungavan, A., Westby, E. L., & Bodner, G. M. (2006). Contextual Epistemic Development in Science: A Comparison of Chemistry Students and Research Chemists. Science Education, 1-28. Published online in Wiley Interscience https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
• Nakhleh, M., Samarapungavan, A., & Saglam, Y. (2005). Middle school students’ beliefs about matter. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 42 (5), 581-612.
• Samarapungavan, A., & Wiers, R. (1997). Children’s thoughts on the origin of species: A study of explanatory coherence. Cognitive Science, 21(2), 147-177.
• Samarapungavan, A., Vosniadou, S., & Brewer, W. F. (1996). Thinking about the earth, sun, and moon: Indian children’s cosmologies. Cognitive Development, 11, 491-521.
• Samarapungavan, A. (1992). Children’s judgments in theory choice tasks: Scientific rationality in childhood. Cognition, 45, 1-32.

Funded Research

• Modeling in the Primary Grades (MPG) (2012-2015). Agency: NSF. Amount: $431,916.00. PI: Ala Samarapungavan. Co PIs, Lynn Bryan, Nicholas Giordano, & Yukiko Maeda.
• Developing Talents and Improving Student Achievement among Traditionally Underrepresented Populations (2009 – 2012). Agency: US Dept, of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Amount: $2,243,965. PI: M. Gentry, Co-PIs: R. Mann; L. De Olivera; A. Samarapungavan, & Y. Maeda; J. Peterson, J; and E. Mann.
• The Scientific Literacy Project: Enhancing Young Children’s Scientific Literacy through Reading and Inquiry-Centered Adult-Child Dialog. (2005-2009). Agency: US Dept, of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Amount: 1, 490, 693.00. PI: Mantzicopoulos, Y., Co-PIs: Patrick, H., & Samarapungavan, A.
• ACCESSSCOPE Project: Independent Microscope Operation for Students with Mobility and Visual Impairments (2005-2009). Agency: NSF. Amount: $ 299,519,000. Duerstock, B., Robinson, P. Shwarte, D. & Samarapungavan, A
• Creating a Freshman Engineering Learning Environment (1999-2002). Agency: GE Fund. Amount: $ 450,000. PI: Schwartz,Co-PIs: R. J., Oakes, W., Bodner, G., & Samarapungavan, A
• Developing the Foundation for Transforming Freshman Engineering at Purdue University (1998). Agency: GE Fund. Amount: $ 85,000. PI: Wright, J. R., Co-PIs: R. J., Oakes, W., Bodner, G., & Samarapungavan, A.
• Learning Excellence in Science and Engineering – Transforming Theory Into Practice (1997). Agency: GE Fund. Amount: $149,786.00. PI: Bodner, G., Co-PIs: Oakes, W., & Samarapungavan, A.
• Coordinating Theories with Evidence: What Develops? (1993-1995) Agency: National Academy of Education / Spencer grant. Amount: $ 35,000. PI: Samarapungavan, A.
• The Impact of Kindergarten Students’ Explanations on their Science Learning (2008-2009). Agency: Purdue Research Foundation (Year Long Research Award). Amount: $16,300. PI: A. Samarapungavan.
• IMMUNOWEB: The Development of Students’ Scientific Reasoning and Modeling Skills in an Electronic Learning Environment (2005). Agency: Discovery Learning Center (Seed Grant Program). Amount: $ 18,281.00. PI: Samarapungavan, A., Co-PIs: HogenEsch, H., & Mohler, J.
• IMMUNOWEB: The Development of Students’ Scientific Reasoning and Modeling Skills in an Electronic Learning Environment (2003-2005). Agency: Purdue Research Foundation. Amount: $ 27, 552. Samarapungavan, A.
• Student’s Epistemologies of Science: The Development of Beliefs about the Nature and Origins of Scientific Knowledge (2000-2001). Agency: Purdue University – School of Education, Undergraduate Research Trainee (URT) grant. Amount: $500.00. PI: Samarapungavan, A.
• Thinking as Argumentation. The Effects of Debate Training on the Application and Transfer of Higher Order Thinking Skills (2000-2002). Agency: Purdue Research Foundation. Amount: $30,384. Samarapungavan, A.
• International Travel Grant to give invited address, “”Ontology, epistemology, and domain-specific beliefs as constraints on conceptual change in science”” at the National Seminar on Philosophy of Science: Cognitive, Historical, & Educational Perspectives. Bombay, India.(1998). Agency: Purdue Research Foundation. Amount: $5,000.00. PI: Samarapungavan, A.
• Children’s Epistemologies of Science: The Development of Beliefs about the Nature and Origins of Scientific Knowledge (1997). Agency: Purdue Research Foundation. Amount: $5,000.00. Samarapungavan, A.
• Young Children’s Theories of Matter (1997) Agency: Purdue Research Foundation, Amount: $23,332.00. PI: Samarapungavan, A.

Current Grants

• Exploring Biological Evidence (EBE): Helping Students Understand the Richness and Complexity of Evidentiary Constructs in Biology (2017-2020). Agency: NSF (CORE), Award # 1661124. Amount: $1,270,155.00. PI: Samarapungavan, A. Co-PIs: Pelaez, N., Gardner, S., Clase, K.
• Undergraduate STEM Education by Integrating Mobile Learning Technologies with Natural Language Processing (2018-2022). Agency: IES (NCER), Award # R305A180477. Amount, $1,398,642. PI: Meneske, M. Co-PIs Samarapungavan, A., Litman, D.
• Sensing Science through Modeling Matter: Kindergarten Students’ Development of Understanding of Matter and Its Changes(2016-2020). Agency: NSF (DRK12), Award # 1621299. Amount: $2,641,415.00. PI: Staudt, C., Concord Consortium. Co-PIs: Bryan, L.A., & Samarapungavan, A.