Sadhana Puntambekar
Position title: Professor
Email: puntambekar@education.wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 262-0829
Address:
1071 Educational Sciences
1025 West Johnson St
Madison, WI 53706-1706
Link to website: Interactive Learning & Design Lab
Personal Biography
Sadhana Puntambekar is Sears-Bascom professor in Educational Psychology and directs the Interactive Design and Learning Lab (ILDL). She is a Fellow of the International Society for the Learning Sciences in recognition of her significant contributions to the field of the Learning Sciences. She has served as a Co-Editor of the American Journal of Educational Research from 2015-2019, and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Learning Science for the Design-Based Research strand. Her work on scaffolding students’ learning and Design-Based Research are widely recognized. Her work has been published in reputed journal sin the field such the Journal of the Learning Sciences, Educational Psychologist and Instructional Science. She has successfully served as PI on several federally funded research projects.
Research Interests
My research interests are in the area of design and use of interactive technologies for helping middle school students learn science. The main goal of my work is to enable students to see the connections between science ideas, to learn the central ideas and networks of conceptual relationships, rather than a set of discrete facts. The technologies and curricula that are developed in my lab provide students with scaffolding to achieve this goal. More information on my projects is on my website.
Grants and Sponsorships
SimSnap: Orchestrating Collaborative Learning in Biology through Reconfigurable Simulations (2020-2024)
Funding agency: National Science Foundation; DRK-12.
Amount: $1.1m
Role: Principal Investigator
Scaffolding Science Learning and Teaching in Middle School Classrooms through Automated Wise Crowd Analysis of Students’ Writing (2020-2024)
Funding agency: National Science Foundation; DRK-12.
Amount: $1.4m
Role: Principal Investigator
Bio-Sphere: Fostering Deep Learning of Complex Biology for Building Our Next Generation’s Scientists (2014-2018)
Funding agency: National Science Foundation; DRK-12.
Amount: $2.9m
Role: Principal Investigator
Science Inquiry Using Physical and Virtual Experiments: Systematic Investigation of Issues and Conditions for Learning (2014-2018)
Funding agency: National Science Foundation; ECR.
Amount: $1.46m
Role: Principal Investigator
Implementing a workflow visualization system for design-based research (2014-2018)
Funding agency: National Science Foundation; Cyberlearning
Amount: $500,000
Role: Principal Investigator
Dynamic Digital Text: An Innovation in STEM Education (2013-2015) Funding agency: National Science Foundation; SAVI with partners in Finland Amount: $247,933
Role: Principal Investigator
Enhancing Literacy in Science through Digital Text, Simulations and Design Challenges (2011- 2014)
Funding agency: Gates Foundation (EDUCAUSE)
Amount: $500,000
Role: Principal Investigator
Scaffolding students’ use of multiple representations for science learning, (2009-2014) Funding agency: Institute of Educational Sciences (IES), US department of education Amount: $1,453,847
Role: Principal Investigator
CoMPASS: Integrating digital text in design-based science classes, (2004-2009) Funding agency: National Science Foundation
Amount: $1,879,386
Role: Principal Investigator
CoMPASS-DL: Design and use of a concept map interface for helping middle school students navigate digital libraries, 2004-2007
Funding agency: National Science Foundation Amount: $437, 615.
Role: Principal Investigator
Designing hypertext systems for the science classroom: Understanding students’ changing cognitive representations. Supplement to the Early CAREER award, (2004-2005) Funding agency: National Science Foundation.
Amount: $60,000.
Role: Principal Investigator
Learning about causal systems in complex domains: A multidisciplinary synthesis of the state-of- the-art and research challenges (2003-2005)
Funding agency: National Science Foundation (Science of Learning Centers, Catalyst grant) Amount: $193,916
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Designing hypertext systems for the science classroom: Understanding students’ changing cognitive representations, (2000-2004)
Funding agency: National Science Foundation (Early CAREER award) Amount: $356,800
Role: Principal Investigator
Design Based Research Collective, (2001-2002)
Funding agency: Spencer Foundation, Advanced Study Institute grant Amount: $35,000
Role: Co-Investigator
Designing Hypertext systems with dynamic concept maps, (1999-2000) Funding agency: University of Connecticut’s Faculty grant program Amount: $11, 492
Role: Principal Investigator
Scaffolding Learning by Design: An exploration of the metacognitive skills needed to successfully negotiate and learn from open- ended problems (1996-2000)
Funding agency: J. S. McDonnell Foundation’s Cognitive Studies in Education program. Amount: $650,000
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Books
Luckin, R., Puntambekar, S., Goodyear, P., Grabowski, B., Underwood J., & Winters, N. (Eds.) (2012). Handbook of Design in Educational Technology. NY: Taylor & Francis.
Puntambekar, S., Erkens, G., and Hmelo-Silver, C. (Eds.). (2010). Analyzing interactions in CSCL: Methods, issues and approaches. NY: Springer.
Journals
Puntambekar, S. & Gnesdilow, D., Tissenbaum, C. D., Narayanan, H. N., Rebello, S., (accepted with revisions). Supporting Middle School Students’ Science Talk: A Comparison of Physical and Virtual Labs.
Martin, N. D., Dornfeld Tissenbaum, C., Gnesdilow, D., & Puntambekar, S. (2019). Fading distributed scaffolds: The interplay between teacher and material scaffolds. Instructional Science, 47(1), 69-98.
Sullivan, S. A., & Puntambekar, S. (2019). Learning with multiple online texts as part of scientific inquiry in the classroom. Computers and Education, 28, 36-51.
Sullivan, S., Gnesdilow, D., Puntambekar, S., & Kim, J. S. (2017). Middle school students’ learning of mechanics concepts through engagement in different sequences of physical and virtual experiments. International Journal of Science Education, 39(12), 1573-1600.
Sullivan, S. A., & Puntambekar, S. (2015). Learning with digital texts: Exploring the impact of prior domain knowledge and reading comprehension ability on navigation and learning outcomes. Computers in Human Behavior, 50, 299-313.
Myneni, S., N. Narayanan, H., Ruinfar, A., Rebello, S., & Puntambekar, S. (2013). An interactive and intelligent learning system for physics education, IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies Special Issue on Learning Systems for Science & Technology, 6(3):228-239.
Wu, H. K., & Puntambekar, S. (2012). Pedagogical affordances of multiple external representations in scientific processes. Journal of Science Education and Technology. 21 (6), 754–767
Chini, J. J., Madsen, A., Gire, G., Rebello, S., & Puntambekar, S. (2012). Exploration of factors that affect the comparative effectiveness of physical and virtual manipulatives in an undergraduate laboratory. Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research.
Sullivan, S. A., Gnesdilow, D., & Puntambekar, S. (2011). Navigation behaviors and strategies used by middle school students to learn from a science hypertext. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 20(4), 387-423.
Puntambekar, S. & Sandoval, B. (2009). Design based research: Moving forward. Journal of the Learning Sciences 18(3), 323-326.
Puntambekar, S., Stylianou, A., & Goldstein, J. (2007). Comparing enactments of an inquiry curriculum: Lessons learned from two teachers. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 16(1), 81-130.
Puntambekar, S. (2006). Analyzing collaborative interactions: Divergence, shared understanding and construction of knowledge. Computers and Education. 47(3), 332-351.
Puntambekar, S., & Stylianou, A. (2005). Designing navigation support in hypertext systems based on navigation patterns. Instructional Science, 33, (5-6), 451-481.
Goldstein, J., & Puntambekar, S. (2005). The brink of change: Gender in technology-rich collaborative learning environments. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 13 (4), 505-522.
Puntambekar, S., & Kolodner, J. L. (2005). Toward implementing distributed scaffolding: Helping students learn science by design. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 42 (2), 185-217.
Puntambekar, S., & Hübscher, R. (2005) Tools for scaffolding students in a complex environment: What have we gained and what have we missed? Educational Psychologist, 40 (1), 1-12.
Book chapters
Puntambekar. S. (2019). Design-Based Research. In Fischer, F., Hmelo-Silver, C. E., Goldman, R., Reimann, P. (Eds.) International Handbook of the Learning Sciences. Rutledge. pp. 383-392.
Puntambekar, S. (2015). Distributing Scaffolding across Multiple levels: Individuals, Small Groups and a Class of Student. In A. Walker, H. Leary, C.E. Hmelo-Silver,& P.A. Ertmer (Eds.). (2015). Essential Readings in Problem-Based Learning: Exploring and Extending the Legacy of Howard S. Barrows. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.
Puntambekar, S. (2012). Evaluation in Design and Technology. In Luckin, R., Puntambekar, S., Goodyear, P., Grabowski, B., Underwood J., & Winters, N. (Eds.) Handbook of Design in Educational Technology. NY: Taylor & Francis. pp. 371-376.
Puntambekar, S. Sullivan, S. & Hüscher. R. (2012). Analyzing navigation patterns to scaffold metacognition in hypertext systems, In R. Azevedo & V. Aleven (Eds.). International Handbook of Metacognition and Learning Technologies. pp. 261-277. NY: Springer.
Puntambekar, S. (2011). Mixed methods for analyzing collaborative learning. In C. E. Hmelo- Silver, A. M. O’Donnell, C. Chan, & C. A. Chinn, (Eds.). International Handbook of Collaborative Learning. pp. 220-231. Taylor Francis.
Stylianou-Georgiou, A., Papanastasiou, Puntambekar, S. (2010). Analyzing collaborative learning from through hierarchical linear modeling. In S. Puntambekar, G. E., Erkens, & C. Hmelo-Silver, (Eds.). Analyzing Interactions in CSCL: Methods, Issues and Approaches. pp. 145-160. NY: Springer.
Puntambekar, S. (2009). Scaffolding student learning. In E. Anderman & L. Anderman (Eds.).
Psychology of Classroom Learning: An Encyclopedia. Farmington Hills, MI: MacMillan.
Puntambekar, S. & du Boulay, B. (1999). Design of MIST: A system to help students develop metacognition. In P. Murphy (Ed.) Learners, Learning and Assessment. pp. 245-257. Paul Chapman: London.
Published Proceedings (Peer Reviewed)
Tissenbaum, C. D. & Puntambekar, S. (2020). Investigating a Museum-Based Pop-Up Science Program as a “Learner Centric Ecology of Resources”. In Gresalfi, M. and Horn, I. S. (Eds.), The Interdisciplinarity of the Learning Sciences, 14th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2020, Volume 3 (pp. 1349-1356). Nashville, Tennessee: International Society of the Learning Sciences.
Yavuz, S., Forkner, M., Gnesdilow, D., Dornfeld Tissenbaum, C., Kim, J-S., Puntambekar, S. (2019). Understanding the Effect of Group Variance on Learning. In K. Lund, G. Niccolai, E. Lavoué, C. Hmelo-Silver, G. Gweon, M. Baker (Eds). A Wide Lens: Combining Embodied, Enactive, Extended, and Embedded Learning in Collaborative Settings: Proceedings of the13th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL 2019), Vol. 1, pp 520-525.
Lin, F., Puntambekar, S., (2019). Designing Epistemic Scaffolding in CSCL. In K. Lund, G. Niccolai, E. Lavoué, C. Hmelo-Silver, G. Gweon, M. Baker (Eds). A Wide Lens: Combining Embodied, Enactive, Extended, and Embedded Learning in Collaborative Settings: Proceedings of the13th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL 2019), Vol. 2, pp 597-600.
Dornfeld Tissenbaum, C., Gnesdilow, D., Martin, N., Puntambekar, S. (2019). Emergent Roles, Collaboration, and Conceptual Outcomes for Two Eighth-Grade Groups in CSCL Science Classes. In K. Lund, G. Niccolai, E. Lavoué, C. Hmelo-Silver, G. Gweon, M. Baker (Eds). A Wide Lens: Combining Embodied, Enactive, Extended, and Embedded Learning in Collaborative Settings: Proceedings of the13th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL 2019), Vol. 2. pp 672-675.
Lin, F., Gnesdilow, D., Martin, N. D., Dornfeld Tissenbaum, C., & Puntambekar, S. (2018). Examining the Role of Explicit Epistemic Reflection in Promoting Students’ Learning from Digital Text. In J. Kay, & R. Luckin (Eds.), Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age: Making the Learning Sciences Count, 13 th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2018, Vol 1, pp. 240 – 247.
Martin, N. D., Gnesdilow, D., & Puntambekar, S. (2018). Teachers’ mediation of students’ interactions with physical and virtual scientific models in biology. In J. Kay, & R. Luckin (Eds.), Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age: Making the Learning Sciences Count, 13 th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2018, Vol 1, pp. 280-287.
Dornfeld Tissenbaum, C. L., & Puntambekar, S. (2018). Tracking the flow of discussion topics in an inquiry science unit. In J. Kay, & R. Luckin (Eds.), Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age: Making the Learning Sciences Count, 13 th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2018, Vol 3 pp. 1595-1596.
Dornfeld, C. & Puntambekar, S. (2017). Conceptualizing scaffolding for science learning in classrooms and museums using mixed-methods approaches. In B. K. Smith, M. Borge, E. Mercer, & K. Y. Lim (Eds.), Making a Difference: Prioritizing Equity and Access in CSCL: 12th International Conference on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, Vol. 2, pp. 1005-1006.
Dornfeld, C., Zhao, N., & Puntambekar, S. (2017). A mixed-methods approach for studying collaborative learning proceses at individual and group levels. In B. K. Smith, M. Borge, E. Mercer, & K. Y. Lim (Eds.), Making a Difference: Prioritizing Equity and Access in CSCL: 12th International Conference on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Vol. 1, pp. 191-198.
Martin, N. D., Gnesdilow, D., Puntambekar, S. (2017). Integrating physical and virtual models in biology: A study of students’ reasoning while solving a design challenge. In Smith, B. K., Borge, M., Mercier, E., and Lim, K. Y. (Eds.). (2017). Making a Difference: Prioritizing Equity and Access in CSCL, 12 th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) 2017, Vol 1, pp. 327-334.
Dornfeld, C. & Puntambekar, S. (2016). Negotiation towards intersubjectivity and impacts on conceptual outcomes. In C. Looi, J. Polman, U. Cress, & P. Reimann (Eds.), Transforming Learning, Empowering Learners: 12 th International Conference of the Learning Sciences, Vol. 1, pp. 562-569.
Gnesdilow, D., Fathema, N., Lin, F., Kang, S., Dornfeld, C., & Puntambekar, S. (2016). Exploring middle school students’ science learning and discourse in physical and virtual labs. In C. Looi, J. Polman, U. Cress, & P. Reimann (Eds.), Transforming Learning, Empowering Learners: 12 th International Conference of the Learning Sciences, Vol. 2, pp. 950-953.
Martin, N. D., Puntambekar, S. (2016). Supporting teachers in navigating change towards science practices focus in the classroom: Investigating current teacher support for science practices. In Looi, C. K., Polman, J. L., Cress, U., and Reimann, P. (Eds.), Transforming Learning, Empowering Learners: The International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2016, Vol 1, pp. 298-305.
Martin, N., Gnesdilow, D., & Puntambekar, S. (2015). Peer Scaffolding to Learn Science in Symmetrical Groups Collaborating Over Time. In S. Lindwall, P. Häkkinen, T. Koschmann, P. Tchounikine, & S. Ludvigsen (eds.) Exploring the Material Conditions of Learning: The Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) Conference 2015, June 7-11, 2015, Gothenburg, Sweden. pp. 340-347.
Dornfeld, C., & Puntambekar, S. (2015). Emergent Roles and Collaborative Discourse Over Time. In S. Lindwall, P. Häkkinen, T. Koschmann, P. Tchounikine, & S. Ludvigsen (eds.) Exploring the Material Conditions of Learning: The Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) Conference, pp. 380-387.
Evenstone, E., & Puntambekar, S. (2015). Internalization of Physics Concepts and Relationships Based on Teacher Modeling of Collaborative Prompts. In S. Lindwall, P. Häkkinen, T. Koschmann, P. Tchounikine, & S. Ludvigsen (eds.) Exploring the Material Conditions of Learning: The Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) Conference. pp. 562-565.
Software Developed
VidyaMap: http://vidyamap.wceruw.org
Compost Simulation: https://biosphere.ad.education.wisc.edu:8443/VidyaMap/compost_en.html
Inclined Plane Simulation: http://www.compassproject.net/html5sims/inclined-plane/example- sim_en.html
Pulley Simulation: http://www.compassproject.net/html5sims/pulleysim/pulley_en.html
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Journal Editorship and Editorial Boards
2015-2018 Co-Editor, American Educational Research Journal
2008-2012 Editor, Design Research Strand, Journal of the Learning Sciences
Conference Organization
Chair, International Conference of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, CSCL 2013, Held at UW-Madison.
Chair, workshop on Documenting collaborative interactions: Issues and approaches. Held at CSCL 2002.
Co-Chair, workshop on Assessment methods in web-based environments and adaptive hypermedia at AIED 2001.
Organizer and chair of the symposium Learning by design: Developing children’s understanding of science by engaging them in solving design problems at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, 1996.
Organizer of the symposium Learning by design: Opportunities and Challenges at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, 1998.
Organizer, Fortnightly seminars on Intelligent Tutoring Systems, at the University of Sussex, 1992-1994.
CONTRIBUTION TO PUBLIC EDUCATION
Software and instructional materials, developed through funded research grants, have been used in over 200 middle school science classrooms by more than 30,000 students in Connecticut and in rural and underserved areas of Wisconsin.