Staff Profile | College of Education

About
Education
Awards & Honors
Selected Research

Biography

Dr. Richard Bex is an Assistant Professor in STEM Education. He received his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Florida. Prior to coming to ISU, Dr. Bex led research studies as a Postdoc for the Kenneth C. Griffin Computer Science for All Education Initiative at the University of Florida. Dr. Bex has classroom teaching experience at both the middle and high school levels. In his research, Dr. Bex examines ways to broaden participation in STEM learning. Dr. Bex's research focuses on online science learning communities, STEM education, and teacher education.

Current Courses

TCH 247.002 Science Inquiry for Elementary Teachers

TCH 247.003 Science Inquiry for Elementary Teachers

TCH 247.004 Science Inquiry for Elementary Teachers

TCH 257.011 Science Methods

TCH 257.012 Science Methods

TCH 239.001 Teaching Scientific Inquiry to Middle Level Teachers

Teaching Interests & Areas

STEM Teaching Methods, STEM Content, Technology Integration, Informal STEM Education

Research Interests & Areas

STEM Education, Teacher Education, Informal STEM Education, Online Learning, Educational Technology, Learning Analytics, Computer Science Education

Post-Doc

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

PhD Curriculum and Instruction

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

M.Ed. (Master of Education) Secondary Education

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA

BA Environmental Geoscience

West Virginia University

Morgantown, WV

John C. Park National Technology Leadership Initiative Fellowship Award

Association for Science Teacher Education

2023

Best Overall Paper Nominee

International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning

2021

Best Research Poster Award, 2nd Place

European Conference on Social Media

2018

Book, Chapter

Everyone Wins: Afterschool STEM Club as an Introductory Field Experience for Prospective STEM Teachers

Gayle N. Evans, Richard Bex, Kristen Apraiz.

(2025), pp. 271-302, https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-1894-2.ch010, Cases on Informal Learning for Science and Mathematics Education, IGI Global Scientific Publishing

Usability and Usage of a Citizen Science App by Teachers and Students

Richard T Bex, Lisa Lundgren, Kent J Crippen.

(2019), 65-73, Research Highlights in Technology and Teacher Education 2019, Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)

Conference Proceeding

Using virtual reality with pre-Service elementary science teachers to promote valid conceptions of the reason for the seasons

Drageset Darby, Kent Crippen, Jeuntae Eom, Richard Bex.

Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), 1375-1384, (2023)

My partner was a good partner: Investigating the relationship between dialogue acts and peer satisfaction

Gloria Katuka, Richard T Bex, Mehmet Celepkolu, Kristy E Boyer, Eric Wiebe, Bradford Mott, James Lester.

International Society of the Learning Science, 51-58, (2021)

Usability and Usage of a Citizen Science App by Teachers and Students

Richard Bex, Lisa Lundgren, Kent J Crippen.

Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), 954-962, (2019)

Designing for public participation in paleontology through the development of an app

Richard T Bex, Lisa Lundgren, Kent J Crippen, Bruce J MacFadden.

Academic Conferences and Publishing International, Ltd., 462-465, (2018)

Digging into the PIT: A new tool for characterizing the social paleontological community.

Lisa Lundgren, Kent J Crippen, Richard T Bex.

Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), 76-83, (2018)

Journal Article

A review of learning analytics opportunities and challenges for K-12 education

Catherine Paolucci, Sam Vancini, Richard Bex, Catherine Cavanaugh, Christine Salama, Zandra de Araujo.

Heliyon, 10 (4), 1-14, (2024)

Characterizing an online, science-based affinity space using topic modelling, diversity indices, and social network analysis

Lisa Lundgren, Richard Bex, Jennifer Bauer, Adriane Lam, Emily Slater.

Cogent Education, 11 (1), (2024), https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2402158

Learner experience and motivational beliefs for a VR Lab in advanced undergraduate biology

Shalaunda M Reeves, Charlotte A Bolch, Richard T Bex, Kent J Crippen.

Interactive Learning Environments, 1-14, (2024), 10.1080/10494820.2024.2307601

Profiles in practice: Stories of paleontology within an online, scientific community.

Lisa Lundgren, Kent J Crippen, Richard Bex.

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, (19), 915-933, (2020), 10.1007/s11165-019-09911-y

Scientific Twitter: The flow of paleontological communication across a topic network.