•  546
    Divergence of values and goals in participatory research
    with Lucas Dunlap, Amanda Corris, Zvi Biener, and Angela Potochnik
    Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 88 (C): 284-291. 2021.
    Public participation in scientific research has gained prominence in many scientific fields, but the theory of participatory research is still limited. In this paper, we suggest that the divergence of values and goals between academic researchers and public participants in research is key to analyzing the different forms this research takes. We examine two existing characterizations of participatory research: one in terms of public participants' role in the research, the other in terms of the vi…Read more
  •  192
    ΛCDM and MOND: A debate about models or theory?
    Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 89 (C): 226-234. 2021.
    The debate between ΛCDM and MOND is often cast in terms of competing gravitational theories. However, recent philosophical discussion suggests that the ΛCDM–MOND debate demonstrates the challenges of multiscale modeling in the context of cosmological scales. I extend this discussion and explore what happens when the debate is thought to be about modeling rather than about theory, offering a model-focused interpretation of the ΛCDM–MOND debate. This analysis shows how a model-focused interpretati…Read more
  •  160
    In philosophy, much attention has rightly been paid to the need to diversify teaching with regard to who teaches, who is taught, and which authors and questions are the focus of study. Less attention, however, has been paid to inclusive pedagogy—the teaching methods that are used, and how they can make or fail to make classes as accessible as possible to the diverse students who enter them. By drawing on experiences from our own teaching as well as research on student-centered, inclusive best pr…Read more
  •  114
    Teaching Philosophy Graduate Students about Effective Teaching
    Teaching Philosophy 40 (2): 123-160. 2017.
    The problem of inadequate professional training for graduate students in teaching and pedagogy has recently come into sharp relief. Pro- viding teacher training for philosophy graduate students through for-credit courses has been recommended as a solution to this problem. This paper provides an overview of the problem, identifies several aims such a course should have, and provides a detailed overview of a course satisfying those aims. By providing a detailed outline of the course, this paper ca…Read more
  •  73
    The Dark Galaxy Hypothesis
    with Michael Weisberg, Barry Madore, and Marja Seidel
    Philosophy of Science 85 (5): 1204-1215. 2018.
    Gravitational interactions allowed astronomers to conclude that dark matter rings all luminous galaxies in gigantic halos, but this only accounts for a fraction of the total mass of dark matter believed to exist. Where is the rest? We hypothesize that some of it resides in dark galaxies, pure dark matter halos that either never possessed or have totally lost their baryonic matter. This article explores methodological challenges that arise because of the nature of observation in astrophysics and …Read more
  •  50
    Observations, Simulations, and Reasoning in Astrophysics
    Philosophy of Science 87 (5): 1209-1220. 2020.
    Astrophysics faces methodological challenges as a result of being a predominantly observation-based science without access to traditional experiments. In light of these challenges, astrophysicists frequently rely on computer simulations. Using collisional ring galaxies as a case study, I argue that computer simulations play three roles in reasoning in astrophysics: (1) hypothesis testing, (2) exploring possibility space, and (3) amplifying observations.
  •  47
    Learning About Reality Through Models and Computer Simulations
    Science & Education 27 (7-8): 805-810. 2018.
    Margaret Morrison, (2015) Reconstructing Reality: Models, Mathematics, and Simulations. Oxford University Press, New York. Scientific models, mathematical equations, and computer simulations are indispensable to scientific practice. Through the use of models, scientists are able to effectively learn about how the world works, and to discover new information. However, there is a challenge in understanding how scientists can generate knowledge from their use, stemming from the fact that models an…Read more
  •  47
    In philosophy, much attention has rightly been paid to the need to diversify teaching with regard to who teaches, who is taught, and which authors and questions are the focus of study. Less attention, however, has been paid to inclusive pedagogy—the teaching methods that are used, and how they can make or fail to make classes as accessible as possible to the diverse students who enter them. By drawing on experiences from our own teaching as well as research on student-centered, inclusive best pr…Read more
  •  46
    A central component to scientific practice is the construction and use of scientific models. Scientists believe that the success of a model justifies making claims that go beyond the model itself. However, philosophical analysis of models suggests that drawing inferences about the world from successful models is more complex. In this dissertation I develop a framework that can help disentangle the related strands of evaluation of model success, model extendibility, and the ability to draw amplia…Read more
  •  23
    Empirical data show that members of underrepresented and historically marginalized groups in academia undertake many forms of undervalued or unnoticed labor. While the data help to identify that this labor exists, they do not provide a thick description of what the experience is like, nor do they offer a framework for understanding the different kinds of invisible labor that are being undertaken. We identify and analyze a distinct, undervalued, and invisible labor that the data have left unnamed…Read more
  •  22
    Idealization, representation, and explanation in the sciences
    Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 99 (C): 10-14. 2023.
    A central goal of the scientific endeavor is to explain phenomena. Scientists often attempt to explain a phenomenon by way of representing it in some manner—such as with mathematical equations, models, or theory—which allows for an explanation of the phenomenon under investigation. However, in developing scientific representations, scientists typically deploy simplifications and idealizations. As a result, scientific representations provide only partial, and often distorted, accounts of the phen…Read more
  •  16
    Better Online Discussion Boards through Questions, Metacognition, and Motivation
    American Association of Philosophy Teachers Studies in Pedagogy 8 117-120. 2023.
  •  4
    Idealizations in Astrophysical Computer Simulations
    with Regy-Null R. Arcadia
    In Nora Mills Boyd, Siska De Baerdemaeker, Kevin Heng & Vera Matarese (eds.), Philosophy of Astrophysics: Stars, Simulations, and the Struggle to Determine What is Out There, Springer Verlag. pp. 2147483647-2147483647. 2023.
    This chapter examines some of the philosophical literature on idealizations in science and the epistemic challenges idealizations potentially pose for astrophysical methodology, particularly its use of computer simulations. We begin by surveying philosophical literature on idealization connected to (1) kinds of idealizations deployed in science, (2) the aims of idealization in science, and (3) various strategies for de-idealization. Using collisional ring galaxy simulations as a case study, we e…Read more