Faculty Directory

Nathaniel Brown

Associate Research Professor

Photo of Nathaniel Brown

Nathaniel Brown

Ph.D.

Contact

Telephone: 617-552-0708

Email: nathaniel.js.brown@bc.edu

ORCID

Education

  • Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
  • M.Sc., Cambridge University
  • B.S., Harvey Mudd College

Courses

Classroom Assessment
Introductory Statistics
Intermediate Statistics

Research Interests

Classroom assessment with a focus on formative feedback, assessment for learning, and alternative grading practices; large-scale assessment; learning progressions; conceptual change

Expertise

  • Design of Learning Experiences and Technologies
  • STEM Teaching and Learning
  • Research Methods, Evaluation & Psychometrics
Curriculum Vitae

Department

MESA Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics & Assessment

Profile

Nathaniel J. S. Brown is an Associate Research Professor in the Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment Department. His current research examines classroom assessment with a focus on formative feedback, assessment for learning, and alternative grading practices. Related to this research, Dr. Brown has led numerous professional development workshops for schools looking to make assessment and grading more equitable and useful.

Dr. Brown has also conducted research on large-scale assessment, learning progressions, and conceptual change in the fields of STEM education and the learning sciences. He has broad expertise in a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods, including statistics, psychometrics, Rasch measurement, video analysis, interaction analysis, and conversation analysis.

Dr. Brown is an editor (with Andrea A. diSessa and Mariana Levin) of Knowledge and Interaction: A Synthetic Agenda for the Learning Sciences, a seminal volume bringing together experts in knowledge analysis and interaction analysis. He was previously the Director of the Learning Engineering program at 艾可直播 College. He has experience with online course development and is responsible for the redesign of the Introductory Statistics course at 艾可直播 College.

Publications

  • Dray, A. J., Brown, N. J. S., Diakow, R., Lee, Y., & Wilson, M. R. (2019). A construct modeling approach to the assessment of reading comprehension for adolescent readers. Reading Psychology, 40, 191-241. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2019.1614125聽
  • Brown, N. J. S., Maderer, S. S., & Wood, J. (2016). Assessing physical and earth and space science in the context of the NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards. In H. Braun (Ed.), Meeting the challenges to measurement in an era of accountability (pp. 349-386). New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203781302-14聽
  • Brown, N. J. S., Danish, J. A., Levin, M., & diSessa, A. A. (2016). Competence reconceived: The shared enterprise of Knowledge Analysis and Interaction Analysis. In A. A. diSessa, M. Levin, & N. J. S. Brown (Eds.), Knowledge and interaction: A synthetic agenda for the learning sciences (pp. 11-29). New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315757360聽
  • DeLiema, D., Lee, V. R., Danish, J. A., Enyedy, N., & Brown, N. J. S. (2016). A microlatitudinal/ microlongitudinal analysis of speech, gesture, and representation use in a student鈥檚 repeated scientific explanations of phase change. In A. A. diSessa, M. Levin, & N. J. S. Brown (Eds.), Knowledge and interaction: A synthetic agenda for the learning sciences (pp. 133-159). New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315757360聽
  • Brown, N. J. S. (2016). Feedback-relevant places: Interpreting shifts in explanatory narratives. In A. A. diSessa, M. Levin, & N. J. S. Brown (Eds.), Knowledge and interaction: A synthetic agenda for the learning sciences (pp. 403-425). New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315757360聽
  • Brown, N. J. S., Dai, S., & Svetina, D. (2016). Analyzing NAEP data at the item level. In P. Kloosterman, D. Mohr, & C. Walcott (Eds.), What mathematics do students know and how is that knowledge changing? Evidence from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (pp. 33-44). Charlotte, NC: Information Age.聽
  • Brown, N. J. S., Svetina, D., & Dai, S. (2016). Analyzing NAEP data at the construct level. In P. Kloosterman, D. Mohr, & C. Walcott (Eds.), What mathematics do students know and how is that knowledge changing? Evidence from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (pp. 315-334). Charlotte, NC: Information Age.聽
  • Brown, N. J. S., Afflerbach, P. P., & Croninger, R. G. (2014). Assessment of critical-analytic thinking. Educational Psychology Review, 26, 543-560. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-014-9280-4聽
  • Brown, N. J. S., & Wilson, M. (2011). A model of cognition: The missing cornerstone in assessment. Educational Psychology Review, 23, 221-234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-011-9161-z聽
  • Brown, N. J. S., Duckor, B., Draney, K., & Wilson, M. (Eds.). (2011). Advances in Rasch measurement (Vol. 2). Maple Grove, MN: JAM Press.

Recent Grants

  • Video Tutorials for Statistical Software to Support Student Learning in Introductory Statistics. $5,000. Teaching, Advising, and Mentoring Grant (2025).聽
  • Adapting Standards-Based Reporting to Incorporate Assessment for Learning Principles While Meeting the Disparate Needs of Stakeholders. $120,000. Collaborative Fellows Program (2022).
  • VideoReView: Support for Teachers鈥� Collection and Interpretation of Classroom Video to Improve Science Understanding and Argumentation. $2,296,031. National Science Foundation DRK-12 (2014).聽
  • Focus on Energy: Preparing Elementary Teachers to Meet the NGSS Challenge. $1,999,836. National Science Foundation DRK-12 (2014).聽
  • Psychometric and Growth Modeling of Complex Patterns of Learning Resulting From the Interrelationships Between Multiple Learning Progressions. $951,997. National Science Foundation REESE (2011).聽
  • What Mathematics Do Students Know? Implications From NAEP for Curriculum and Policy. $1,356,030. National Science Foundation REESE (2010).

Awards

  • Illumination Award, 艾可直播 College Career Center, 2022
  • Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellow, 2004鈥�2005
  • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, 1999鈥�2002
  • Winston Churchill Foundation Fellow, 1998鈥�1999
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