She designs and studies technologies that allow young learners to build and use their own computational representations – things like computer simulations, data visualizations, or interactive graphics – to make sense of the world. She is especially interested in doing this in ways that are tightly connected to the existing curriculum and practices in K-12 classrooms. Michelle’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, including through an Early CAREER award in 2014. Before joining UC Berkeley, Michelle earned bachelors degrees in Mathematics and Elementary Education from the University of San Diego (2005), a PhD in Learning Sciences at Northwestern University (2011), and was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at Tufts University (2011-2015).