Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning

Zac Patterson

Assistant Director of Research
Photo portrait of Zac Patterson

Zac Patterson, Ph.D., is assistant director of research at the Drake Institute. He provides leadership and support in developing and implementing research efforts designed to contribute to an expanding educational development knowledge base, while also developing and advancing research-related collaborations with university partners. 

He earned a doctoral degree in STEM Education from The Ohio State University where he explored students’ epistemological framing of contemporary physics topics. He has a background in physics and earth science education and previously served as a secondary science instructor and more recently managed Ohio State’s undergraduate STEM Scholars program. His research interests include quantum physics education research (QPER), concept-based instructional approaches, and student-centered instructional design in STEM education. 

Zac leverages his experiences and expertise in collaboration with university faculty and instructors to develop and implement research-based initiatives in efforts to enhance teaching and learning throughout the university. Zac also contributes to a variety of institute initiatives associated with discipline-based education research (DBER) and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), such as the DBER and SoTL learning communities, the research and implementation grant program, and the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) community at Ohio State.