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Eric McChesney, PhD
STEM Higher Education Research Scientist
Eric McChesney (he/him) is a Postdoctoral Associate for Psychosocial Interventions at Scale with the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh. His work focuses on the development of robust, transferrable interventions that improve the outcomes of and environments experienced by women, people of color, and other historically-marginalized students pursuing degrees in Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Technology (STEM). In addition to diversity in STEM, his research expertise extends to interdisciplinarity in the sciences, including discovering the mechanisms by which effective interdisciplinary collaborations are formed, identifying contexts conducive to its flourishing, and developing educational experiences that accelerate its development.
Research Interests
Dr. McChesney's research is grounded in the pragmatic paradigm and makes use of both post-positivist and constructivist perspectives to address pressing questions at the intersections of STEM, diversity, and interdisciplinarity. He specializes in critical quantitative and mixed-methods research designs that leverage both the nuance and contextual richness of qualitative investigations and the rigorous measurement and hypothesis testing of quantitative experimental and quasi-experimental designs.
Recent Publications
McChesney, E. T., Schunn, C. D., DeAngelo, L., & McGreevy, E. (under review). Where to behave, when to think, and how to feel: An expanded model of learning engagement and its relationship to the components of academic performance. International Journal of STEM Education. Preprint available here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5092846
McChesney, E. T., Schunn, C., Dorvé-Lewis, G., & DeAngelo, L. (under review). The space-based nature of behavioral and cognitive engagement in STEM learning. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education.
McChesney, E. T., Weng, Y.-H., Selznick, B., Winkler, C., & Mayhew, M. J. (under review). Effects of an interdisciplinary STEM Ph.D. program on innovation capacity development. Innovative Higher Education.
Bahnson, M., Godwin, A., Schunn, C., McChesney, E. T., & DeAngelo, L. (2025). Retention in engineering pathways: An ecological belonging intervention supports help-seeking and continued enrollment. International Journal of STEM Education 12 (1), 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-025-00530-w
Bahnson, M., McChesney, E. T., DeAngelo, L., & Godwin, A. (2024). Changing classroom ecology to support continued engineering enrollment. Trends in Higher Education 3 (2), 423-436. https://doi.org/10.3390/higheredu3020025
Godwin, A., Perkins, H., DeAngelo, L., McChesney, E. T., Kaufman-Ortiz, K., Dorvè-Lewis, G., & Conrique, B. (2024). Belonging in engineering for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students: Promising results from an educational intervention in an introductory programming course. IEEE Transactions on Education 67 (1), 56-64. https://doi.org/10.1109/TE.2023.3312628
Selznick, B. S., Mayhew, M. J., Winkler, C. E., & McChesney, E. T. (2022). Developing innovators during college: A longitudinal analysis. Frontiers in Higher Education (7), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.854436
Selznick, B. S., Mayhew, M. J., Zhang, L., & McChesney, E. T. (2021). Building women’s innovation capacities through undergraduate experiences. Research in Higher Education 63 (4), 576-588. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-021-09659-3
Selznick, B. S., Mayhew, M. J., Zhang, L., & McChesney E. T. (2021). Creating an organizational culture in support of innovation education: A Canadian case study. Journal of College Student Development, 62 (2), 219-235. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2021.0018