Tor Ole Bigton Odden

Academic interests

• Using computation to support epistemic agency and creativity in physics learning
• Computational thinking and computational literacy in physics learning
• Applications of natural language processing to educational research literature and data
• Supporting and preparing learning assistants and teaching assistants in physics
• How students make sense of physics concepts

Background

Tor joined the Center for Computing in Science Education at the physics department of the University of Oslo in 2018, first as a postdoctoral research fellow and later as an associate professor of physics education research. His research focuses on how computation can be leveraged to support student creativity and epistemic agency in science learning, how students acquire disciplinary computational literacy, and applications of natural language processing techniques to analyze science education research literature and data. Tor holds a PhD in physics education research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where his dissertation work focused on how undergraduate physics students make sense of abstract or tricky physics concepts, the specific strategies they use, and how instructors can help them in that process. Tor also holds a masters in physics from UW-Madison and a bachelors in physics from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Outside Interests

In his spare time, Tor has practiced tai chi and Bak Shaolin Eagle Claw kung fu, and is also an avid runner, skier, woodcarver, fiddle player, and graphic novel enthusiast.