PI Professional Development & Mentoring

Translating classroom insights or disciplinary interest into publishable, federally fundable Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) or Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) requires a fundamental shift in methodology, theoretical frameworks, and research design.

Your research should connect your passion to discoveries and do good in the world. If you are stuck on how to make your project a reality—or if the reality of doing your project feels overwhelming—you don’t have to navigate it alone. I love enabling excellence in education research across all career stages, from conceptualizing your very first study to building a tenure package or taking your next professional step. Let’s untangle your ideas and forge a clear path forward.

Grounded in my work as Co-Director and Founder of the PEER Institute serving over 1,000 emerging researchers across 14+ global locations, former NSF Program Director overseeing a $65M portfolio, and author of Research: A Practical Handbook, Zaposa provides structured training, community accountability, and personalized 1:1 mentorship for scholars at every career stage.

What We Offer

1:1 Strategic Coaching & Mentoring

Personalized, ongoing strategic mentorship tailored to your specific career stage, personal goals, and project needs. Over my 20-year academic career as a Professor of Physics, I’ve mentored hundreds of educators, graduate students, postdocs, and seasoned PIs. We work together 1:1 to:

• Untangle Research Designs: Refine research questions, align theoretical lenses, and match data streams appropriately so your design supports the research story you want to tell.
• Navigate Career Pivots & Transitions: Build confidence and self-efficacy as you move from disciplinary research into DBER/SoTL, assemble a compelling tenure package, or pivot into a new professional role.
• Establish Generative Writing Habits: Overcome momentum blocks, establish sustainable habit-building writing routines, and maintain steady progress on papers and proposals.
• Strategic Resets & Sense-Making: Gain clarity when you feel stuck, need a strategic reset on a stalled project, or want a trusted thought partner to talk through research ideas.

Immersive Field Schools

Multi-day research retreats built on the field-tested PEER Institute. Grounded in NSF-funded research on researcher agency and growth, participants bring a real project to develop—from initial concept through paper drafting and grant writing—in a supportive, highly collaborative environment. Major learning outcomes include:

• Project Advancement: Moving a real project from raw idea to structured research design, proposal draft, or peer-reviewed manuscript.
• Methodological Fluency: Selecting theoretical frameworks, matching research questions to appropriate data streams, and managing research ethics (IRB).
• Generative Writing & Accountability: Developing continuous, habit-building writing strategies and structured peer feedback routines to maintain momentum.
• Research Self-Efficacy & Community: Building long-term professional agency, collaborative networks, and peer support systems across career stages.

Departmental Colloquia & Invited Research Seminars

50–60 minute invited talks, keynotes, and colloquia for physics departments, STEM faculty series, and campus-wide events. Designed to engage broad audiences, these talks connect learning sciences research directly to classroom practice, student identity development, and institutional equity. Sample topics include:

• Learning to Be a Physicist: How undergraduates develop professional identity, navigate academic milestones, and build research mindsets.
• Helping Students Learn More: Evidence-based strategies from PER and learning sciences that improve conceptual retention and problem-solving.
• Measuring Equity in STEM Classrooms: Qualitative and quantitative measures of authority, group interactions, and equitable participation in STEM labs.
• Research-Based Resources & PhysPort: How online tools, concept inventories, and data explorers transform teaching practice nationwide.

Institutional Masterclasses & Interactive Workshops

High-energy, interactive workshops brought directly to your university, department, or Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Browse our full Workshop Topics Catalog for available masterclasses ranging from qualitative/quantitative study design to theoretical frameworks, research ethics, and building internal evaluation capacity.

Who this is for: Growth for every scholar

No matter what stage your work is in, everyone is welcome, and everyone belongs in the research enterprise. Everyone has expertise to contribute, and everyone has skills to learn and refine.

Our PI PD and mentoring offerings are adaptable to individuals, small groups, or large institutional cohorts across various career stages and department structures:

• Emerging Education Researchers: Early-career faculty, postdocs, and graduate students taking on their very first education research project or building an independent study design.
• Disciplinary Faculty Pivoting to DBER/SoTL: Experienced STEM scholars shifting their scholarship toward teaching, learning, and equity studies who want to build methodological fluency, confidence, and self-efficacy.
• Mid-Career & Senior Scholars: Seasoned researchers looking to revitalize their research life, stretch into new theoretical lenses, build tenure packages, or navigate senior career pivots.
• Departmental & Institutional Leaders: Department Chairs, CTL Directors, Deans, and Vice Presidents of Research seeking high-impact professional development, customized masterclasses, or colloquium speakers for their campus.
• Flexible Group Formats:
  • Group Sizes: Sessions scale from small-group masterclasses (6–8 people) and interactive workshops (sweet spot: 15–40 people) to full auditorium colloquia.
  • Participant Mix: Programs can be tailored for single departments, cross-disciplinary STEM cohorts, university-wide audiences, or regional research networks across all career stages.

Scheduling & On-Campus Logistics

Lead Times & Scheduling

I love to travel for in-person events. Generally, half-day or full-day workshops require 1–2 months of lead time, while a long weekend or a full-week field school requires 3–5 months. Virtual workshops and series offer different flexibility. The earlier you reach out, the more scheduling options we have.

If you have a tight timeline, reach out anyway. I love to daisy-chain events in neighboring locations and fill unexpected gaps on the calendar.

You’ve Got Me

When you hire me for an in-person workshop or colloquium, you get my full engagement for the day of the visit.

I am happy to spend the rest of the day meeting 1:1 for design consults with your participants, chatting with your Dean or Provost about the strategic value of education research, or meeting with student and campus groups (such as Women in STEM) to discuss academic career paths. Need extra time? We can discuss adding an additional day, calendar permitting.

Ready to Work Together?

Whether you need a 1:1 mentor for your research pivot, training and masterclasses for your group, a thought partner to build an awesome project, or a tailored evaluation plan that actually serves your project, let’s talk.

Schedule a Strategic Consultation

Zaposa services & strategic support