Bio

Charles’ research program focuses on understanding and promoting instructional change in higher education, with an emphasis on improving undergraduate STEM instruction. How work examines how teaching practices evolve and how educational innovations can be effectively adopted, scaled, and sustained within complex institutional environments. Drawing on discipline-based education research, organizational change theory, and mixed-methods approaches, this research identifies systemic barriers to instructional reform and develops evidence-based strategies to support meaningful, lasting change. Henderson’s work has been supported by substantial external funding and has contributed to national efforts to assess and improve STEM education, including service on National Academy of Sciences committees and leadership roles in the physics education research community. Together, this research advances the science of educational change while providing practical frameworks to improve teaching and learning across STEM disciplines.

Advancing Evidence-Based Instructional Change in Undergraduate STEM Education