Skip to main content
Marina Micari

Marina Micari

She/Her
  • Director, Academic Support & Learning Advancement
  • Instructor, Learning and Organizational Change Program

Biography

Marina directs the Office of Academic Support & Learning Advancement, leading Northwestern's efforts to provide high-quality, welcoming, and holistic academic support for undergraduates. She has been at Northwestern since 2003, previously with the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching, where she led program evaluation projects and worked with faculty seeking to enhance their students' learning. Marina has taught and advised students in the Master of Science in Learning and Organizational Change (MSLOC) program since 2009. She is engaged in national and international conversations around academic success in higher education, particularly in STEM, and has authored numerous journal articles and two books on the college student academic experience. In her pre-Northwestern days, Marina worked for a decade in publishing and corporate communication and taught courses in intercultural communication, multicultural education, and educational research methods.

Education

  • PhD, education, University of Minnesota, 2001
  • MA, communication, University of Minnesota, 1996
  • BA, anthropology and French, Grinnell College, 1989

Select Publications

Micari, M., & Pazos, P. (2021). Beyond Grades: Improving College Students' Social-Cognitive Outcomes in STEM Through a Collaborative Learning Environment. Learning Environments Research, 24(1), 123-136.

Micari, M., & Calkins, S. (2021). Is it OK to ask? The impact of instructor openness to questions on student help-seeking and academic outcomes. Active Learning in Higher Education, 22(2), 143-157.

Micari, M. & Pazos, P. (2018). Small fish in a small pond: The impact of collaborative learning on academic success for less-prepared students in a highly selective environment. Higher Education Research & Development, 38(2), 294-306.

Micari, M., Van Winkle, Z., & Pazos, P. (2016). Among friends: The role of academic-preparedness diversity in individual performance within a small-group STEM learning environment. International Journal of Science Education, 38(12), 1904–1922.

Light, G., & Micari, M. (2013). Making Scientists: Six Principles for Effective College Teaching. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Micari, M., & Pazos, P. (2014). Worrying about what others think: A social comparison–concern intervention in small learning groups. Active Learning in Higher Education, 15(3), 249–262.

Micari, M., Pazos, P., Streitwieser, B., & Light, G. (2010). Small-group learning in undergraduate STEM disciplines: Effect of group type on student achievement. Educational Research and Evaluation, 16(3), 269-286.

Pazos, P., Micari, M., & Light, G. (2010). Developing an instrument to characterize peer-led groups in collaborative learning environments: Assessing problem-solving approach and group interaction. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(2), 191-208.