She received her Ph.D. in 1996 from the University at Albany, State University of New York. Her graduate training was in the field of experimental condensed matter physics, but since graduating she has focused most of her research efforts on the learning and teaching of physics. Karen has worked on several NSF funded projects including the Studio Physics project housed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, assessing transfer of learning and improving pre-service teacher education. As a result, she has extensive first-hand knowledge of the intricacies involved in classroom assessment.