Her research examines the role of teachers and innovative curriculum in inquiry-base learning environments, and how students develop rich understandings of science content in urban middle school settings. Dr. Rivet also serves as the Earth Science content-area specialist in the science education program, with specific expertise in students’ interpretation and use of models and other representations for developing understandings of the Earth. Her work has been published in several leading journals including the Journal of Research in Science Teaching and she has presented her work at multiple national and international settings, including the American Educational Research Association and the International Conference of the Learning Sciences. She has a bachelors degree in physics from Brown University, and a doctoral degree in science education from the University of Michigan.