Dr. Puvirajah’s ongoing research in Discourse and communities of practice (CoPs) with STEM learners focuses on the contextual differences between formal and informal science learning spaces and the types of Discourses and CoPs that these spaces create. His research and outreach programs in teacher education and STEM learning aligns with his interest in examining how teachers and science learners use Discourses to explore, negotiate, and develop their respective roles and identities within a community of practice.

Specifically, within the STEM learning context, he studies Discourses that are enhanced using technological tools and occur in informal settings. he scrutinizes the impact of informal, free-choice learning contexts on community building that leads to learning science processes, skills, and content knowledge. For example, in a study of an out-of-school robotics community, using critical discourse analysis, he focused on the interplay of the informal context and language to gain insights into the mediation and manifestation of power among students and teacher mentors.