Moonika joined Praxis in Summer 2022. She has a diploma from the University of Tartu in basic school science and a Master’s Degree in biology didactics. Currently she is finishing her doctoral studies in educational sciences. Her doctoral dissertation is about Estonian lower secondary school students’ perceptions of motivative science learning environments ending up with an empirical model that describes the relationships between different teaching and learning environmental factors predicting intrinsic motivation perceived by 6th and 9th grade students.

Moonika has previously worked as a science teacher. In addition to her job in Praxis she is currently working at the University of Tartu, where she coordinates the retraining program for basic school science teachers, participates in international projects, supervises master’s students and teaches quantitative data analysis courses.

Moonika is fluent in English and has a basic knowledge of Russian and Finnish. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, spending time in nature, dancing, running and swimming. In addition to that, Moonika finds time for reading and self-development. She can also be found in theatre, cinema, concert or spa.