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As an elementary teacher, I taught all subjects-- that variety can still be seen th ein kinds of projects in which I am involved now. This work has allowed me to zoom in and zoom out on some of the 'wicked problems' in elementary science education, and to better understand how different pieces of the puzzle connect together.
CREST is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation DRK12 program and is providing professional development to local 5th grade teachers and preservice teachers to support their implementation of Explore the Salish Sea, a place-based curriculum that braids together Western and Indigenous science. Research from the project explores how teachers' capacity for culturally responsive teaching changes as they develop deeper understanding and skill with the curriculum over successive enactments.
Developing and Validating Assessments to Measure and Build Elementary Teachers' Content Knowledge for Teaching about Matter and Its Interactions within Teacher Education Settings
Developing and Validating Assessments to Measure and Build Elementary Teachers' Content Knowledge for Teaching about Matter and Its Interactions within Teacher Education Settings
This is a collaborative project with Jamie Mikeska and other teacher education researchers at the Educational Testing Service. We are funded by an NSF DRK12 grant and are developing assessment instruments and instructional materials that can be used in teacher education to support the development of specialized content knowledge for teaching (CKT) about matter and its interactions. You can learn more at our project website.
Community Engagement Fellows
Community Engagement Fellows
Through Western's Community Engagement Fellows, I collaborated with the Spark Museum and the North Cascades Institute to develop partnerships between my students, informal science, and local classrooms. You can get access to the classroom curriculum companion my students created for the Forest School Program here.
NSF-funded Conference on Out of Field Science Teaching
NSF-funded Conference on Out of Field Science Teaching
This was a collaborative project launched with Julie Luft from the University of Georgia. The two-day conference was held in St. Louis February 25-26, 2019 and focused on understanding both the magnitude and impacts of out-of-field teaching in science. One outcome of the conference was the publication of a special issue of the Journal of Science Teacher Education about out-of0=-field science teaching with co-editors Julie Luft and Linda Hobbs.
Instructional Rounds in Preservice Teacher Education
Instructional Rounds in Preservice Teacher Education
With support from a mini-grant from the Western Washington University Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, I developed and piloted a model for integrating instructional rounds (also called teaching rounds) in preservice teacher education.
QuEST: Quality Elementary Science Teaching
QuEST: Quality Elementary Science Teaching
Funded through an NSF DRK12 grant, this project studies the impacts of an innovative practicum-based professional development model on teacher and student learning.
Three cohorts of Missouri teachers (grades 3-4-5) participated in the program between 2013-2016.
Resources
Resources
The following PD resources were developed for use in this project:
This tool helps teachers identify both structural and conceptual coherence in a sequence of learning activities (eg., Learning Cycle). For more information about how to use this tool, as well as other probes, please refer to the articles linked above.
A Time for Physics First: Leadership in Freshman Physics
A Time for Physics First: Leadership in Freshman Physics
Funded through an NSF Math and Science Partnership Grant, this project focused on preparing a cadre of teacher leaders to spearhead the implementation of a freshman physics course in their schools and districts. As Co-PI on the grant, I oversaw research activities related to the project, and specifically supporting the development of teacher leaders. View this video to learn more about the impact of the project.
Resources
Resources
The following resources were generated in this project and may be useful to others supporting the development of teacher leaders in science:
Introducing the NGSS to Preservice Teachers
Introducing the NGSS to Preservice Teachers
While the literature indicates that preservice teachers tend to be more positively predisposed to new standards than experienced teachers, this doesn't mean that helping prospective teachers understand the NGSS is an easy task. On the contrary, there are many difficulties they face--particularly given their own K12 experiences did not reflect the vision of the NGSS. In collaboration with several of my former advisees, I created a Google Drive of Activities for teacher educators to use to introduce the NGSS in their courses. We presented this in a workshop at the 2018 annual meeting of the ASTE, and have posted it online for broader use. A manuscript was also published in Vol.5 Issue No. 1 of Innovations in Science Teacher Education!
Books
Books
Developing and Validating Assessments to Measure and Build Elementary Teachers' Content Knowledge for Teaching about Matter and Its Interactions within Teacher Education Settings
Developing and Validating Assessments to Measure and Build Elementary Teachers' Content Knowledge for Teaching about Matter and Its Interactions within Teacher Education Settings
This is a collaborative project with Jamie Mikeska and other teacher education researchers at the Educational Testing Service. We are funded by an NSF DRK12 grant and are developing assessment instruments and instructional materials that can be used in teacher education to support the development of specialized content knowledge for teaching (CKT) about matter and its interactions. You can learn more at our project website.
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