Teaching

My teaching interests are in the area of science education and educational reform. I am committed to preparing people with undergraduate majors in one of the natural sciences to be effective secondary school science teachers, assisting current science teachers to become the most effective teachers possible through graduate education, and preparing exemplary persons in doctoral programs to become leaders in the field of science education.

Courses frequently taught:

EDUC 4382/5385: Methods and Materials in Secondary School Science
The overarching goal of all student work in this course is professional development as a science teacher, with particular attention to being prepared to begin student teaching shortly. Specific objectives of the course are to:

• Develop a sound rationale for the work of teaching.
• Learn how to locate and use materials and resources.
• Develop facility with various teaching strategies.
• Acquire information on various topics such as safety and testing.
• Develop professional initiative and collaboration skills.

EDUC 8804: Seminar in Science Education
People enrolled in this course include both MA and PhD students. The purpose of this seminar, especially for the PhD students, is to read, discuss, and evaluate the research in science education. The MA students enrolled in this class typically are experienced science teachers who intend to continue in this career. Many of them take a more practitioner-oriented approach to their work in this course than the PhD students. Such a practitioner orientation is encouraged for them, i.e., giving more attention to selection of teaching materials and ways of using them in the classroom. A given student’s orientation to the course is reflected both in the choice of readings and the writing done by that particular student.

EDUC 5115: Modern Trends in Teaching
This course is taken by MA students in elementary education and all fields of secondary education and has two major foci for its participants: (1) gaining an understanding of the extensive literature on improving the manner in which education is practiced in this country (sometimes referred to as "educational reform"), and (2) developing a personal approach to becoming the most effective teacher possible. These two matters are highly related in that (1) the "reform" of education demands new approaches on the part of teachers and (2) teachers' attempts to become more effective teachers are dependent upon the structural and cultural context in which they are doing their work.