How does the inclusion and integration of diverse ways of knowing and understanding the world, including Indigenous knowledge systems, local practices, and non-Western scientific traditions, impact the educational process? I am interested in exploring the inclusion and integration of diverse ways of knowing and understanding the world within the educational process. This concept emphasizes the value of incorporating multiple epistemologies, such as Indigenous knowledge systems, local practices, and non-Western scientific traditions, alongside conventional Western scientific approaches.
How can new methods, strategies, and programs be developed and evaluated to enhance the preparation and ongoing professional development of teachers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)?
How does fostering empathy enhance learning outcomes, collaboration, and ethical decision-making among students in science and engineering education?
Principal Investigator: NOAA B-WET; 2023 - 2026
Indigenous knowledges are valuable for understanding sustainability, resilience, and cultural survival in the face of intensifying climate change. Thus, the integration of indigenous knowledges into science teacher education and school curricula may be a productive way to contribute to the development of environmental literacies required for preparing individuals to make sense of the causes, impacts, and potential solutions to climate change. This project forms a new partnership team of scholars from the University of Maryland (UMD) and Ohio University (OU), Accokeek Foundation leadership, Piscataway Conoy tribal members, curriculum specialists, environmental literacy experts, school district leaders, classroom teachers, and nonformal educators. We explore opportunities to bridge Indigenous and Western worldviews in science education.
Co-Principal Investigator: NSF Computer Science For all, 2022-2025
Computer science (CS) literacy is crucial for a comprehensive 21st-century education. Unfortunately, many elementary schools lack age-appropriate CS education, especially for English Learners (ELs). This issue stems from various factors, such as limited time for CS instruction, teachers' lack of CS training, and the complexity of CS materials, making them challenging for ELs. Moreover, grant-funded CS initiatives often cease when funding ends. Beyond CS, modern classrooms must address environmental sustainability, requiring a transdisciplinary approach that combines various disciplines, including CS. This project focuses on using environmental sustainability (ES) as a context for authentic transdisciplinary CS learning, aligning with science and social studies standards and supporting linguistically inclusive pedagogies. It involves a multidisciplinary team developing CS-integrated curricular modules and training materials for elementary teachers working with ELs. The project modifies existing lessons to include more ES and CS content, addressing teachers' time constraints.
NOAA Sea Grant, 2022-2023
Co-Principal Investigator: The impact of human society within Earth’s interconnected and life-sustaining systems means that environmental literacy is required for an informed understanding of and response to problems jeopardizing the ability of our biosphere to thrive. The successful advancement of environmental literacy for K-12 students depends on the abilities of their teachers to integrate environmental literacy education into instructional programs. This project directly supports the Sea Grant Education Network Environmental Literacy Vision Plan (2019) by increasing the capacity of pre-service elementary teachers to confidently and competently integrate culturally relevant, project-based environmental education into their instructional programs. We will develop a workshop in the form of a learning module, anchored in phenomena related to the Eastern Oyster and Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and aligned with elementary grades Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
Co-Principal Investigator: Teaching and Learning Transformation Center University of Maryland, 2022-2023
This project will provide UMD students enrolled in TLPL613: Problem Solving and Innovation in Mathematics Classrooms with situated experiential learning experiences to support their environmental literacy and their ability to interpret, model, predict, articulate, and respond to the Grand Challenge of climate change using classroom and field-based mathematics, mathematical modeling, and computational learning activities focused on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and its ecosystems. Students enrolled in TLPL613 are also practicing teachers. Thus, another goal for this project is to increase TLPL613 students’ confidence and ability to support their K-12 students’ understanding of how mathematics, mathematical modeling, and computational thinking can be used to describe, model, and predict our changing climate. The project builds on existing relationships between the PIs, who are STEM teacher educators in the College of Education, Maryland Sea Grant (MSG) climate scientists, and Maryland Environmental Service (MES) climate educators. Funding will support the design phase of the project, which will focus on integrating MSG and MES resources and immersive field experiences into TLPL613 that highlight the value of mathematics and mathematical thinking in understanding, representing, communicating, and addressing climate change and its impact on local ecosystems and organisms.
Co-Principal Investigator: Maryland Energy Administration, 2024-2027
The Maryland KidWind Initiative: Supporting K-12 student interest in wind energy through K12 and teacher education curricular advancements and design-build competitions is a project which, if funded, will align with Maryland’s state goal of expanding opportunities for Marylanders to understand our state’s energy needs and expanding our wind workforce supply chain. Specifically, grant funds for this project will be used to fund school districts, universities, and industry collaborations to develop K12 wind energy units of study that highlight renewable energy solutions, regional wind energy initiatives, and wind energy design solutions. Teacher guides and professional development programming will be simultaneously developed to ensure implementation fidelity. Teacher education is essential to help educators grasp the concepts of renewable energy and our state's offshore wind initiatives. This understanding is critical for the successful implementation of K-12 wind energy curriculum.
Our mission is to advance knowledge and understanding in science, technology, and STEM education for researchers and practitioners and to develop educational leaders who will inform policy and practice toward making STEM education more equitable, accessible, and effective at preparing learners to address grand challenges.*
Read MoreThis is a generic blog article you can use for adding blog content / subjects on your website.
Read MoreProposed course Distributive GenEds*: Natural Sciences / Humanities
Read More“Big Question” How can the process of decolonization, including acknowledging and integrating Indigenous knowledges, local perspectives, and diverse cultural approaches contribute to more inclusive and equitable approaches to climate change education? "Big Question" Course for UMD General Education Program
Read MoreThis course has been designed for the M.Ed. Teacher Leadership, Special Studies: STEM Education. This course is presented in the form of three single-credit-hour strands running concurrently with program content courses. Each strand will focus on the interrelation between the following essential questions: What is STEM education? What does it mean to teach for authenticity, equity, and achievement?
Read MoreThis course has been designed for the M.Ed. Teacher Leadership, Special Studies: STEM Education. It is intended to prepare practicing teachers to advocate for, design, support, and lead STEM programs and initiatives in their school and district. This course draws upon previous coursework in the M.Ed. program to engage students in relevant, practical discussions and activities around STEM education teacher leadership. It is expected that by the end of the course students will possess a comprehensive understanding of exemplary STEM education programming and be able to identify tools and resources that may support STEM initiatives in their school and district.
Read MorePart of the elementary education teacher certification program at UMD.
Read More2024-Present MACCEC is working to convene organizations and individuals representing diverse perspectives throughout the Mid-Atlantic region who will create and participate in a network that centers, supports, and uplifts the advancement of education for climate action
The M.Ed. in Teacher Leadership: Special Studies in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education is an innovative program that allows in-service elementary and middle school teachers to explore relationships among science, engineering, and mathematics through a transdisciplinary approach to integrated STEM. Teachers in the program use cutting-edge technology tools to build a Professional Learning Network as they develop philosophies regarding issues of authenticity, equity, and achievement in STEM. Each course in the program has been designed to reflect the MSDE STEM Standards of Practice as well as the core ideas and practices of the Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core State Curriculum. Our program opens the space for teachers to explore relationships between science, engineering, and mathematics through the ‘meta-discipline’ of STEM in order to develop a holistic understanding of the world.
Read MoreBiodiversity & Threats Cluster, 2024-2027 Proposed course: Ecological Diversity and Indigenous Perspectives: Biodiversity, Threats, and Conservation in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Every year, University Honors introduces into its curriculum four new themes of contemporary and enduring significance. These themes are addressed through “clusters” of courses offered over a period of two academic years. Each course in a cluster engages the theme from a different disciplinary perspective. Each cluster features a Lead Fellow, who sets the cluster theme and teaches an I-series lecture course; an early-career Collegiate Fellow, who teaches across the University Honors curriculum; and one or two Affiliate Fellows, who offer small seminars (1-2 sections per year) taught from a complementary disciplinary perspective.
