Associate Professor of Science Education
School of
Education
University of
Michigan
Note: Pretty much everyone calls me Betsy.
610 East University Ave.
Room 1323 School of Education Building
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259
phone: 734.647.0594
fax: 734.763.1368
email: betsyd@umich.edu
For further information and for links to
my papers, please see my (quite possibly out of date) cv.
My work investigates the learning of new
elementary science teachers. I am investigating ways of supporting these
teachers as they learn to teach science in innovative, inquiry-oriented ways.
Our NSF-funded CASES
environment supports new elementary science teachers as they learn to teach
inquiry-oriented science. CASES provides educative curriculum materials (or
curriculum materials designed to promote teacher learning as well as student
learning--check out my ER paper with Joe Krajcik for more on educative curriculum
materials). In the CASES group, we're conducting a longitudinal study involving
teachers from the time they're students in the school of education on through
their first several years of teaching. We're also looking at how particular
features within educative curriculum materials serve to promote teachers'
learning. Here's a list of some of the papers
generated under the auspices of the CASES project.
CASES is a part of the Center
for Curriculum Materials in Science,
an NSF-funded Center for Learning and Teaching whose goal is to build capacity
among science educators for research and development of science curriculum
materials. The Center's work touches on many aspects of the educational
process, including not just the curricular products themselves but also K-12 classroom
instruction, preservice teacher education, support for new teachers, and
practice-based professional development for experienced teachers. CCMS is a
partnership among AAAS Project 2061, Northwestern University, Michigan State
University, and the University of Michigan. CASES is also associated with hi-ce, the Center for Highly
Interactive Classrooms, Curricula, and Computing in Education.
I also help lead the MoDeLS project (Modeling
Designs for Learning Science), another large, multi-site project. We are
developing a theoretically-grounded and empirically-supported learning
progression for late elementary and early middle school students with regard to
their modeling practices and metamodeling knowledge. My work in MoDeLS focuses
on the development of teacher education experiences and educative curriculum
materials to support preservice and classroom teachers in engaging students in
scientific modeling. MoDeLS is funded by the National Science Foundation's
Instructional Materials Development program.
I recently became an editor of
the Elementary
School Journal,
published by the University of Chicago Press. ESJ publishes articles related to
educational theory and research, with an eye toward implications for elementary
and middle school teaching practice.
I teach courses at the undergraduate,
masters, and doctoral level.
ED421: Elementary Science Methods for undergraduate
certification students and (occasionally) ED528: Elementary Science Methods for
masters and credential students
In my methods courses, we focus on four main
goals: understanding inquiry-oriented science teaching, learning to anticipate
and work with kids' ideas, developing knowledge and skills related to
analyzing, critiquing, and adapting existing curriculum materials, and learning
to think of oneself as a science teacher.
ED832:
Theory and Research on the Development of Expertise in Science Teaching
In ED832, we explore how teachers develop the
knowledge they need for science teaching (at the elementary, secondary, and
college level) and how they learn to use that knowledge in the classroom. We
look at current approaches to teacher education and professional development.
ED833:
Theory, Research, and Use of Learning Technologies in Science Education
In ED833, we explore ways in which learning
technologies are used in science education and how that use is framed by both
theoretical and methodological considerations.
ED834:
The Design of Science Learning Environments
In ED834, we explore issues related to the successful design of science
learning environments. We emphasize promoting student learning through inquiry,
collaboration, curriculum materials, and learning technologies.
Here
is some more information on the graduate program in science education at UM.
