SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP:

When I joined Washington University in St. Louis as an assistant professor, I began working with one of the National Science Foundation's Centers for Learning and Teaching (CLT) – the Center for Inquiry in Science Teaching and Learning (CISTL), a collaboration of institutions of higher education, school districts, and informal science institutions (ISIs). First as a faculty fellow and then as co-Principal Investigator, I have had many opportunities to exercise leadership while working with collaborating doctoral students, postdoctoral colleagues, and ISI liaisons. Although the individuals within the CISTL network came from a wide variety of backgrounds such as Environmental Toxicology, Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences, and Chemistry/Chemistry Education, they were expected to learn how to participate in a science education community, conduct relevant research, and disseminate findings through conference presentations and publications in refereed journals.  As the sole science education tenure-track faculty member, I provided instruction, formal and informal mentoring, and research project facilitation in many different ways toward these goals.  For example, over several semesters, through a course designed as a weekly seminar, I provided instruction in qualitative research methodology.  In addition, I conducted semester-long research writing seminars in which CISTL participants and I worked together to produce articles appropriate for refereed journals for education audiences. Additionally, over two semesters, I facilitated the Learning Progression research initiative of CISTL – the design of a K-12 learning progression in genetics reflecting a synthesis of current research on student learning and science classroom practices.  In addition to my work with CISTL, I served as the Washington University site Principal Investigator for a grant with the NSF’s CLT supplemental program.  In that capacity, I was integrally involved in the development and implementation of the 2007 Equity in Mathematics and Science Education: Critical Issues Leadership Development Conference.