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Productivity Report

2007-2008 found Science Education faculty engaged in a wide variety of activities. We started a Science Education Seminar Series this past fall. Each month we invite area scholars to come present their science education research to us (2008 presenters are already lined up, join us!). Jim Kisiel received a Spencer Fellowship and was awarded the CNSM Pretty Darn Good Professor Award. Catherine Martin-Dunlop is conducting a study in a first-year physics course to assess students' attitudes towards science and their perceptions of an innovative classroom learning environment. Tom Kelty and Catherine are working to acquire funding to perform collaborative field research with undergraduate Mongolian and CSULB geology students where Tom's research takes place. Emeritus Professor Bill Ritz visited China where he spread the word about early childhood science. Primary teachers from China traveled to CSULB to participate in a Head Start on Science workshop this past summer. Dave Nickles is growing the secondary credential program. He developed an Inquiry Mentoring workshop which is offered each semester to assist master teachers in mentoring our science student teachers.

Susan Gomez-Zwiep and Bill Straits got a $950,694 grant to provide professional development for grade K-2 teachers in Montebello and Garvey School Districts. Dave, Susan and Bill all led week-long summer professional development workshops for primary teachers from Montebello and Garvey School Districts. Al Colburn is continuing to write a monthly column for The Science Teacher. Laura Henriques was able to procure funding from Verizon Foundation to support a science camp for homeless children in Long Beach. We were also lucky to receive donations for Young Scientists Camp to support scholarships and programming.

As a group we published 43 articles and presented 39 professional presentations and workshops. We were successful in the grant writing realm, receiving more than $1.5 million in new grants and private donations. This is in addition to the more than $2 million of existing external funding to support our projects and programming. We did all that while continuing to provide excellent classes for our students, starting a new Science Education seminar series and expanding our Master's degree and credential programs.

Faculty Publications 2007-2008

  1. Ambos, E., Andrews, D. & Henriques, L. (2007). A New Science Education Website to Support New Preservice Science Teachers California Classroom Science, 19 (2), 12, 17.
  2. Abraham-Sliver, L. & Kisiel, J. (2008). Comparing visitors' conceptions of Evolution: Examining understanding outside the United States. Visitor Studies, 11 (1), 41-54.
  3. Bost, R., Richie, L., Miller, L., Dass, P., Straits, W., Kucan, L., & Trathen, W. (2008). Mastering scientific vocabulary: Three approaches to vocabulary instruction. School Science Review, 89 (329), 115-119.
  4. Colburn, A. (2007). The prepared practitioner: Defining science. The Science Teacher 74, 6, 12-13.
  5. Colburn, A. (2007). The prepared practitioner: Constructivism and conceptual change, part I. The Science Teacher, 74, 7, 10-11.
  6. Colburn, A. (2007). The prepared practitioner: Constructivism and conceptual change, part II. The Science Teacher 74, 8, 14.
  7. Colburn, A. (2007). The prepared practitioner: A free library. The Science Teacher, 74, 9, 12.
  8. Colburn, A. (2008). The prepared practitioner: Intro to research. The Science Teacher, 75, 1, 10-12.
  9. Colburn, A. (2008). The prepared practitioner: Correlation and causality. The Science Teacher, 75, 2, 10.
  10. Colburn, A. (2008). The prepared practitioner: Getting students to read. The Science Teacher, 75, 3, 10.
  11. Colburn, A. (2008). The prepared practitioner: Why theories never become laws. The Science Teacher, 75, 4, 10.
  12. Colburn, A. (2008). The prepared practitioner: Learning science beyond the classroom. The Science Teacher, 75, 5, 10.
  13. Crowther, D., Robinson, M., Edmundson, A. & Colburn, A. (2008). Preparing English language learners in the science classroom, pp105 - 132, in Akerson, V. (Ed). Interdisciplinary language arts and science instruction in elementary classrooms. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ.
  14. Gomez-Zwiep, S. & Straits, W. (2007). Pigs can fly… and talk and build houses and shop at the mall... What's the Big Idea?, 6 (4), 3-4.
  15. Gomez-Zwiep, S. & Straits, W. J. (in press). Assessment-driven instruction: Starting with the end in mind. In T. Lord (Ed.), Assessment in College Science Teaching. Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
  16. Henriques, L. & Bradbury, J. (2007). Calling All College & University Professors - Support the Future Teachers at your Site, Start a CSTA Student Chapter California Classroom Science, 19 (1), 16.
  17. Henriques, L. (2007). Assessment – Get More Learning From Tests. California Classroom Science, 18 (4), 9, 20.
  18. Henriques, L. (2007). Children's Stories to Segue into Science Instruction. California Classroom Science, 18 (5), 6, 16.
  19. Henriques, L. (2007). Conference Update – Great News for Preservice Teachers. California Classroom Science, 19 (1), 13, 22.
  20. Henriques, L. (2007). I'm done with student teaching . . . Now what? California Classroom Science, 19 (3), 10.
  21. Henriques, L. (2007). Mechanics Assessment. California Classroom Science, 18 (3), 5, 14.
  22. Henriques, L. (2007). Teaching Chemistry: It's a Gas! California Classroom Science, 19 (2), 4, 15.
  23. Henriques, L. (2008). Hotdog Circuits – A physics demonstration to amaze, wow & teach (Tastes good, too!) California Classroom Science, 19 (5), 4.
  24. Henriques, L. (2008). Resources and opportunities to help you grow professionally. California Classroom Science, 19 (5), 9.
  25. Henriques, L. (2008). Staying Abreast of Science Education Developments. California Classroom Science, 19 (4), 10, 17.
  26. Kelty, T.K., Yin, A., Dash, B., Gehrels, G.E., and Ribeiro, A.E. (2008). Detrital-zircon geochronology of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in the Hangay-Hentey basin, north-central Mongolia: Implications for the tectonic evolution of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean central Asia.Tectonophysics, 451, 290-311.
  27. Kucan, L., Trathen, W. R., Straits, W. J., Hash, D., Link, D. Miller, L., & Pasley, L. (2007). Developing approaches to vocabulary instruction in secondary classrooms: What do mathematics, art, science, and English teachers have to tell us? Reading Research and Instruction, 46 (2), 175-196.
  28. MacFadden, B. J., Dunckel, B.A., Ellis, S., Dierking, L.D., Abraham-Silver, L., Kisiel, J., Koke, J. (2007). Natural history museum visitors' understanding of evolution. BioScience, 57, 875-882.
  29. Miller, L., Straits, W., Kucan, L., Trathen, W., & Dass, M. (2007). Using literature circle roles for enhanced science vocabulary understanding. The Science Teacher, 74 (5), 52-56.
  30. Straits, W. J. & Gomez-Zwiep, S. (in press). Better multiple-choice assessments. In T. Lord (Ed.), Assessment in College Science Teaching. Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
  31. Straits, W. J. & Grizzard, G. (2007). Peanut pageant: Engaging students in contemporary science controversies. The Green Teacher, 81, 12-15.
  32. Straits, W. J. & Nichols, S. E. (2007). Using historical non-fiction and literature circles to develop elementary teachers' nature of science understandings. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 18 (6), 901-912.
  33. Straits, W. J. & Wilke, R. R. (2007). How constructivist are we? Representations of transmission and participatory models of instruction in, "The Journal of College Science Teaching." Journal of College Science Teaching, 36 (7), 58-61.
  34. Straits, W. J. & Wilke, R. R. (in press). Varied assessment: A brief introduction. In T. Lord (Ed.), Assessment in College Science Teaching. Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
  35. Straits, W. J. (2007). "She's teaching me": Teaching with care in a large lecture course. College Teaching, 55 (4), 170-175.
  36. Straits, W. J. (2007). A literature circles approach to understanding science as a human endeavor. Science Scope, 31 (2), 32-36.
  37. Straits, W. J. (2008). A literature circles approach to understanding science as a human endeavor. In E. Brunsell (Ed.), Readings in Science Methods, K-8. Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
  38. Straits, W. J. (in press). The importance of effective reading strategies for science teachers and learners. Reading: Assessment, comprehension and teaching. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.
  39. Waters, M. & Straits, W. (2008). Science rocks! A performance assessment for earth science. Science Activities,45 (1), 23-28.
  40. Ritz, W.C. "A Head Start on Science: Encouraging a Sense of Wonder." (Editor). NSTA Press, 2007.
  41. Ritz, W.C. "The Great American Popcorn Caper." Children and Families, Winter 2008 issue. The first of what will be a quarterly "Science for Young Explorers" column appearing in this magazine of the National Head Start Association.
  42. Zwiep, S. & Harris, D. (2007) Sinking and Floating: Surfacing the Math. Science Scope. December.
  43. Zwiep, S. (2008) Elementary teachers' understanding of students' science misconceptions: Implications for practice and teacher education. Journal of Science Teacher Education, Online First, September.

Faculty Presentations and Workshops 2007-2008

Science Education Faculty Kisiel, Straits and Martin-Dunlop at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association (New York, NY) Science Education Faculty Kisiel, Straits and Martin-Dunlop at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association (New York, NY).
  1. Andrews, D. & Henriques, L. (2007). Induction/Retention: Supporting new teachers. Recruiting Science and Mathematics Teachers for the 21st Century: Annual Division of Undergraduate Noyce Scholars Meeting. National Science Foundation. Washington DC, June 28.
  2. Andrews, D. & Henriques, L. (2007). MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching. Recruiting Science and Mathematics Teachers for the 21st Century: Annual Division of Undergraduate Noyce Scholars Meeting. National Science Foundation. Washington DC, June 28.
  3. Bissell, J., Czajkowski, K., Grenot-Scheyer, M., Parsons, S., Henriques, L. Raychaudhuri, D., Reed, C. & Santa Cruz, R. (2008). Successful Community College Transfer Models for Mathematics and Science Teachers. Panel presentation at California P-16 Conference, Long Beach, CA, June 24.
  4. Colburn, A. & Kelty, T. (2007). Using fossil models to teach paleontology and nature of science. Presentation at the annual meeting of the California Science Teachers Association, Long Beach, CA, October 26.
  5. Fortney, B. & Henriques, L. (2008). Mentor/Mentee Nexus. National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Baltimore, MD, March 30.
  6. Gomez-Zwiep, S. & David, H. (2007) Sinking and Floating – A Math/Science integrated lesson. California Science Teachers Association, annual meeting, Long Beach, CA.
  7. Gomez-Zwiep, S. & Holmes, S. (2008) Using a Concept Map to Guide Instruction: The Impact on Teachers' Understanding of Evolution. National Association of Research in Science Teaching annual meeting, Baltimore, MD.
  8. Gomez-Zwiep, S. Content Specialist: Tulare CA Math Science Partnership grant: Content weekend for 4-8th grade teachers. Topic: Adaptations. Tulare, CA 4/11/08-4/18/08.
  9. Gomez-Zwiep, S. Lesson Study Consultant: Facilitated lesson study teams of elementary teachers (4th and 5th grade) for Vista School District -Vista, CA; 1/17/08 – 1/18/08, 1/31/08 – 2/1/08, 5/11/08 – 5/12/08.
  10. Gomez-Zwiep, S. WestEd/K-12 Alliance Content specialist for Montebello/Garvey CPEC grant: one-week integrated science summer content for K-1 teachers. Topic: Weather. Montebello, CA 7/28-8/1 2008.
  11. Gomez-Zwiep, S.WestEd/K-12 Alliance Content specialist for Montebello CA Math Science Partnership grant: one-week integrated science summer content for 4-9 teachers. Topic: Energy and Matter. Montebello, CA 7/14-7/18 2008.
  12. Grace, J.*, Henriques, L., & Black, T.* (2007). Incorporating the Nature of Science into Instruction. California Science Education Conference. Long Beach, CA, October 25.
  13. Henriques, L. (2008). Assessment Strategies for Beginning Teachers. Presentation at the Noyce Western Regional Conference. Cal Poly Pomona. Pomona CA, January 26.
  14. Henriques, L., Arvizu, J. & Garcia. V.* (2008). Building Locally, Linking Globally: NSDL – Noyce Project. Annual Division of Undergraduate Noyce Scholars Meeting. National Science Foundation. Washington DC, June 26.
  15. Henriques. L., Hernandez, I., Segalla, A. & Turley, H. S. (2007). Noyce Scholars at CSULB. Poster presented at Annual Division of Undergraduate Noyce Scholars Meeting. National Science Foundation. Washington DC, June 28.
  16. Henriques. L., Hernandez, I., Segalla, A. & Turley, H. S. (2008). CSULB Noyce Schoalrs. Poster presented Annual Division of Undergraduate Noyce Scholars Meeting. National Science Foundation. Washington DC, June 26.
  17. Kisiel, J. (March, 2008) Environmental Perceptions and Misconceptions: Science Center Visitors' Understanding of Solar Energy. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, New York, NY.
  18. Kisiel, J. & Ancelet, J. (March, 2008) Uncovering Visitor Conceptions of Fossils and the Fossil Record. National Association of Research in Science Teaching Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD.
  19. Kisiel, J. (July 2008) What research tells us about working with teachers. Pre-conference Workshop, Visitor Studies Association (Houston, TX).
  20. Kisiel, J. (October, 2007) Building a Better Investigation--Putting Students at the Center. California Science Education Conference, San Francisco, CA.
  21. Kucan, L., Trathen, W. R., & Straits, W. J. (2007, May). Vocabulary Demands of Content Learning in High School. As part of the pre-conference institute entitled, "Linking Word Knowledge to the World: Vocabulary Learning across Subject Areas with Both Native and Second Language Learners." (J. Scott, S. Luliner, & C. Blachowicz, organizers). Presented at the annual conference of the International Reading Association. Toronto, ONT.
  22. Martin-Dunlop, C., & Fraser, B. J. (February, 2008). Twenty thousand hours: An introduction to the learning environments field. Science Teaching And Research-STAR Speaker Series, Science Education Department, California State University, Long Beach.
  23. Martin-Dunlop, C., & Fraser, B. J. (March 2008). An Investigation of the Relationship Between Understanding the Nature of Science and Classroom Learning Environment. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York City, NY.
  24. Nickles, D. (2007). Electrifying Science. Mastering the Art of Teaching Science Workshop, Hayward, CA.
  25. Nickles, D. WestEd/K-12 Alliance Content specialist for Montebello/Garvey CPEC grant: one-week integrated science summer content for K-2 teachers. Topic: Astronomy. Montebello, CA 7/28-8/1/2008.
  26. Pritchard, S., Gilbert, D., Williamson, T. & Henriques, L. (2007). Welcome session for conference first timers. California Science Education Conference. Long Beach, CA, October 25.
  27. Science Education Faculty Henriques, Kisiel, Shanahan and Gomez-Zwiep with candles at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (Baltimore, MD) Science Education Faculty Henriques, Kisiel, Shanahan and Gomez-Zwiep with candles at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (Baltimore, MD).
    Ritz, W.C. (2007). China National Institute for Education Research, Invited presentation: "A Head Start on Science" – Sense of Wonder Science for Young Learners and their Teachers, Beijing, China, November 20.
  28. Ritz, W.C. (2007). School Science Education Conference: Invited Presentation: "A Head Start on Science" – Sense of Wonder Science for Young Learners and their Teachers, Chengdu, China, November 15.
  29. Ritz, W.C. (2008). California Association for the Education of Younger Children. "A Head Start on Science," Long Beach, April. Workshop, with Deborah Greenwade.
  30. Ritz, W.C. (2008). California Curriculum & Instructional Leadership Symposium, Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove, February 21; Workshop, with Gregory Potte)
  31. Ritz, W.C. (2008). Director of A Head Start on Science@ week-long summer workshops for teachers at CSULB – June 13-27 for teachers and others from Los Angeles & San Diego Counties, and June 30-July 5 for Educators from Peoples Republic of China.
  32. Ritz, W.C. (2008). National Science Teachers Association. "A Head Start on Science" Boston, MA April.
  33. Ritz, W.C. Consultant for Discovery Charter School, Columbus (WI) School District. Development / revision of K-2 science curriculum, Summer 2008.
  34. Ritz, W.C. Invited visit to China, November 2007, and Appointed "Visiting Professor, China National Institute for Educational Research," Beijing, China, November 2007.
  35. Straits, W. J. & Ritz, W. C. (2008, January). Enhancing the Sense of Wonder of Pre-K Teachers, Students, and Parents. Presented at the Hawaii International Conference on Education. Honolulu, HI.
  36. Straits, W. J. (2008, March). Development of Teachers' Nature of Science Understandings through Meaningful Interactions with Historical Non-fiction Texts. Presented at the international meeting of the American Educational Research Association. New York, NY.
  37. Straits, W. J. (2008, May). Development of Teachers' Nature of Science Understandings through Meaningful Interactions with Historical Non-fiction Texts. Presented at the All University Celebration
  38. Straits, W. WestEd/K-12 Alliance Content specialist for Montebello/Garvey CPEC grant: one-week integrated science summer content for K-2 teachers. Montebello, CA 7/28-8/1 2008.
  39. Straits, W., Nichols, S., & Marble, S., (2007, January). Reader Response Theory Applied to Science Teacher Education: Aesthetic Reading of and Responses to Science as Represented in Non-Fiction Literature as part of the themed-paper set entitled, "Literature-based Approaches in Science Teacher Education" (W. Straits, organizer). Presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education. Clearwater, FL.

* designates student or alumni co-author or presenter.

Funded Projects & Grants

New Projects & Grants

  1. Examining Teacher Use of Informal Science Institutions. Principal Investigator. Spencer Foundation Grant Program, Teaching, Learning and Instructional Resources. Awarded June 2008. ($40,000) Begun Sept 2008 Kisiel
  2. What? No Tests? Evaluation of an innovative learning environment in a first-year physics course. University SCAC Award, Martin-Dunlop.
  3. Scholarly and Creative Activities Award Program (2008-2009), CSULB. Examining Connections between Schools and Informal Science Institutions. Awarded January 2008, Kisiel
  4. Young Scientists Camp Scholarships & Program Support YSC 2008 from LSI Philanthropy, The Earl B. and Loraine H. Miller Foundation, Norris Foundation.
  5. GEAR UP Science Camp Program LBUSD/CSULB joint endeavor to support the LBUSD class of 2014 in summer science camp program. Young Scientists Camp (subcontract funded for $327,484) 2007-2014. Henriques
  6. Science Education Experience to help Underserved Students Succeed! (SEE US Succeed!). Proposal funded by Verizon Foundation to bring a 2-week summer science camp to the Bethune Transitional Center. $15,000. - Henriques
  7. Community Engagement and Service Learning in the Curriculum-Faculty Grant Program (2008), CSULB. Course title: Research and Evaluation in Informal Science Settings. Awarded February 2008. ($1000) To be used for SCED553, Sp09, Kisiel.
  8. SCAC Conference Grant Award, CSULB. Award granted, May 2008. ($295)
  9. Oregon Sea Grant Omnibus Competition (2008-2010), sponsored by Oregon Sea Grant. Deepening Engagement at Live Animal Exhibits. Co-Principal Investigator. Awarded August 2007. ($135,694; $85,755 to CSULB) Begun in Feb 2008, Kisiel.
  10. Clancy Foundation. St. Joseph Elementary Hands On Science Experience brings a week of hands-on science investigations to 4th-8th graders at a local school. 2007-2008 $6,007 – Henriques.
  11. Boeing Corporation. CSU-Informal Science Institutions Professional Development Project. (Coordinated by Chancellor's Office); Co-Investigator. Awarded December, 2007. ($35,000) Kisiel.
  12. Building locally, linking globally: Networking micro-communities of Noyce Scholars for advancing innovations and improvement in mathematics and science education. Co-PI on $499,000 NSF grant (DUE 0735011) to link CSU Noyce projects and develop electronic communities. (CSULB subcontract funded at $41,182) 11/1/2007-10/31/2009. - Henriques
  13. Improving Teacher Quality. Research and professional development effort intended to improve kindergarten through second grade teachers' abilities to teach science, in collaboration with Montebello Unified and Garvey School Districts and K-12 Alliance. (California Postsecondary Education Commission,. $950,694) 9/1/2007- 8/31/2011. Gomez-Zwiep & Straits.

Ongoing Funded Projects

  1. Head Start On Science. For the tenth summer in a row early childhood educators came to CSULB for instruction on how to teach science to preschool children. – Ritz.
  2. SPIES: Science Partnership In Elementary Schools – Coordinated effort to link to improve pre-service teacher preparation in science teaching within select sections of SCED 475 with teachers and students at Kettering Elementary School, Long Beach. (CSULB, Office of University Research Enhancing Educational Effectiveness Grant - assigned time and supplies) 2007-2008 Straits & Gomez-Zwiep.
  3. STEELI: Secondary Teacher Education for English Learner Integration Awarded by the US Department of Education, this project will focus on curricular and instructional improvements with two sub-groups: higher education faculty teaching core classes in the Single Subject Credential program and preservice teacher in the Single Subject Credential program. 7/02/2007-7/01/2012. $1,466,600 – Gomez-Zwiep & others.
  4. Robert Noyce Scholarship Program. Co-PI on NSF (DUE 0335772) grant to fund scholarships for mathematics and science credential candidates. ($460,000) 2003-2007. – Henriques.
  5. Teaching Learning Collaborative (TLC) We are partnering with K-12 Alliance to work with teachers from the Montebello unified and Garvey School Districts on a modified lesson study. – Gomez-Zwiep, Topps.
  6. Teaching Secondary School Scholar Partnership Program (TS3P) Co-PI on National Science Foundation grant with Cerritos College to support the training and retention of math and science teachers. $282,360 ($75,000 subcontract to CSULB) 10/1/2005 - 10/30/2008 DUE-0501326. – Henriques.

Faculty Awards & Honors

  • Henriques, 2008. Most Valuable Professor (Award given by the Alumni Association).
    Selected by the College of Education's Outstanding Graduate (Marc Berkstresser) as the Most Valuable Professor.
  • Kisiel, 2008. Pretty Darn Good Professor Award – CNSM College Council Award given to a CNSM faculty member for outstanding achievement.
  • Straits, 2007. Recipient of the Association for Science Teacher Education, Award IV: Best Paper on Innovation in Teaching Science Teachers for paper co-authored with Sharon E. Nichols entitled, "Using historical non-fiction and literature circles to develop elementary teachers' nature of science understandings." Paper was presented at the 2006 national meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education in Portland, OR and later published in the Journal of Science Teacher Education.

Major Faculty Service Contributions

  • Alan Colburn – Chair of Faculty Policy and Personnel Council
  • Laura Henriques – Board of Directors, California Science Teachers Association
  • Laura Henriques - Co-Chair Elections Committee, Association for Science Teacher Education
  • Jim Kisiel – Chair of CSULB Japanese Gardens Education Outreach Committee
  • Jim Kisiel - Research Strand Coordinator, Conference Committee, NARST 2009 conference
  • Catherine Martin-Dunlop – Secretary of CSULB International Education Committee
  • Catherine Martin-Dunlop – Conference Co-Chair for 2010 ASTE conference