Science education - Ph.D.

The doctoral program in science education is designed to prepare scholars to conduct thoughtful research in order to assume roles as university faculty members, educational leaders, policy makers, and researchers and to contribute meaningfully to the field. The field of science education is a broad one and includes science and environmental education at the K-12 levels, the College level, in informal and adult settings and in early childhood. Focus areas of research within the science education area are the preparation of pre-service science teachers (K-12), induction and mentoring of beginning science teachers, design and implementation of curricula across the K-college spectrum, environmental education, cooperative learning, and social justice.

Fulltime students in the doctoral program will be provided teaching and research opportunities relevant to their area of interest. For example, supervising student teachers, teaching pre-service courses, and grant work. Students will be encouraged to collaborate with existing faculty research projects as well as developing their own independent scholarship. Students are encouraged to present at national conference such as the Association of Science Teacher Educators and the National Association for Research in Science Teaching.

Faculty

• Fred Finley
  Currently, I am conducting research on students’ conceptions of the earth systems and human interaction with the earth. I am also working on civic engagement studies under a U.S. State Department grant and operating science and mathematics teacher internships in Thailand.
• Leslie Flynn
  My main areas of interest, teaching and research are science teacher training and chemistry education.
• Roger Johnson
  I work primarily with teaching science in the elementary school. I am also co-director of the Cooperative Learning Center, primarily involved in research and training educators how to structure cooperation in classrooms and schools.
• Gillian Roehrig
  I am currently a principal investigator (PI) on a five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant looking at the impact of different mentoring and induction programs on the development of beginning secondary science teachers.
• Bhaskar Upadhyay
  My research interest is not only examining how science teaching and learning can be improved in the classrooms, but also looking at issues of access, ethnicity, and race that surround science education in our urban schools.

Course requirements

See also: Ph.D. student resources.

Student profile

Michelle Fleming

My background in education includes experience as an elementary teacher in Wisconsin and Colorado, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, working with urban youth in an outdoor education program, curriculum development and consulting on Biological Sciences Curriculum Study and National Institute of Health science curriculum supplements. After receiving the JoAnne Buggey Endowed Fellowship, the desire to deepen my understandings and challenge my own ideas about elementary science education led me back to pursue my Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. My background as a mentor to new teachers and preservice teachers inspired me to research more effective ways of working with elementary teachers.

With my research interests in science, art, and aesthetics education, I have attempted to accomplish my goals in relation to my major coursework by focusing on historical and current research in science and art education, and relating the learning to an elementary level context. Many courses here at the University of Minnesota afforded me an opportunity to examine theories regarding student and teacher learning in elementary science and art education. Additionally, my science education provided me with a broad view of environmental/earth science education, a closer view of reform-based science curricula, and research on the development of elementary science curricula, and the ability to examine issues of equity and policy on K-12 science education reform. This coursework also allowed me to converse with science education colleagues regarding K-12 educational issues. My adviser, Dr. Roger Johnson allowed me to explore my own interests related to reform curricula, resulting in an analysis of the new Minnesota science standards and a review of the most recent literature related to implementation of reform curricula. Furthermore, I was able to develop an instructional plan for teaching an elementary science methods course at the university level.

Other courses outside of science education encouraged me to look across disciplines but continue my focus on science and art education at the elementary level. For instance, one professor allowed me to explore social studies on a broad, encompassing level through a major project and presentation integrating social studies, science and art. This project allowed me to present at the National Science Teachers Association annual conference, the Minnesota Council for Social Studies spring conference and conduct a curriculum field study in an urban public school district. Also, I have been able to share my research and practice by instructing one section of the elementary social studies methods course, teaching the technology course for elementary preservice teachers, and supervising elementary preservice student teachers for the past three years.

The research coursework provided me with an overview of quantitative and qualitative research and ignited a strong desire in me to explore research in greater depth by accepting a research assistantship in the winter of 2005 with Dr. Frances Lawrenz in educational psychology. As a result, I have been able to use both quantitative and qualitative research methods in a practical sense, forming a collaborative evaluation community with K-8 educators in an urban public school district to evaluate science and math instruction and make data-based decisions impacting student achievement. I hope to share this project and other research endeavors in the near future with researchers and evaluators at the American Evaluation Association (AEA), National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), and American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Selected presentations

Fleming, M. & Strifling, K. (2006, April) An Inquiry into Force and Anatomy: Tendrils between Science and Art. Paper presented at National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) National Conference, Anaheim, CA.

Fleming, M. & Buggey, J. (2006, April) Agricultural Inquiry in the Primary Classroom: Science, Social Studies and Literacy Connections. Paper presented at National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) National Conference, Anaheim, CA.

Fleming, M., Chahine, I., Clarkson, L., & Lawrenz, F. (2006, February) Collaboration Evaluation Communities in Urban Public Schools: Joint Project between the Departments of Curriculum & Instruction and Educational Psychology. Poster presented at Research Day, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Fleming, M. (2005, August) Collaborative Evaluation Communities Program: Utilization-focused Evaluation Methods. Poster presented at University of Minnesota Graduate Student Orientation, Minneapolis, MN.

Buggey, J., Fleming, M., & Herlofsky, A. (2005, March) Inquiry and Agriculture in the Primary Classroom. Workshop presented at Annual Conference of the Minnesota Council for the Social Studies (MCSS), Bloomington, MN.

Caglin Kaymaz

I am from Izmir, Turkey. I was graduated from Dokuz Eylul University in 2000 and was awarded with a bachelor degree in chemistry education. I taught chemistry at high school and secondary school levels. After a couple of years in the profession, the government of Turkey awarded me a scholarship to pursue my graduate degree in the U.S. After receiving my Ph.D. degree, I will be assigned to a faculty position to work at the Department of Education in Dumlupinar, University in Turkey.

After completing my M.A. in elementary education at the University of Colorado at Boulder, I chose to come to the University of Minnesota since I believed that both the Cooperative Learning Center and Center for Cognitive Sciences would be the places to further my research agenda.

The courses at the U of M have really strengthened my teaching and research agenda. Drs. Roger and David Johnson’s Cooperative Learning course noticeably influenced my teaching techniques and improved my understanding about classroom dynamics. I definitely plan on utilizing cooperative learning in my research framework. I am grateful that as one of my advisers, Prof. Roger Johnson consistently encourages my studies and supports me during my research. Likewise, Dr. Bhaskar Upadhyay’s course on equity and policy in science education also shaped my future research. Initially, I was not focused on “culturally responsive teaching” and “multicultural education,” but now I have realized that these substantial issues should not be neglected. As my adviser, Dr. Upadhyay continues to support me as I improve my research skills and encourages me to attend conferences and publish my articles.

Before I came to U of M, my research was focused on improving students’ creativity and conceptual understanding of the students, the metaphors and gestures that students use/construct during learning activities. My coursework and conversations with faculty here have helped to extend my ideas into framing questions for practical research. I also feel more comfortable with using the inquiry stance to start asking my own research questions and design my doctoral research. Today, my research framework embraces the constructivist theory and I am trying to develop a teacher development program that helps teachers to use cooperative learning, Socratic questioning, and creative cognition in their classroom in order to stimulate constructivist learning experiences for students.

The social life here has also been rewarding. As graduate students, we get together every other Friday for our journal club, where we have academic discussions. Frequently, we have brownbag sessions and pizza talks where graduate student and faculty members share research interests. I believe the most enriching aspect of student life at U of M is the thriving intellectual graduate student community.

Selected presentations

Akillioglu-Kaymaz, F.C. and B. Upadhyay. (2006). Hmong Teachers’ Perception of Science Teaching: A Case Study of Two Female Pre-Service Elementary Hmong Teachers. Presentation at annual meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education, Portland, OR.

Sample dissertations

Appledoorn, K.L. (2004) Developing and validating the Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP) Core Evaluation Classroom Observation Protocol (C.O.P.). Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Fenwick, S.E. (2005). The effects of cooperative creative controversy versus cooperative concurrence seeking on student academic achievement and attitudes toward factors of classroom social support. Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Kuo, H.V. (2004). An explanatory model of physics faculty conceptions about the problem-solving process. Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Pocovi, M. C. (2004). Research on the effects of a history-based curriculum on the students' understanding of the concepts of electric field and lines of force. Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Woodward, D.M. (2004). Changes in students’ measures of environmental literacy as a result of instruction on environmental issues. Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

May 2006