Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
A design-based project grounded in learning technology theories and systematically implemented can impact environmental education in many positive ways. This paper explores the systematic application of best practices from design-based... more
A design-based project grounded in learning technology theories and systematically implemented can impact environmental education in many positive ways. This paper explores the systematic application of best practices from design-based projects that were used to combine and implement a drought education program. Embracing diffusion of innovation as its framework, augmented and virtual reality applications were used to design a virtual meeting space called the Virtual Citizen Science Expo. The results and findings show that users found Mozilla Hubs engaging as it gave them new ideas on the creative and inspirational use of virtual reality technology as an interactive and collaborative learning space. The discussions demonstrate that our VCSE can be used to promote and engage learners in science related to environmental monitoring.
Research Interests:
Citizen science holds the potential and capacity to change the role of science in the face of current and impending environmental sustainability challenges. However, the sustainability science community must also address the ethical... more
Citizen science holds the potential and capacity to change the role of science in the face of current and impending environmental sustainability challenges. However, the sustainability science community must also address the ethical challenges inherent in the nature and outcomes of citizen participation and inclusion. In this article, we provide a brief history of Participatory Action Research (PAR), long popular in the social sciences, and explain how participatory methods can inform the process and products of citizen science to meet the dueling ideals of ethically engaging communities and producing more robust science. Our decade of human-environment research on drought resilience and adaptation in the Southern High Plains of the United States illustrates how PAR complements formal science and can contribute to community resilience and adaptation efforts. Synthesized into 10 entry points for more ethical and participatory science, our semi-chronological narrative offers concrete ...
Research Interests:
IntroductionThe growth in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (STEM) related jobs has nearly doubled that of all other fields over the past decade (U.S. Department of Labor, 2007). The economic competitiveness of the United... more
IntroductionThe growth in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (STEM) related jobs has nearly doubled that of all other fields over the past decade (U.S. Department of Labor, 2007). The economic competitiveness of the United States is dependent on an adequate supply of high-quality workers in the STEM fields. However, many students who are academically qualified for postsecondary studies in STEM fields don't pursue those programs (U.S. Department of Labor, 2007). Concerns addressed in the seminal National Academy of Sciences study, Rising Above the Gathering Storm (2007a), still resonate today in that, absent a serious and rapid response, the U.S. will lose quality jobs to other nations due to an underprepared workforce.Teachers are arguably the single most important factor in student achievement. But according to a 2010 survey by the American Society of Quality (ASQ) and Harris Interactive, while teachers have adequate science content knowledge, some do not provide...
Research Interests: Psychology and Workforce
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This critical discourse analysis examined climate change denial books intended for children and parents as examples of pseudo-educational materials reproduced within the conservative echo chamber in the United States. Guided by previous... more
This critical discourse analysis examined climate change denial books intended for children and parents as examples of pseudo-educational materials reproduced within the conservative echo chamber in the United States. Guided by previous excavations in climate change denial discourses, we identified different types of skepticism, policy frames, contested scientific knowledge, and uncertainty appeals. Findings identify the ways these children's books introduced a logic of non-problematicity about environmental problems bolstered by contradictory forms of climate change skepticism and polarizing social-conflict frames. These results pose pedagogical dilemmas for educators, environmental advocates, and communication experts interested in advancing understanding and action in the face of rapid climate change.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This article reports on a collaborative enterprise between Oklahoma State University’s (OSU) NASA Education Projects and OSU’s College of Education preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) to engage approximately 400 middle school students... more
This article reports on a collaborative enterprise between Oklahoma State University’s (OSU) NASA Education Projects and OSU’s College of Education preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) to engage approximately 400 middle school students for a 20-minute live downlink with Commander Kevin Ford from the International Space Station (ISS). NASA supports this opportunity through a competitive proposal process (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2014). The project’s theme, Pioneers in Space: STEM Careers on the Space Frontier, engaged both PSTs and middle school students in discussing the benefits of space research, while drawing on themes relevant to students’ regional history. PSTs prepared Pioneers in Space instructional units and led classroom activities linking 6th grade state science standards. The desired outcome was to promote a greater understanding of how space exploration benefits society and contributes to STEM innovations. This paper reports on how curriculum desig...
Research Interests:
This exploratory research investigated how science education communities of practice in Oklahoma engage in translations of climate change education (CCE). Applications of actor-network theory to educational policymaking facilitate this... more
This exploratory research investigated how science education communities of practice in Oklahoma engage in translations of climate change education (CCE). Applications of actor-network theory to educational policymaking facilitate this analysis of the spaces of prescription and spaces of negotiation that characterize CCE in Oklahoma. Informed by key informant interviews with science education stakeholders and a survey of secondary science teachers, the results reported the perceived barriers to science education reform faced by educators in Oklahoma. Revisions of the state Priority Academic Science Standards (PASS) based on the nationally developed Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) emerged as a possible node of action in the advancement of climate science education in public schools. However, entanglements with historical contestations over evolution characterize the negotiation of standards revisions and suggest that climate change concepts may indeed be erased or muted. This research contributes to the emerging body of educational studies and policy research focused on the potential of the NGSS to increase CCE efforts in public schools.
Research Interests:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and other funding agencies require researchers to address not only the intellectual merit but the broader impacts of their proposed work. This research shares findings from an innovative broader... more
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and other funding agencies require researchers to address not only the intellectual merit but the broader impacts of their proposed work. This research shares findings from an innovative broader impacts engagement by an NSF CAREER awardee engineer. Our project, titled Engineering is Everywhere (E2): STEM Career Outreach (see http://www.engineeringiseverywhere.com), included an innovative combination of virtual media and teaching kits to provide an age appropriate, career mentoring model that encourages and broadens participation of individuals that are underrepresented in STEM education and the workforce. Intensive collaborations with engineer and education faculty involved an afterschool pilot program, the creation of engineering career awareness videos, the development of a curricula kit for 5th grade classrooms, and the implementation of the final product in 4 rural schools. The goal of this article is to report findings about the influence o...
The engineering practices of the Next Generation Science Standards add a new layer of expertise for many elementary teachers. This study investigated the effect of an engineering education curriculum on elementary preservice teachers'... more
The engineering practices of the Next Generation Science Standards add a new layer of expertise for many elementary teachers. This study investigated the effect of an engineering education curriculum on elementary preservice teachers' (PSTs; N = 40) (a) knowledge and perceptions of engineering and (b) self-efficacy of teaching engineering. Two sections of elementary science methods at a Midwestern university received training; however, the engineer led part of the curriculum and interacted with one section (n = 20). Findings indicated that the curriculum had positive impacts on the PSTs. The authors present the curriculum as a broader impacts model for researchers.
The Internet presents a unique opportunity for third party candidates in presidential campaigns. The growing popularity of the Internet offers the potential for equal access despite unequal resources and limited media coverage. This study... more
The Internet presents a unique opportunity for third party candidates in presidential campaigns. The growing popularity of the Internet offers the potential for equal access despite unequal resources and limited media coverage. This study examined the "Vote Nader" Web site in its attempts to overcome traditional cultural and structural barriers through Internet campaigning. Four criteria for evaluating Web sites (format, language, multimedia, and links) provided the framework for the study. The ultimate result is a rhetorical analysis of the Green Party as they adapt their vision to fit current political realities and transcend traditional structural and cultural barriers to third parties. The analysis reveals the need for more interactivity, self-promoting language, and credibility through diverse sources. Contains 13 references. (Author/RS) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
This article reports on a collaborative enterprise between Oklahoma State University’s (OSU) NASA Education Projects and OSU’s College of Education preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) to engage approximately 400 middle school students... more
This article reports on a collaborative enterprise between Oklahoma State University’s (OSU) NASA Education Projects and OSU’s College of Education preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) to engage approximately 400 middle school students for a 20-minute live downlink with Commander Kevin Ford from the International Space Station (ISS). NASA supports this opportunity through a competitive proposal process (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2014). The project’s theme, Pioneers in Space: STEM Careers on the Space Frontier, engaged both PSTs and middle school students in discussing the benefits of space research, while drawing on themes relevant to students’ regional history. PSTs prepared Pioneers in Space instructional units and led classroom activities linking 6th grade state science standards. The desired outcome was to promote a greater understanding of how space exploration benefits society and contributes to STEM innovations. This paper reports on how curriculum desig...
Research Interests:
The engineering practices of the Next Generation Science Standards add a new layer of expertise for many elementary teachers. This study investigated the effect of an engineering education curriculum on elementary preservice teachers'... more
The engineering practices of the Next Generation Science Standards add a new layer of expertise for many elementary teachers. This study investigated the effect of an engineering education curriculum on elementary preservice teachers' (PSTs; N = 40) (a) knowledge and perceptions of engineering and (b) self-efficacy of teaching engineering. Two sections of elementary science methods at a Midwestern university received training; however, the engineer led part of the curriculum and interacted with one section (n = 20). Findings indicated that the curriculum had positive impacts on the PSTs. The authors present the curriculum as a broader impacts model for researchers.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and other funding agencies require researchers to address not only the intellectual merit but the broader impacts of their proposed work. This research shares findings from an innovative broader... more
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and other funding agencies require researchers to address not only the intellectual merit but the broader impacts of their proposed work. This research shares findings from an innovative broader impacts engagement by an NSF CAREER awardee engineer. Our project, titled Engineering is Everywhere (E2): STEM Career Outreach (see http://www.engineeringiseverywhere.com), included an innovative combination of virtual media and teaching kits to provide an age appropriate, career mentoring model that encourages and broadens participation of individuals that are underrepresented in STEM education and the workforce. Intensive collaborations with engineer and education faculty involved an afterschool pilot program, the creation of engineering career awareness videos, the development of a curricula kit for 5th grade classrooms, and the implementation of the final product in 4 rural schools. The goal of this article is to report findings about the influence o...