Current Faculty Research Interests

• Data Interpretation along the Novice – Expert Continuum - The goal of this study is to investigate the differences in data analysis skills along a continuum of expertise – from novice undergraduates to practicing science professionals in the earth science content domain. More specifically, this research is intended to better understand how people read, interpret and create graphical representations of numerical data.
• Elementary Students’ Conceptions of Nature of Science - This research explores K-6 students’ conceptions of aspects of nature of science such as the tentative but reliable nature of science, science as creative and imaginative, the distinction between theory and law, relationships between observation and inference, the subjective and empirical natures of science. Led by Dr. Valarie Akerson.
• Elementary Teachers’ Conceptions of Nature of Science and Teaching Practice - This research program explores methods of professional development that improve elementary teachers’ conceptions of nature of science, scientific content, and their teaching practice. It explores the effect of their instructional practice on their students’ conceptions of science and nature of science. Led by Dr. Valarie Akerson.
• Iterative Model Building (IMB) - The goals of this project are to a) improve professional development programs for future elementary school mathematics and science teachers, and thus improve student learning in mathematics and science, and b) identify possible indicators of teacher quality in order to test the promise of the IMB approach. Project Investigators include: Dr. Enrique Galindo (PI – mathematics education, IU); Dr. Meredith Park Rogers (CoPI – science education, IU); Dr. Valarie Akerson (CoPI – science education, IU); Dr. Anderson Norton (CoPI – mathematics education, Virginia Tech University).
• Getting to the CoRe of It! Transforming Preservice Teachers' Learning of Science - The purpose of this project is to address the issue of limited subject matter knowledge that many elementary teachers have for science by having them reflect on the content they are learning with regards to how they might teach it to others.  We have adapted a tool referred to as Content Representations (CoRes) developed by science education researchers Mulhall, Berry, and Loughran (see their website).  The context for this project is an introductory Geological Sciences course (GEOL G105) targeted for elementary education majors. Project Investigators include: Dr. Meredith Park Rogers (PI – science education, IU); Dr. Adam Maltese (CoPI –science education, IU); Dr. Bruce Douglas (Collaborator – Geological Sciences, IU). 
• Point of View Cameras
• Student Interest in Science - Keeping students engaged and interested in the classroom is an essential factor in successful teaching and learning. To educators, the approach seems obvious: get students interested and they are more likely to engage in classroom activities. The fundamental question is how to foster this level of student interest and engagement in content, specifically, science, mathematics, and technology. Currently, we are working on a non-interventional, survey research study designed to track the interest and engagement students have with topics and activities related to science, mathematics, and technology.

Past Projects:

• 21st Century Teachers - The two largest campuses of Indiana University in concert with professional educators are designing a project to strengthen and focus the roles of the arts and sciences in teacher education. The initiative concentrates on beginning teachers, although attention is also paid to the continuing professional development of experienced teachers.
• Science EDUCATES Science EDUCATES is a two-year professional development program that aims to improve K-6 teachers' understandings of physical science content, science as inquiry, and nature of science, as well as help them teach these ideas in developmentally appropriate ways to their own elementary students. In the second year of the program participants will conduct action research studies on their own instruction to track changes in their students' understandings.
• Elementary Teacher Enhancement Program Learning Science by Inquiry is a project that explores elementary teachers' understandings of nature of science and inquiry, and provides professional development to help teachers make their new understandings explicit in their classroom practice. A key feature is project staff who teach model lessons in the teachers' classrooms.
• The Internet Learning Forum - This project involves the design and evaluation of the salient features of an electronic knowledge network, the Internet Learning Forum (ILF), to support a virtual community of in-service and pre-service mathematics and science teachers sharing, improving, and creating inquiry based pedagogical practices.