Randy McGinnis, Ph.D. - University of Maryland

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Professional Profile: Dr. J. Randy McGinnis
Science Teaching Center
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
University of Maryland, College Park

Introduction

The purpose of this statement is to present a summary of my professional activities to date. The categories of Research, Teaching and Advising, and Service are used to demarcate areas of professional development in which I have integrated my work to improve the quality of science education at local and national levels. The primary thrust of my scholarly work is to move toward fulfilling the national science education reform movementís goal of a scientifically literate populace by improving science teacher education (both pre-service and in-service). I selected as my primary mechanism to accomplish this a focus on equity in science teaching and learning. In a field as broad as Science Education, the convention is that a scholar pursue several lines of research that inform the science education reform movement's goal of a scientifically literate populace and to interact productively with kindergarten through university teachers (K-16). I have delimited my science education research program to two lines of research (with complementary themes included) that link directly with the standards for the professional development for teachers of science as articulated by the National Research Council and the American Association for the Advancement of Science standards-based documents: equity for all learners (themes consisting of the use of computing technologies and the role of history and philosophy); and cross-curricular linkage of science with mathematics in teacher education. Research in these domains of specialization represent typical areas of concentration among individual leading scholars in Science Education who work at major research institutions. In my quest to advance literacy in Science Education through science teacher education, I have investigated issues and disseminated findings using two reporting venues: research outlets (five book chapters and chapters in conference proceedings, ten journal articles, more than forty professional conference presentations, and two book chapters and two additional journal articles in press, and six others under review) and practitioner outlets (one book chapter, ten journal articles, five other creative products, and nineteen professional workshops). In addition, these research-based products contribute directly toward theory development in my university classes and my service contributions to the greater science education community.

Research

My research agenda consists of two interrelated lines of research that converge on improving science teaching and learning through scholarly inquiry. The selection of these lines of research were based on the key areas of most interest in science teacher education as articulated by the national science education reform movement, equity and cross-curricular connections between science and mathematics. The equity area of my science teacher education research agenda deals with the special problems associated with teaching science to learners of diverse backgrounds. In my earlier work I examined the science teaching practices of two teachers in a middle school characterized by diversity among the student body. In this study, I brought together different theoretical perspectives (semiotics, multicultural education, social constructivism, and teacher knowledge-bases) also used by other science educators. I studied what science teachers know about their content (science and pedagogy) and varying teaching contexts, and how these teachers might use that knowledge to implement good teaching practices for all students with diverse backgrounds. The interpretive model of science teaching I developed from my data provided insight into some aspects of in-service teacher preparation, and multicultural education. In addition to informing me about the knowledge bases of teachers and how they make strategic teaching decisions, my research provided me with experience in designing, performing, and analyzing complex studies with multiple data collecting strategies. This research work was done during my graduate program, and was deemed worthy of attention by the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) in the recognized form: Dissertation Finalist (one of three finalists, in this case). I have presented numerous research papers relating to this research area and other areas on a regular basis at professional meetings of NARST, the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and the Association for the Education of Teachers of Science (AETS). Using what I learned from that study, I conducted additional research on science teaching/learning dealing with diverse student populations (defined by gender, ethnicity, cultural background, class, and ableness). In each study, my purpose was to improve the equity of the diverse populations in science learning contexts through the use of scholarly inquiry to improve science teacher education. My studies in this first area of my research agenda were published in book chapters (sole authorship unless indicated) with the following titles: One Journey Of Multicultural Education in Multicultural Education: Inclusion Of All (gender and ethnicity focus); Evaluating A Preservice Elementary Science Education Program Using The Stake Responsive Evaluation Model (cultural focus) in Diversity and Design: Studying Culture and the Individual (first author, one co-author); Aligning Curriculum, Instruction, And Assessment in The Promises And Dilemmas Of Teaching Middle And Secondary Science: A Classroom Case Handbook (in press) (gender focus); and Commentary On A Crash Course in Dilemmas Of Science Teaching: Multiple Perspectives (in press) (gender focus). I also reported research findings in peer-reviewed journals (sole author unless indicated) including such articles as ìTeaching Elementary Science Methods To Women: A Male Professor's Experience From Two Perspectives in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (first author, one co-author) (gender focus),Preparing To Teach Middle Level Science In The 1990s: Embedding Science Instruction In An Awareness Of Diversity (cultural focus) in The Journal of Science Teacher Education, Diversity, The Science Classroom, And Inclusion: A Needed New Collaborative Model Between The Science Teacher And The Special Educator (ableness focus) in The Journal of Science For Persons with Disabilities (first author, one co-author), Preparing Experiential Educators For A More Relevant Education For The Urban African American Student (ethnicity focus) in The Journal of Experiential Education (second author), A Case Study Of Molding The New Generation: The Professor's Impact On Science Education Graduate Students' Attitudes And Behavior (class) in The Journal of Graduate Teaching Assistant Development; and An Informal Elementary Science Education Program's Response To The National Science Education Reform Movement (in press, second author) (cultural focus) in The Journal of Elementary Science Education.
A theme within my equity research agenda deals with the use of technologies in science education. Science teaching and learning is often enhanced through the application of technology. A key question in equity research is if diverse populations are underrepresented in opportunity to use computing technologies during science instruction. I have conducted studies to shed information on that question. In my studies I have documented the landscape of computing technology usage in specific domains, pre-service and in-service, and in specific contexts, K-12 schools and in university classes. I have reported my research findings in peer-reviewed journals (sole authorship unless indicated), with the titles Beliefs And Perceived Needs Of Rural K-12 Teachers Of Science Toward The Uses Of Computing Technologiesî in The Journal of Science Education and Technology (first author, several co-authors) and Promoting An Electronic Community With The Use Of Communication Technology In A Graduate Elementary Science Methods Class in the Journal of Elementary Science Education. The latter publication results from work with science education and mathematics education colleagues to conduct a survey of practicing teachers use of technology in their science teaching practices; in the former publication, I examined the role of communication technology in the graduate level science methods class I developed for the University of Maryland. I also have an article in press with Science Education (first author, one co-author), Teachers perspectives of teaching science-technology-society in local cultures: A socio-cultural analysis,î in which I use a social contextual perspective (a perspective typically used in equity research and not in computing technologies research) to propose reasons why the Science-Technology-Society initiative is interpreted by practitioners in rural environments to exclude controversial, yet highly relevant topics.
Another theme within my equity research agenda to improve science teacher education deals with the role of history and philosophy in science teaching. The use of an historical and philosophical perspective in science teacher education is advocated in the science education research community as a significant strategy to increase equity among diverse learners by both broadening the focus of science and by increasing all studentsí motivation to learn science. I have conducted four peer-reviewed studies (sole authorship unless indicated) in this research area. The first focuses on the history of earth science education in the US with the title Secondary Earth Science Education 1900-1948: Period Of Demise In The Senior High Schoolî in the Earth Scientist. The second focuses on the interplay of science and religion using two cases from the history of science (first author, one co-author) with the title An Examination Of The Interplay Of Science And Religion Using The Cases Of Galileo Galilei And Charles Darwin in the conference proceedings of the Second International Conference on the History and Philosophy of Science and Science Teaching. The third focuses on an historical examination of the teaching of a science topic during the last century (first author, one co-author) with the title Teaching About Sound: A Select Historical Examination Of Research in Science and Education . The fourth takes an international focus by examining the historical development of environmental objectives in Russia and the United States (first author, one co-author), in Russian, with the title Development Of Environmental Education Objectives In Russia And In The United States Of America: A Comparative Historical Review in Problemy Edologyi Yujznogy (Ecological Problems of the South Urals).

My second area of my research program that investigates the cross-curricular connection of science and mathematics stems from my role as Co-Director of Research in the National Science Foundation funded ($6 million grant, years 1993-1998) Maryland Collaborative for Teacher Preparation (MCTP) Project. The MCTP is a statewide undergraduate program for students who plan to become specialist mathematics and science upper elementary or middle level teachers. The unique elements of the MCTP (particularly the instruction of mathematical and scientific concepts and reasoning methods in undergraduate content and methods courses for pre-service teachers that model the practice of active, interdisciplinary teaching) were targeted for longitudinally documentation and interpretation from two foci: the faculty and the teacher candidate perspectives as themes. This area of research (sole authorship unless indicated) is increasingly prominent in my research agenda and research conference presentations and published conference proceeding, The Maryland Collaborative For Teacher Preparation: Making Sense Of The Enactment Of Reform In The Preparation Of Specialist Teachers Of Mathematics And Scienceî (first author, several co-authors) in the Proceedings of the 1997 Association for the Education of Teachers of Science, book chapter, Walking the tightrope between the world of academia and the world of work in The Promises And Dilemmas Of Teaching Middle And Secondary Science: A Classroom Case Handbook (in press), and my journal submissions, American Educational Research Journal (second author), Journal of Science Teacher Education (two manuscripts, first author, several co-authors), Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education (second author), and The Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations (first author, one co-author). In addition, I recently agreed to be a Co-Principal Investigator (principal responsibilities being research and evaluation) of a second funded National Science Foundation Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP) grant ($600,000) to continue the MCTP for an additional three years (1998-2001)

I have also reported these two areas of my science teacher education research program in national (National Science Teacher's Association publications) and state (Maryland and Georgia) science teacher journals as well as in curriculum development projects (sole authorship unless indicated). To maximize the translation of theory to practice, I have used multiple formats. These have included essays with titles such as A Science Educator's Response To The Anti-Pedagogy Teacher Education Movement and A Review Of John Goodlad's Teacher Education Research, research reports with titles such as Can A Consensus Form Among Science And Mathematics Educators About Implementation Possibilities Of Project 2061 A Report Of Research And Discussion; (second author) and Resources for teaching selected topics in trends in mathematics and science education for MCTP (first author, one co-author), and inquiry-based classroom activities with titles such as ìMagnetic Fields And Conceptual Changeî and The Case Of The Flooded Island: A Contour Mapping Guided Inquiry Activity For Inner City Earth Science Students.

In Spring 1998, my research was recognized for a national award by my fieldís principal research association, the National Association for Research in Science Teaching. I was awarded the Early Career Research Award. In particular, recognition was given to my research in diversity and the use of naturalistic inquiry throughout my research. The purpose of the NARST Early Career Research Award is to identify the early career science education researcher with the greatest potential to make outstanding and continuing contributions to educational research. The award is based on a review of work within the first five years of receiving the doctoral degree.

Teaching And Advising

I have striven consistently to achieve excellence in my teaching and advising. I am an active member of my science education and elementary education units. For four years I have served as Leader (or Co-Leader) of my Department's Elementary Block A Methods team. This has entailed the close coordination of five senior-level university methods classes with four public elementary schools that host our methods students in a semester long field placement. Within this block of classes I have taught the science methods. Interlaced throughout my class I have used examples of my published research (including inquiry-based activities and formal research studies) to inform my teaching. I also have devoted considerable energy toward innovation of a junior-level pedagogy class, EDCI 397: Principles and Models of Teaching. During the fall of 1995, I redesigned and co-taught with a mathematics educator a new section of EDCI 397 specially designed for elementary education students with mathematics and science concentrations. During the fall of 1996, I taught the course myself and continued the effort to institutionalize making connections among content disciplines throughout all sections of EDCI 397. During the fall 1997, I co-taught EDCI 397 with a special educator. The class enrolled junior-level EDCI students and senior-level students from the Department of Special Education (EDSP). This curriculum transformation has resulted in a sustained collaboration of my department and EDSP throughout all the EDCI 397 classes. This collaboration is unique to the College of Education and required a change of program for students in the Department of Special Education. In addition, I have also been invited on several occasions to lead sessions in Environmental Education (EDCI 473).

In acknowledgment of my efforts to promote teaching excellence in undergraduate education at the University of Maryland, I was awarded a 1997/1998 Lilly-Center for Teaching Excellence Fellowship.

On the graduate level, I revised and brought into active status two courses that had not been taught for many years (EDCI 671: Graduate Level Elementary Science Methods and EDCI 672: Innovations In Early Childhood And Elementary Science Curricula). I taught them for four semesters to graduate students in EDCI and to students in other College of Education departments. Once again, I have interlaced my teaching with readings and examples taken from my published research. I also have taught EDCI 695: Teaching Science And Environmental Education Through A Social Perspective in our masters certification program, a nationally recognized one-year teacher preparation for well-qualified college graduates. In addition, I have been invited on several occasions to lead sessions in Seminar in Science Educationî (EDCI 870), and Seminar in Mathematics Educationî (EDCI 858). Finally, I have advised graduate students on a one-on-one basis in EDCI 889 (Internship in Education, one semester), EDCI 798 (ìSpecial Problems in Teacher Education, eight semesters), and EDCI 899 (Doctoral Dissertation Researchî, three semesters).

In addition to these teaching responsibilities, I have served as an advisor and mentor for undergraduate and graduate (masters and doctoral) level students. My typical undergraduate advising case load for elementary teacher candidates with a concentration in science is between 25-30. In 1996, I also was selected as a mentor to a junior-level physics student from Frostburg University participating in the 1996 Ronald E. McNair Scholars program. On the graduate level, I am presently advising two masters students and five doctoral students in science education. I have directed six masters level scholarly papers, and I have served on six doctoral committees in my department that have reached successful completion and three more that are in progress (one of which is in the Department of Education Policy, Planning, and Administration). I have provided expertise on the conduct and method of research as well as on science content. I am a regular member of the Graduate Faculty, and I am committee chair for a doctoral candidate whose research focus is mothers as informal science teachers.

Service

Throughout my career, I have participated in the broader science education community consisting of prospective and practicing teachers, administrators, policy makers, and researchers. This participation has manifested in my service to my profession, my college, and to my department.

Professional. I have served my profession by serving on the editorial and program review boards for both journals and conferences, chairing research strands at professional meetings, participating at research conferences, conducting workshops for teachers in local and national contexts, and consulting with agencies and school districts. These experiences have assisted me to remain current with work in my field as well as serve a significant leadership role. Specifically, I am on the Editorial Review Board of two first-tier archival research journals (Science Education, Association for the Education of Teachers of Science Division, and the Journal of Elementary Science Education); a teacher practitioner journal, Earth in Space, (American Geophysical Union); and for selected publications of the National Reading Research Center and the National Science Resource Center. I also have been a guest reviewer for special issues of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching and The Science Teacher. I have been a program reviewer for both the American Educational Research Association (Division K) and the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST). I have also served NARST by serving on the JRST Awards Committee, and the Equity Committee. I am currently serving on the Outstanding Paper Award Committee (three year appointment). Recently, I was appointed as Co-Coordinator of Strand 6: Cultural, Social, and Gender Issues for the 1999 NARST annual meeting. In another of my science education professional associations (Association for the Education of Teachers of Science), I have served on two committees: Ad Hoc Committee on Professional Development of Science Teacher Educators and the Committee on Inclusion of Persons With Disabilities in Science.

In 1995, I received a service award from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) for my leadership of the College Level Program Committee, Baltimore convention.

I have also provided science education expertise to professional agencies and school districts. For the American Meteorological Association I have assisted its education wing in preparing grants for review, leading workshops for teacher participants in oceanography and science education, and by formally evaluating several funded grants (total grant award, $5 million), funded by the National Science Foundation (oceanography for teachers--Maury Project-- and an on-line meteorology in-service graduate class--DataStreme Project). For the National Science Foundation, I have served as a reviewer and panelist, of the Teacher Enhancement Program. For the Educational Testing Service, I have served as a consultant in performance-based assessment. For school districts, I have served on the state level by writing curricula and by leading inservice science enhancement workshops. I currently am a committee member on a Professional Development School Advisory Board that consists of Prince Georges County, Maryland teachers and administrators and university personnel.

College. I have served my College in a variety of capacities: Senator (two years), committee member on the Multicultural/Intercultural Education Action Research Group (three years), committee member of the Project30 Alliance, and as a committee member of the Department of Curriculum & Instruction and Department of Special Education Task Force on Inclusion.

Department. I have served as the Coordinator of the Science Teaching Center) (one year appointment), as Team Leader (or Co-Leader) in the Elementary Education Program (four years), on the Merit Pay Committee (two years), Nominations Committee, Elementary Education Committee (including petition sub-committee), Program Review committee (two years), and a Science Education Search Committee. In the Fall 1998, I begin two year terms of office on the Program Review Committee and the Executive Committee (elected position).

Future Directions

My scholarly work will continue to focus on fulfilling the national science education reform movement's goal of a scientifically literate populace by improving science teacher education (both pre-service and in-service). Building on what I have learned through my equity studies exploring the impact of student diversity on science teaching and learning (and, in particular, on ableness), I intend to focus primarily on investigating science teacher education that is designed to prepare new science teachers to teach students with special needs. The goal of this research will be to develop empirically informed theory that will guide future actions in science teacher preparation to effectively teach all students. In addition, as a result of the three-year continuation of funding from the National Science Foundation for the Maryland Collaboration for Teacher Preparation project, as the Co-Principal Investigator of Research I will focus on conducting studies that investigate cross-curricular connections between science and mathematics. I will longitudinally follow the graduates from our project as they begin their teaching careers. My teaching will continue to concentrate on the preparation of elementary science teachers, incorporating new strategies informed by my research. My service will expand as I assume increased levels of responsibility within my profession and my department, all outgrowths of current levels of involvement. In particular, I will assume an increased leadership role within our Professional Development Schools initiative in the elementary block.

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