Consultants
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NAGT On the Cutting Edge Traveling Workshops Program
After 12 years as chair of the Department of Geology and Geography at Georgia Southern University, Dallas Rhodes retired from the position in June 2010. During his tenure the number of geology and geography majors increased from fewer than 30 to more than 120. Active recruiting of new majors and a strong GIS program were among the key initiatives that helped the program grow. Dallas continues his association with Georgia Southern as an Emeritus Professor of Geology. Dallas has served as an external reviewer for several departments and he has been a member of the leadership team for workshops for new department chairs sponsored by the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences. His scientific interests are in tectonic geomorphology and climate change in the western US with a focus on central California. In May 2014, Dallas was appointed as a Research Associate in the Department of Geosciences at Humboldt State University. He currently serves as the Chair of the Traveling Workshops Program Management Team.
Dave Gosselin is the Director of Environmental Studies and a Professor of Earth Science in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is committed to creating professional development opportunities that benefit students and educators in both face-to-face and distance- delivered environments. His research focuses on Earth, environmental, and interdisciplinary education, workforce issues, sustainability education, ground water quality and quantity issues and the application of geochemistry to understanding water systems. His water-related research has focused on using chemistry and basic principles of water flow to understand both basic and applied scientific problems. He has been recognized by the Nebraska Association of Teachers of Science with their Catalyst Award for leadership, dedication and service to science education. In 2014, Dave received the Omtvedt Award for Innovation in Teaching at UNL. He currently serves as the chair of the professional development committee for the Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS). For NAGT, he serves as a facilitator for the Traveling Workshops Program. Dave has authored or co-authored over 150 publications that include refereed journal articles, non-refereed abstracts, and contract reports. Dave is the author of Focus On Them: Leading the Mindset Revolution for Coaches, Educators, and Business Leaders. He also co-edited the AESS book series volume. "Interdisciplinary Teaching About Earth and the Environment for a Sustainable Future". This book presents the outcomes of the InTeGrate project and explicitly links research on learning and the theoretical frameworks of sustainability to improve higher education.
The POGIL Project
Clif Kussmaul is Principal Consultant at Green Mango Associates, LLC, focusing on educational and software consulting. Formerly he was Associate Professor of Computer Science at Muhlenberg College, and Principal Consultant at Elegance Technologies, Inc. He was also a Fulbright Specialist at Fulbright University Vietnam and Ashesi University, Ghana, and a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Kerala, India. His teaching emphasizes active, guided inquiry, and project based learning, including POGIL, student participation in Free & Open Source Software (FOSS), and entrepreneurship education. He has developed numerous classroom activities and led over 80 faculty development workshops at conferences and institutions across the US, southern India, and elsewhere. He has been the PI or co-PI on projects funded by the NSF, Google, Hewlett-Packard, and others.
Renée Cole is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Iowa. Her research focuses on issues related to how students learn chemistry and how that guides the design of instructional materials and teaching strategies as well on efforts related to faculty development and the connection between chemistry education research and the practice of teaching. She is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Chemical Education and has been a co-editor for two books focusing on chemistry education research. She is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (2015) and was named as a CLAS Collegiate Scholar in 2018. She was awarded the Iowa Women of Innovation Award for Academic Innovation & Leadership (2014), the University of Central Missouri College of Science & Technology Award for Excellence in Teaching (2010), and the Missouri Governor's Award for Excellence in Education (2009). She has been affiliated with the POGIL project since the early days of the project, leading workshops, serving on the Steering Committee, conducting research on student discourse in POGIL classrooms, and serving as a PI on affiliated grant projects.
BioQUEST
Pat Marsteller is currently working with the Emory IMSD grant and with several case-based learning consortia. Pat was one of the three cofounders of Emory's IMSD program. Professor Marsteller has a national reputation for faculty development and diversity work. She is currently Chair Emeritus of the AAAS section on education and one of the members of Committee on Science & Technology Engagement with the Public (CoSTEP). This AAAS board- appointed committee supports AAAS' mission to "advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people." The committee's work aims to support such AAAS strategic goals as enhancing communication among scientists, engineers and the public; providing a voice for science on societal issues; and increasing public engagement with science and technology. She is co-chair of the Diversity Inclusion Equity and Social justice working group of the Accelerating Systemic Change Network (ASCN). Professor Marsteller received the George P. Cuttino Award for Excellence in Mentoring, the Delores P. Aldridge Multicultural Award for Mentoring, and the Partners in Education Award for community service.
Professor Marsteller plans to continue her work with BioQUEST and AAAS. She plans to remain involved in Diversity, Inclusion and Equity programs and faculty development. Pat will be leading several national efforts that focus on Social Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in STEM. She is working with BioQUEST/Qubes on integrating open pedagogy, open education resources and social justice in biology and math curricula. She is working with the national network ASCN leading efforts to change policies and practices at the institutional, faculty and student levels.
Jim Smith is Professor of Biology (Emeritus; as of 1/1/20) at Michigan State University, where for 23 years he taught Introductory Biology and seminar courses in the Lyman Briggs College and a graduate course in Molecular Phylogenetics. He continues to be involved in a number of education projects, including the Evo-Ed Cases, Avida-ED, and Connected Biology, as well as participating actively in BioQUEST and the Education Committee of the Society for the Study of Evolution. Jim also continues to work with students conducting research in the MSU Dept. of Entomology on evolutionary patterns and processes in Rhagoletis fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae). He looks forward to new adventures with the BTSE group.
National Institute on Scientific Teaching
As a chemical educator with a research background in organic and medicinal chemistry, I focus on improving success for ALL students through 1) directing the STRIVE program, which coordinates the placement of middle and high school STEM teachers in to organizations that showcase the diversity of jobs available to our next generation of workers, 2) studying the influence of social interactions on student success in higher education, 3) the implementation of evidence based practices in my own classroom to increase student outcomes through an engaging, student centered environment and 4) training STEM faculty in these best practices by working with the Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching.
Before joining the faculty at UA Little Rock in the chemistry department as an assistant professor, my career path includes a BS from Bucknell University, working as a biochemist at GE Healthcare, obtaining a PhD in medicinal / organic chemistry at Emory University, a post-doctoral fellowship in chemical biology at the EPFL in Switzerland, and working as an assistant professor of instruction at the University of Delaware for 4 years teaching large introductory chemistry courses. I now call Little Rock home, and love exploring the natural state by bike while helping students from under-served backgrounds increase their chances of success!
Peggy Brickman is a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in Plant Biology in the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of Georgia. She received a Ph.D. in Genetics from U.C. Berkeley in 1993 and has instructed almost 30,000 introductory biology students over the past 20 years, usually in large sections of general education courses with over 300 students each. The sheer madness of this setting inspired her to develop and assess multiple types of active learning strategies designed to improve large group instruction. She migrated to education research in 2001 receiving NSF funding to research (1) gains in achievement and motivation to learn science in general education courses, (2) effectiveness of novel curriculum for teaching these courses, and (3) preparation and mentoring for faculty. Brickman has served as a National Academies Fellow in the Life Sciences in 2004 and continues to mentor graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty as a National Academies Speaker and Facilitator.
SENCER
Davida Smyth is Associate Professor of Natural Sciences at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at the New School. She conducts research with her undergraduate team in the area of comparative microbial genomics and evolution, studying Staphylococcus aureus from animals and humans and researches the role of the built environment and anthropogenic activity in driving antibiotic resistance, a major global health threat. She is on the editorial board of BMC Infectious Diseases, PLOS One, and Science Education and Civic Engagement: An International Journal. She engages in pedagogical research on improving civic and scientific literacy in biology and integrating authentic research into the curriculum to improve student engagement and success in science. She has served as Chair of Natural Sciences at Mercy College where she introduced and recruited several of the faculty to SENCER, and helped establish Mercy's Peer Led Team Learning program and the HHMI Inclusive Excellence program funded Adjunct Academy. She received the Mercy College Teaching Excellence Award in 2018. She serves on the steering committee of the Research Experiences in Microbiomes Network (REMnet). She serves as a Senior SENCER Leadership Fellow, a PALM mentor and in 2019 she became a PULSE Fellow
Mangala Kothari is an Associate Professor in the Mathematics, Engineering, and Computer Science Department at LaGuardia Community College in New York. She has deep experience in using SENCER for Mathematics instruction. She has led the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement's "Engaging Mathematics" initiative as a Co-PI. Dr. Kothari has created an Engaging Mathematics faculty development workshop at LaGuardia and contributed to the redesign of the Elementary Statistics course using SENCER. She has also served on the college's initiative aimed at integrating SENCER pedagogy into developmental mathematics courses. She is now leading an effort to expand SENCER to other disciplines at LaGuardia.