Dr. Carla McAuliffe

PhD 2003, Learning & Instructional Technology; Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
GIS Specialist & Internal Evaluator for the DataTools Project,
Center for Science Teaching and Learning, TERC

Dr. Carla McAuliffe works as a curriculum developer, staff development specialist, project director, and internal evaluator at TERC. She is PI of the EET Workshops project and Co-PI of the TIDES and Eyes in the Sky projects. Carla has extensive teaching experience. She taught junior high life and physical science, high school Earth science and biology, and various instructional technology courses for college. She continues to provide preservice and inservice teacher training with visualization technologies, including GIS and image analysis.

Dr. McAuliffe's research focuses on the role of 3-D visualization in student learning. She currently facilitates online science education courses for teachers through Lesley University and Northern Arizona University. She has authored a variety of curriculum materials including interactive web lessons for Earth science, Discovering GIS, Discovering Image Processing, and a number of EET chapters.

Sizing Up Cells

Too often, middle school students leave life science class with a textbook understanding of plant and animal cells. They fail to develop an appreciation of the diversity and complexity of living cells; that they vary widely in size, structure, and function. Thousands of freely available digital micrographs make it possible for students to explore and investigate actual cells, as opposed to stylized textbook drawings of typical plant and animal cells.

Sizing Up Cells (PowerPoint 715kB Sep15 06)

Sizing Up Cells Word document (Microsoft Word 141kB Oct9 07)

Investigation Template (Microsoft Word 76kB Jul20 07)

This file contains a template for preparing a DataTools Investigation. Right-click on a PC or control-click on a MAC to download the template from the link above.

Final Template (Microsoft Word 79kB Jul20 07)

This file contains a template for writing up a DataTools Investigation after it has been implemented with students. Right-click on a PC or control-click on a MAC to download the template from the link above.

Investigation Template Revised (Microsoft Word 37kB Oct5 07)

This file contains a new revised template for both planning and documenting a DataTools Investigation. It combines the two templates above and was posted in October for the Fall Follow Up Workshop. Right-click on a PC or control-click on a MAC to download the template from the link above.