Andrea Bair

I currently teach and head a small geology program at a community college in mid-eastern Michigan.

My background includes a Geology BS (Michigan State), a Geology PhD specializing in Vertebrate Paleontology (Nebraska), and had a post-doc Science Teaching Fellowship as part of the Science Education Initiative at the University of Colorado-Boulder (http://www.colorado.edu/sei/), where I supported research-based transformation of undergraduate geology courses.

I maintain a small research program at the interface of GER and cognitive science, particularly how novices interpret expert visualizations, and utilizing cognitive psychology findings to improve our use of visualizations in teaching. I'm also interested in effective use of technology in teaching and learning (especially the use of clickers and computer simulations), physical models and analogies in teaching and learning science, conceptual learning in the geosciences, scientific explanation and argumentation, and the geology and paleontology of the North American Great Plains.