[CS] Today! TIMOTHY ZIMMERMAN, Ph.D., job talk for the Visiting Asst. Prof. of Cognition and Education position, Monday, March 25 at 4:00 in ASH Auditorium

[Paula Harmon]

Monday, March 25, Job Talk by Visiting Assistant Professor of Cognition 
and Education Candidate
*Timothy David Zimmerman, Ph.D.*
http://gse.rutgers.edu/timothy_zimmerman

Talk Title: *"Inquiries into informal science and environmental 
learning: A learning sciences approach to improve learning and inform 
practice.**"*

Abstract:  Programs and exhibits at informal institutions often seek to 
promote environmental awareness and yet little design or research in the 
field of environmental learning leverages current learning theory or 
research to achieve these goals. Using a range of qualitative and 
quantitative methods that include design studies, museum studies, and 
learning at the individual and socio-cultural level of analysis, I 
investigate how we come to understand science concepts as they relate to 
current, authentic environmental challenges (e.g., fisheries decline, 
habitat destruction, climate change impacts). I also design learning 
activities that bridge learning across formal and informal learning 
contexts. Where possible, I leverage the findings from my work to inform 
environmental decision-making and pedagogical practices within 
environmental education broadly construed. In this talk, I present 
research from three projects that explore learning in different 
environmental science contexts.  First, I describe a recent study of 
university students that employed "participatory action" methods during 
ecology fieldwork in Mongolia. Second, I describe a study where middle 
school science students engage in free-choice moments of marine science 
meaning-making during a field trip designed to connect learning across 
contexts.  Finally, I describe a museum-based study of individual 
knowledge about interrelated scientific constructs, and discuss how 
exhibits that target individuals with low incoming knowledge can help 
improve both knowledge about marine science and attitudes about 
conservation. For each of these studies, I describe the relevant 
methods, the theoretical perspective regarding individual and 
collaborative learning, and the connections between research and practice.

Biographical Information:  Timothy (Tim) D. Zimmerman, Ph.D. is an 
Assistant Professor of Science Education at Rutgers University 
http://gse.rutgers.edu/timothy_zimmerman   Jointly appointed in the 
Department of Learning and Teaching and the Department of Marine and 
Coastal Sciences, his research focuses on learning and teaching of ocean 
and environmental science concepts. In particular, he seeks to 
understand the nature of learning across formal and informal science 
learning contexts by conducting learning sciences research during 
informal learning experiences at aquariums, salt marshes and outdoor 
environments in conjunction with the design and testing curricular, 
programmatic and exhibit interventions. To achieve this, Dr. Zimmerman 
combines qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to study 
learning by students in middle school, high school and college, and the 
general public, as they move spatially and temporally across 
informal-formal learning context boundaries. He has developed marine and 
environmental science curricula for, and conducted learning research in 
conjunction with, several organizations and institutions including the 
National Geographic Society, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, the Monterey Bay and New York Aquariums, and the 
Massachusetts Audubon Society. He is currently PI of a 3-year NSF funded 
($1.1 million) ITEST grant seeking to understand 21st Century learning 
of ocean science concepts, and co-PI on two NSF grants (REU; IRES) 
studying science learning during apprenticeship model research 
experiences for students. He has also conducted field-based marine 
biology, ecology and oceanography research. Dr. Zimmerman received his 
Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in science education, 
an M.S. in marine biology from the College of Charleston, and a B.S. in 
biology and marine biology from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.
-- 
Paula Harmon, Administrative Assistant
School of Cognitive Science
Hampshire College
893 West Street Amherst, MA 01002
phone: 413.559.5502
fax: 413.559.5438
http://cs.hampshire.edu
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