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Job Talk by Visiting Assistant Professor of Cognition and Education
Candidate<br>
<b>Timothy David Zimmerman, Ph.D.</b><br>
<br>
Monday, March 25 at 4:00 in the ASH Auditorium<br>
<br>
Talk Title: <b>"Inquiries into informal science and environmental
learning: A learning sciences approach to improve learning and
inform practice.</b><b>"</b><br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
Biographical Information: Timothy (Tim) D. Zimmerman, Ph.D. is an
Assistant Professor of Science Education at Rutgers University.
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.<br>
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Paula Harmon, Administrative Assistant <br>
<div class="moz-signature"><small> School of Cognitive Science <br>
Hampshire College<br>
893 West Street Amherst, MA 01002 <br>
phone: 413.559.5502 <br>
fax: 413.559.5438 <br>
<a href="http://cs.hampshire.edu">http://cs.hampshire.edu</a></small>
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