The Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE) is excited to announce the 2011 – 2012 CADRE Fellows!

With support from the National Science Foundation, the CADRE Fellowship program provides a professional development experience for early career researchers and developers currently working on a DR K-12 project. Through program activities, Fellows gain exposure to research and development related to STEM education, gain insights into NSF and what it takes to be successful and effective in this work, and network with DR K-12 PIs and Fellows from across the country. Fellows will also have the opportunity to experience an NSF PI meeting, alongside their own PI, to take place in Arlington, VA June 13-15, 2012.

Like previous cohorts, the 2011 CADRE Fellows were selected through a review process. A Selection Committee evaluated each application and recommended the following Fellows:

1.      Jason Chen
Harvard University
Project:  Studying Technology-based Strategies for Enhancing Student Interest in STEM Careers through Algebra Curricula in Grades 5-9
PI: Christopher Dede
Jason Chen, a former high school chemistry and physics teacher and bench scientist, is currently a post-doctoral researcher working on the TESLA project, which seeks to explore the motivational affordances of different technology activities for Grades 5-8 math students.  Chen is working toward improving STEM education through exploring innovative curriculum choices that schools make, and by designing innovative technologies using theories of motivation to spark an interest in adolescents to pursue STEM careers.  He is interested in ways to design technological learning environments (e.g., computer games and virtual learning environments) to target and assess adolescents’ science and math motivation and their beliefs about the nature of science.  Chen earned his PhD in Educational Studies, with a specialization in educational psychology from Emory University.

2.      Rick Gaston
KCP Technologies
Project: Data Games: Tools and Materials for Learning Data Modeling
PI: William Finzer
Rick Gaston is the research and project manager at KCP Technologies.  Gaston coordinates the Data Games project, focusing on development of online games and activities that improve students’ math skills and understandings. Having worked as a software developer, high school mathematics and computer programming teacher, and high school principal, Gaston brings a rich background to the project. He has an MA in Educational Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford University, and an MS in Computer Science from the University of Southern California.

3.      Jana Craig Hare
University of Kansas
Project: The Evidence Games: Collaborative Games Engaging Middle School Students in the Evaluation of Scientific Evidence
PI: Janis Bulgren
As project coordinator of The Evidence Games project, Jana Craig Hare assists with planning, developing, and testing the prototypes for all phases of development and data collection activities.  Hare believes that effectiveness of technology depends largely upon the appropriate selection and implementation of the technology to meet desired teaching and learning goals. As a former secondary teacher and Native American Citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, Hare brings a unique perspective to the project.  She has a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction, with an emphasis in technology-rich learning environments from the University of Kansas.

4.      LaKeisha McClary
Miami University
Project: Chemistry Education Research Doctoral Scholars Program
PI: Stacey Lowery Bretz
LaKeisha McClary is a post-doctoral researcher with the Chemistry Education Research Doctoral Scholars Program project. McClary is working on developing assessment measures to identify and quantify chemistry misconceptions and students’ attitudes that shape the learning of chemistry.  Specifically, she is creating a concept inventory related to organic chemistry students’ understandings of acid strength. She is also involved in mentoring and training graduate students. McClary has previous experience working in interdisciplinary literacy assessment and evaluations of grant-sponsored projects.  She has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Arizona. 

5.      Emily Moore
University of Colorado – Boulder
Project: Expanding PhET Interactive Science Simulations to Grades 4-8: A Research-based Approach
PI: Katherine Perkins
Emily Moore is a post-doctoral researcher with the PhET Interactive Simulations project. In her current position she leads the development of computer simulations for use in middle school classrooms, and studies how teachers and students use the simulations. She is also a certified Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) workshop facilitator and has her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Utah.

 6.      Jeremy Price
Boston College
Project: Constructing and Critiquing Arguments in Middle School Science Classrooms: Supporting Teachers with Multimedia Educative Curriculum Materials
PI: Suzanna Loper
Jeremy Price is graduate research assistant on the Constructing and Critiquing Arguments in Middle School Science Classrooms project.  He is researching factors that impact the teaching of scientific argumentation in order to better support teacher learning with multimedia scaffolding. Previously, he has worked on a NSF IMD grant at Boston College focused on developing and researching a yearlong high school capstone course in urban ecology, as learning and media specialist for the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), and as education technology specialist at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. Price is a doctoral candidate in science and technology education at the Lynch School of Boston College and writing his dissertation on how a classroom of high school students and their teacher negotiate meaning, significance, and identities around the science curriculum.

7.      Jorge Solís
University of California – Santa Cruz
Project: Effective Science Teaching for English Language Learners (ESTELL): A Pre-service Teacher Professional Development Research Project across Three Universities in California
PI: Patricia “Trish” Stoddart
Jorge Solís works as a post-doctoral researcher with the ESTELL project, which focuses on improving the science teaching and learning of K-6 English Language Learners by improving the pre-service education of elementary school teachers. He works on the development of instruments, implementation, and analysis of teacher beliefs and practices. His research interests include the development of academic literacy practices, teacher education development of responsive pedagogy, and understanding the academic transitions language minority and bilingual students. Solis received his PhD from the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley in language, literacy, and culture. He has presented his work at the American Educational Research Association, American Anthropological Association, National Science Teachers Association, and the National Association for Research on Science Teaching.

8.      Karen Trujillo
New Mexico State University
Project: Math Snacks: Addressing Gaps in Conceptual Mathematics Understanding with Innovative Media
PI: Karin Wiburg
Karen Trujillo is a post-doctoral researcher working on the Math Snacks project at NMSU.  During her career in education, Trujillo has been a high school math teacher, a math and technology specialist, a grant writer, a professional development provider, and a principal.  In her transition from a school practitioner to an academic researcher, Trujillo is currently focused on successfully completing a pilot study in order to prepare for a large-scale experimental study that will be conducted from 2013-2015.  Her other responsibilities include developing content for teacher and student support materials and working directly with teachers and students in the classroom.  She has a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with a minor in mathematics. 

 9.      Andrea Weinberg
Colorado State University
Project: The Value of Computational Thinking across Grade Levels (VCTAL)
PI: Margaret (Midge) Cozzens
Andrea Weinberg is a research coordinator and PhD candidate at Colorado State University’s School of Education. As part of her duties, she is the lead researcher for the VCTAL project. Weinberg has contributed to a variety of NSF-funded projects and has expertise in research methodology and experience with all phases of the development and implementation of evaluation and research studies to examine the effectiveness of STEM programs and initiatives.  Before pursuing a PhD, she was a high school special education teacher.

10.     Binbin Zheng
University of California - Irvine
Project: Interactive Science and Technology Instruction for English Learners
PI: Mark Warschauer
As a graduate research assistant with the Interactive Science and Technology Instruction for English Learners project, Binbin Zheng has been responsible for collecting and analyzing data on standardized test scores, student and teacher survey data, and student writing samples from both experimental and control schools.  With a research focus in the use of technology in teaching and learning, Zheng is interested in how different kinds of digital media can be incorporated into instruction, how students develop their scientific/academic language proficiency, and how students write about science, especially English Language Learners who are less familiar with academic language. She has prior research experience on the use of blogs and wikis in instruction. Zheng is a doctoral student at the University of California, Irvine, specializing in language, literacy, and technology.