Michelle Whitacre

Organization/Institution
About Me (Bio)
I am a PhD candidate and graduate assistant in the College of Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. I have extensive experience in secondary science education having worked as both a teacher and an instructional coach. I have a BA in English and Environmental Science from the University of Notre Dame, a MA in English from the University of Notre Dame Australia, and a MAT from Webster University. My dissertation research is within the “Science Literacy through Science Journalism” project, looking specifically at the project’s influence on teacher development and classroom practice. I am particularly interested in improving science literacy, integrating writing into science classrooms, and developing successful professional development programs for teachers.

University of Missouri-St. Louis
09/01/2008

This project aims to develop, pilot, and evaluate a model of instruction that advances the scientific literacy of high school students by involving them in science journalism, and to develop research tools for assessing scientific literacy and engagement. We view scientific literacy as public understanding of and engagement with science and technology, better enabling people to make informed science-related decisions in their personal lives, and participate in science-related democratic debates in public life.