Doug Lombardi, Principal Investigator
Dr. Doug Lombardi is an Assistant Professor of Science Education in the College of Education at Temple University. Doug earned his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a M.S. in Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is a licensed physical science and mathematics teacher, with a variety of classroom, professional development, and education and public outreach experience. Prior to joining the Temple Faculty, Doug was a project facilitator at the Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program, serving as a science education specialist and the program’s internal evaluator. His research is on the role of plausibility judgments in conceptual change and epistemic cognition and has been published in the Learning and Instruction, International Journal of Science Education, The Science Teacher, Research in Science Teaching, and Instructional Science.
Janelle Bailey, Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Janelle Bailey is an Assistant Professor of Science Education in Temple’s Department of Teaching & Learning, teaching courses in secondary science education and the TUteach program for science and mathematics teaching. Her research focuses on astronomy education as well as teacher development, and more recently is taking on issues related to teacher beliefs. Her research has been published in the International Journal of Science Education, American Journal of Physics, Astronomy Education Review, The Physics Teacher, and Science Scope. She has taught course for science teachers of grades K-16, at undergraduate, masters, and doctoral levels. Dr. Bailey is currently the President of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), and is a member of approximately a dozen other science and science education professional organizations. She serves as a reviewer for several journals, with both research and practitioner foci. Dr. Bailey earned her Ph.D. in Teaching & Teacher Education with a focus on astronomy education from the University of Arizona; an M.Ed. in Science Education from the University of Georgia; and a B.A. in Astrophysics (with a minor in Mathematics) from Agnes Scott College. She previously worked on the faculty of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and as a physics and chemistry teacher in Campbell County High School, Gillette, Wyoming.
Master Teachers
Missy Holzer has been teaching high school science for more than 25 years and loves her job more today than when she first started. She currently teaches at Chatham High School in New Jersey. Her philosophy in education includes using hands-on, minds-on inquiry activities as a way to promote life-long learning in her students. Her students use real-time and original data and data tools in their pursuit of understanding Earth System Science. Missy enjoys field research immensely and has assisted in data collection in places such as Svalbard, Nicaragua, Kenya, Ecuador, Jamaica, Costa Rica, off the coasts of Oregon, South Carolina, Cape Cod, and Chile. Recently she was selected as a SOFIA Ambassador and will be working alongside astronomers in collecting astronomical data in the stratosphere. Back in the classroom she uses her field experiences to develop units of study that will inspire students to get out and explore their natural world. She is the Past-President of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, has served on many state and national committees, and presents at local, regional, and national conferences. She has a master’s degree in science education, a master’s degree in geography, and is currently a PhD candidate in science education. She was on the writing team for the 2009 NJ Core Content Curriculum Standards for Science and the NJ State Leadership Review Team for the NGSS.
Jenelle Hopkins has been a high school science teacher since 1995. She currently teaches Geoscience and AP Environmental Science at Shadow Ridge High School, Las Vegas, Nevada. Ms. Hopkins holds both a BS and MS degree in Geology and is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in Early Adolescence/ Young Adult – Earth Science. Before entering the teaching profession, she worked in the mining industry as both an exploration and mine geologist.
Ms. Hopkins is a strong advocate for Earth Science education at the secondary level. Currently she is education co-chair for the Nevada Earthquake Safety Council and is secretary for the National Earth Science Teachers Association. She was selected as a Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow for the 2004-05 school year, working at the National Science Foundation Directorate for Geosciences. From 2005 – 2010 she served on the Earthscope Education and Outreach Steering Committee. She has participated in curriculum development at the local and national level. She has been on committees that set goals and objectives for the Clark County School District’s Geoscience and Geological Studies Honors classes and was part of College Board Advanced Placement Test in Environmental Science Commission. Jenelle has also written test questions for Nevada’s High School Science Proficiency Test and written and reviewed questions for American Council on Education Graduate Equivalency Development (GED) exam. She has been on several National Science Foundation Grant Review panels.
Ms. Hopkins’ teaching honors include Recipient of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality Teacher Professional Development Award for the State of Nevada (2000), Mandalay Bay Teacher of the Month Award (October, 2001), and Educator of the Year Award, Centennial High School (April, 2002). She has done many presentations at the local, state, and national level. She has been the recipient of many classroom grants. Her most recent award was 2009-10 Toyota Tapestry Grant for the scientific project “Investigating Earth’s Flowering Past”, a paleontological field study of Mesozoic plants. Her students were able to get a radiometric date of the formation, which is helping researchers understand the Mesozoic environment in the Las Vegas area.
Petya Crones is a Science Teacher at Green Valley High School in Las Vegas, NV. Petya earned her M.S. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Sofia, Bulgaria. She obtained her teaching credentials from Sierra Nevada College and is licensed in Biological Science, Physical Science and General Science. Prior to becoming a teacher, Petya worked at Geneva Laboratories in Elkhorn, WI as a bioburden specialist. As a member of the Clark County School District Next Generation Science Standards Cadre, Petya participates in providing NGSS related professional development for science teachers in the district.
Christine Girtain is a Science Teacher at Toms River High School South in Toms River, NJ. She earned a M.S. in Instruction and Curriculum in Earth Science from Kean University and a B.S. in Biology with a concentration in Education from The College of NJ (formerly Trenton State College). She has a comprehensive teaching certificate and is licensed to teach Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science and Physics. Christine is the Treasurer of the NJ Earth Science Teachers Association. She currently teaches Freshmen Honors Earth Science and is the Director of Authentic Science Research, a 3-year high school college credit course. She has taught at Toms River HS South for 20 years and is an Adjunct Professor for SUNY Albany’s University in the High School Program’s Science Research class. Christine has professional development, and education and public outreach experience. She had been named teacher of the year by the Eastern Section of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, Kean University, NJ’s 10th Legislative District, the VFW of Toms River, and Toms River High School South. Christine has been awarded grants from the U.S. Navy, The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Kean University, and Rotary International.
Jonathan Guerin Green Valley High School, NV
James Miller is a Science Teacher at Chatham High School in Chatham, NJ. He earned a B.S. in Geology from Bucknell University and a M.S. in Geoscience Education from Mississippi State University. He spent one year as a field geologist with a mineral exploration company and 5 years as an environmental geologist before making the switch to teaching in 2000. He began teaching general science at the 5th and 6th grade level and after three years began teaching high school earth science, environmental science and even robotics. His teaching certificates include Secondary Earth Science and Elementary Education. He received the National Association of Geoscience Teachers Outstanding Earth Science Teacher award for New Jersey in 2014. He is currently teaching AP Environmental Science, Environmental Science, and Astronomy. James has presented at state science conventions and has been a recipient of several grants. He continues practicing his authentic learning teaching philosophy by creating lessons that give students opportunity to develop a deep understanding through use of real data, open-ended inquiry, and problem-based learning.
Carmen Ross is a tenth-cycle Teacher Corps graduate from the University of Oklahoma. Carmen currently teaches at Durango High School in Clark County, Nevada. A tireless advocate for science education, she believes students will be the future stewards of Earth’s resources and need a firm foundation in science concepts. Carmen served on numerous standards writing task forces at the national, state and local levels. An experienced conference planner, presenter, and staff development trainer, Carmen is skilled at mentoring teachers and students alike. She has provided staff presentations and regional and national workshops on topics including the Learning Cycle, Brain-based Learning, and Using Interactive Learning Materials for teaching science topics.
Carmen received honors as Presidential Award Finalist for the State of Nevada and Southern Nevada Science Teachers Association High School Science Teacher of the Year. She served as President of the Nevada State Science Teachers Association in 2001 and currently serves on the association’s board as the Region I Representative . Carmen continued to expand her knowledge in marine science by joining programs in Hawaii, California, Oregon, Florida, Belize and Australia. She eagerly embraced opportunities to collaborate on curricular activities with astronomer David Levi, oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau, and ocean explorer Dr. Ballard.
Carmen loves singing, dancing and acting in faculty scholarship productions and is an avid sci-fi fan “Who” knows the Truth is Out There!
Charlene Wallace is a science teacher at Toms River High School South in Toms River, NJ. Currently, she is teaching Environmental Earth Science and Honors Biology. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of New Hampshire and a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Stockton College, NJ. She has a comprehensive teaching certificate and is licensed to teach Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science and Physics as well as having a Teaching Certification in the Biological Sciences. She has taught at Toms River HS South for 8 years and at Pinelands Regional High School for 7 years prior. Charlene is extensively involved with her high school in a variety of extracurricular activities as well as being a mother of three to her own children, three boys ages 17, 15 and 10.
Shondricka Burrell is a graduate research assistant with the project. She has graduate degrees in geology and education, teaching experience in the Earth sciences, and research interests in improving how students mentally access, process and comprehend Earth science concepts. Shondricka was a teacher at an alternative high school, worked as instructional faculty at the University of California–Berkeley and San Jose State University, and served as an Education Specialist at NASA Ames Research Center.
Elliot Bickel is an undergraduate student at Temple University and a research assistant with the project. He is currently studying Mathematics with Teaching through Temple’s TUteach program. Elliot plans to graduate with a B.S. in Mathematics, as well as secondary teaching certification for math and physics, in 2017. For the MEL project, Elliot does initial data entry and analysis. This analysis focuses on students’ explanations of their MEL diagrams, and precise categorization of the types of evaluations that students display in their work.
Mariel Halpern joined the MEL project’s team in 2016. She is a graduate student at Temple University who is studying Educational Psychology. Mariel has an affinity for learning. Her research interests include learning environments, epistemic cognition, motivation, and design-based research. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Dickinson College in 2014. Mariel brings a wide array of experiences to her work with the MEL projects team, having worked in museums, charter, and public schools for individuals with developmental disabilities. She feels grateful for her experiences and opportunities with the team, and plans to pursue a Ph.D.
The following serve as Advisory Board members to the project:
- Clark Chinn, Rutgers University
- Bruce Herbert, Texas A&M University
- Kim Kastens, Lamont-Doherty Observatory
- Gale Sinatra, University of Southern California
We were also honored to have had the following additional Temple University students involved in the project at various times:
- Gerardine Jean-Louis, Ph.D. (educational psychology concentration)
- Tyron Young, M.S.Ed. (mathematics and science education concentration)