Education

Ph.D.: Science Education, North Carolina State U., 2009.

M.S.: Zoology, North Carolina State U., 2004.

B.S.: Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt U., 2000. 

Research Program

1. Improving the Quality of Biology Education: I am interested in improving the quality of biology education at all levels (K-12 & post-secondary). My previous work has been instructor-focused and examined perceptions of science teaching (of graduate teaching assistants and teaching faculty) and how formal and informal professional development can mediate these perceptions. I am also interested in student-focused improvements such as how attitudes and motivations can be harnessed to promote higher order thinking in the classroom as well as developing pragmatic research-based strategies for effective instruction in large-enrollment courses.

2. Emerging Technologies in STEM education: I am generally interested in how emerging technologies (such as biotechnology and nanotechnology) are being integrated into school curricula at all levels. Most of my work has focused on how to effectively communicate some of the more difficult socioscientific issues surrounding the development of these technologies in the classroom. In addition, I have looked at some of the conceptual hurdles to learning about specific technologies at small scales (scale issues, estimation, spatial-visualization, etc.).

Courses Taught

BIOL 1050. General Biology

BIOL1100. Principles of Biology I

BIOL 2141. Anatomy & Physiology I.

Recent Publications (*student co-author)

Gardner, G. E. (in press). Using biomimicry in a design-based learning activity. The American Biology Teacher.

Jones, M. G., Gardner, G. E., Taylor, A. R., Forrester, J., & Andre, T. (in press). Students' accuracy of measurement estimation: Contexts, units, and logical thinking. School Science and Mathematics.

Jones, M. G., Paechter, M., Yen, I., Gardner, G. E., Taylor, A. R., & Tretter, T. (early online release, Sep 14, 2011). Scale conceptions of teachers in the U.S., Taiwan, and Austria: An international comparison. International Journal of Science Education.

Jones, M. G., Robertson, L., Gardner, G. E., Dotger, S., & Blanchard, M. (early online release, Aug 5, 2011). Differential use of elementary science kits: One size does not fit all. International Journal of Science Education.

Gardner, G. E., & Jones, M. G. (early online release, Sep 8, 2010). Science instructors' perceptions of the risks of biotechnology: Implications for science instruction. Research in Science Education.

Gardner, G. E., & Jones, M. G. (2011). Pedagogical preparation of the science graduate teaching assistant: Challenges and implications. The Science Educator. 20(2).

Gardner, G. E. & Jones, M. G. (2011). Perspectives and practices: Biology graduate teaching assistants' framing of a controversial socioscientific issue. International Journal of Science Education. International Journal of Science Education. 33(8), 1031-1054.

Jones, M. G., Gardner, G. E., Taylor, A. R., Wiebe, E., & Forrester, J. (2011). Conceptualizing magnification and scale: The role of spatial visualization and logical thinking. Research in Science Education. 41(3), 357-368.

Ricker, M., Gardner, G. E., & Aune, P. (2011). Quantifying the inhalation of tar from smoking. The American Biology Teacher. 73(1), 24-26.

Gardner, G. E., Jones, M. G., Taylor, A., Forrester, J. R., & Robertson, L. (2010). Students' risk perceptions of nanotechnology applications: Implications for science education. International Journal of Science Education, 32(14), 1951-1969.

Berube, D. M., Faber, B., Scheufele, D. A., Cummings, C., Gardner, G. E., Martin, K., & Temple, N. (2010). Communicating risk in the 21^st century: The case of nanotechnology. White Paper sponsored by the National Nanotechnology Initiative.

Gardner, G. E., Jones, M. G., & Falvo, M. (2009). "New science" and societal issues: Considering the ethics of nanosensors. The Science Teacher, 76(7), 49-53.

Gardner, G. E., Jones, M. G., & Ferzli, M. (2009). Popular media in the biology classroom: Viewing popular science skeptically. The American Biology Teacher, 71(6), 351-354.

Gardner, G. E. & Jones, M. G. (2009). Bacteria buster: Testing antibiotic properties of silver nanoparticles. The American Biology Teacher, 71(4), 207-210.