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Mark A. Windschitl Professor Curriculum and Instruction 115 Miller, Box 353600 College of Education, University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195-3600 (206) 221-4736 mwind@u.washington.edu

Education Publications Faculty Site Curriculum Vitae

My research interests deal with the early career development of science teachers. Our research group has recently received National Science Foundation funding for a five-year project to develop and study a system of tools and tool-based practices for early career and pre-service secondary science teachers that support transitions from novice to expert-like pedagogical reasoning and practice. These tools include:

 

• a video-based learning progression for teaching Model-Based Inquiry,
• discourse guides for core conversations in classrooms,
• rapid assessment models to tap student thinking, and
• rubrics to evaluate students' abilities to construct evidence-based explanations in science.

Our proposed system of tools will serve as a model for making pre-service teacher training and induction that is focused on student learning. This system of tools is designed to be responsive to all students in the classroom, including English Language Learners.

Teachers' Learning Trajectories Project (TLT): Our research group (with Jessica Thompson and Melissa Braaten) is conducting a longitudinal study, funded by Carnegie, of how novice teachers develop pedagogical reasoning around sophisticated forms of inquiry for secondary students. We are tracing our participants' development across four contexts: their teacher education coursework, student teaching, sessions of analysis of their pupils' work, and their early years of professional work.

Noyce Teaching Scholars. I am also PI on another National Science Foundation project which capitalizes on a recently introduced revision of the University of Washington's teacher preparation program, "Teachers for New Era", and benefits from existing collaborations among science and mathematics departments in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences and of Education, and three of the largest school districts in Washington: Seattle, Highline, and Renton. Thirty-six scholarships are being awarded, 9 each year over 4 years, balanced between mathematics and science majors. Awardees participate in systematic induction activities over the first two years of professional service.

Education

Ph.D., Iowa State University, 1995

Publications

(*Refereed; **Invited)

*Windschitl, M., Thompson, J. & Braaten, M. (2008). How novice science teachers appropriate epistemic discourses around model-based inquiry for use in classrooms. Cognition and Instruction, 26(3), 310-378.

*Windschitl, M., Thompson, J. & Braaten, M. (in press). Beyond The Scientific Method: Model-Based Inquiry As A New Paradigm of Preference for School Science Investigations. Science Education.

**Windschitl, M. (2007). Three critical questions about science teacher preparation. Paper commissioned by National Research Council’s Committee on Teacher Preparation. February 15, Washington DC.

*Windschitl, M., Ryken, A., Tudor, M. & Koehler, G. (2007). A comparative model of field investigations: Aligning school science inquiry with practices of contemporary science. School Science and Mathematics, 107(1), 382-390.

*Windschitl, M. & Thompson, J. (2006) Transcending simple forms of school science investigations: Can pre-service instruction foster teachers' understandings of model-based inquiry? American Educational Research Journal, 43(4) ,783-835.

*Shannon, J. & Windschitl, M. (accepted) How is PCK Embodied in Teachers’ Decision-Making Process While Teaching Chemical Equilibrium? Journal of Research in Science Teaching.

Windschitl, M. (2006). Why we can’t talk to one another about science education reform. Phi Delta Kappan, January, 349-356.
Note: Also appears in Educational Digest, April 2006, Vol. 71, #8; this article also used for on-line teacher professional development with PBS in Boston, MA.

**Windschitl, M. (2005). Our challenge in disrupting popular folk theories of “Doing Science”. Proceedings of NSF-sponsored Inquiry Conference on Developing a Consensus Research Agenda. Rutgers University, February.

**Windschitl, M. (2005). The future of science teacher preparation in America: Where is the evidence to inform program design and guide responsible policy decisions? To appear in Science Education, 89 (4), 525-534.

**Windschitl, M. (June, 2004, paper commissioned by the National Academy of Sciences.) What types of knowledge do teachers use to engage learners in “doing science”? Rethinking the continuum of preparation and professional development for secondary science educators. Committee on High School Science Laboratories: Role and vision.

*Windschitl, M. (2004). Caught in the cycle of reproducing folk theories of “Inquiry”: How pre-service teachers continue the discourse and practices of an atheoretical scientific method. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 41(5), 481-512.

*Windschitl, M. & Thompson, J. (2004). Inquiry in Pre-service Classrooms: Epistemological and Methodological Aspects. Proceedings of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching Conference, Vancouver BC, April.

*Thompson, J, & Windschitl, M. (2004). Seeing Beyond Science: How Underachieving Girls Engage in Personal and Relational Spaces. Proceedings of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching Conference, Vancouver BC, April.

*Windschitl, M. (2003) Inquiry projects in science teacher education: What can investigative experiences reveal about teacher thinking and eventual classroom practice? Science Education, 87(1), 112-143.

*Windschitl, M. (2002) Framing Constructivism as the Negotiation of Dilemmas: An Analysis of the Conceptual, Pedagogical, Cultural, and Political Challenges Facing Teachers. Review of Educational Research, 72(2), 131-175.
Note: Article won the AERA Presidential Award for Best Review of Research, 2002-2003.

*Windschitl, M. (2002). The reproduction of cultural models of inquiry by pre-service teachers: An examination of thought and action. Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences, 2002.

* Windschitl, M. & Sahl, K. (2002)Tracing Teachers’ Use of Technology In A Laptop Computer School: The Interplay of Teacher Beliefs, Social Dynamics, and Institutional Culture.  American Educational Research Journal, 39 (1), 165-205.

*Windschitl, M. (2001). The diffusion and appropriation of ideas: An investigation of events occurring between groups of learners in science classrooms. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38 (1), 17-42.

*Winn, W. & Windschitl, M. (In press). Learning science in virtual
environments: The interplay of theory and experience. Themes in Education.

*Windschitl, M. (2000). Supporting the development of science inquiry skills with special classes of software. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 48 (2), 81-97.

* Windschitl, M. (2000). An investigation of events occurring between groups of learners in science classrooms. In B. Fishman and S. O’Connor Divelbiss (Eds.) Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences,  pp. 358-361. Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.