formal education:
BA in Chemistry, Univ of California, Irvine
MS in Chemistry, Univ of Washington, Seattle
MA in History of Science, U of Wisconsin, Madison
PhD in Curriculum & Instruction, U of Wisconsin, Madison
My PhD dissertation was a unifying synthesis of ideas (mainly
from scientists and philosophers, but also from sociologists, psychologists,
historians, and myself) into a model of scientific method, and an application
of this model for the integrative analysis of a creative science-exploration
classroom.
/ And it may have set a world record for the longest Table
of Contents for a doctoral dissertation! :<)
Currently, I'm teaching part-time in the Chemistry
Dept at UW-Madison, but my full-time vocation is developing a website
for whole-person education for the American Scientific Affiliation,
which is an organization of scientists — and engineers, and scholars
in fields related to science, such as philosophy of science, history
of
science, and science education — who are Christians. |
 |
academic history:
Intellectually,
I've
been productive because
God made me intelligent (*) and I work hard. But
professionally,
I've followed a "road less traveled" instead of the typical academic
path. What
happened? As
a
chemistry
major,
I
enjoyed learning and did well
(getting the American Chemical Society's "best student" award
for all high schools of Orange County, CA, and then for undergrads at U.C. Irvine)
and
received
a
fellowship
for graduate study from the National
Science Foundation. But for various reasons — mainly academic immaturity
(playing too much and not studying enough) and an
incomplete mental awakening (I had discovered creativity but not discipline
and commitment) and an intellectual preference for generalization (instead
of the specialization expected in grad school and in science) — I decided
not
to
pursue
a career in research chemistry. {* this has allowed academic awards
and fellowships,
800s
in
GRE for Math & Verbal,...}
After leaving school, I traveled
and worked and played, along with lots of reading and thinking, and developed
a passion for expressing ideas through writing. I enrolled
in the History of Science program at the University of Wisconsin, but never
felt like a historian; during our first semester a fellow grad
student began a sentence, "We historians think that...", and my
internal response was "what an interesting concept, WE historians." But
since high school I had been teaching, and thinking about the process
of thinking, so when I entered the Science Education program at UW the concept
of "we educators" struck a resonant chord — it felt natural
and intellectually stimulating, and has provided the freedom and flexibility
to pursue my continuing generalist interests.
teaching experience: in
classes (mostly chemistry and physics, learning
skills, plus tennis, juggling, ballroom dancing, and musical improvising
& theory), summer "chemistry
camps" and
by tutoring (in physics, chemistry, and calculus);
special interests in education: relationships
between science and religion; scientific
concepts,
problem solving, strategies for science and design, thinking skills (generating
and evaluating ideas,...), visual representation of ideas;
favorite movie: It's
A Wonderful
Life, partly for its artistic value (plot, dialogue, acting,...) but mainly
for
the message: Each of us affects
other
people,
and
life
is
better
if
we
affect
others
in a way that is beneficial
for them.
spiritual foundation: I'm a Christian,
and my overall goal is to love and trust God more fully so I can "live
by
faith" in
a way that is beneficial for others and myself.
On
most days, when I wake in the morning I'm free to think about ideas that are
wonderfully exciting. I'm
thankful that God is using me to do volunteer work on a productive ministry
project (a website for Whole-Person Education) and this
is very satisfying. To
make money, my current "tentmaking" job — which
I also enjoy, except when I think about the valuable time it subtracts from
working on my main vocation — is teaching part-time
in the UW Chemistry Dept.
