Dr. Sara Heredia (Teacher Education and Higher Education) received new funding from the Exploratorium for the project “The Phenomenal Genome: Evolving Public Understanding of Genetics in the Post-Mendelian Era.”
Heredia will be responsible for supporting the design team in developing and researching the teacher component of the project. This includes an on-site meeting at the Exploratorium with the advisory board to ideate and prototype experiences for science teachers to explore their current understanding of genetics. In years two and three, Heredia will travel to the Exploratorium each summer to collect data on implementation of experiences within the context of professional development settings. Heredia will also interview teacher participants in the year following their participation to inquire about if and how the teachers changed their instruction in relation to genetics. In the final year of the project, Heredia will work on data analysis and writing to disseminate research to multiple science education research audiences.
