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Faculty and Staff

Faculty

	Leslie Atkins Joint Appt: Physics	Leslie J. Atkins, PhD (University of Maryland, 2004) is an assistant professor in the departments of physics and science education. Her professional interests lie in the design of learning environments that better reflect the creative, knowledge-building communities that characterize scientific research. In practice, this requires a better understanding of the cognitive mechanisms of understanding and the social practices of the scientific community (particularly scientific discourse and argumentation) and her research lies in these areas. Dr. Atkins has a background in experimental physics research, having published work in soft condensed matter, and has worked in informal education, cognitive psychology, and teacher professional development at Dartmouth College and LessonLab Research Institute. She has taught high school physics and chemistry, and her current teaching focuses on teacher preparation and teacher professional development at Chico State.
	Bev Marcum (FERP) Joint Appt: Biology	Bev Marcum is a professor of biology. She earned her PhD at the University of Virginia (1974) and has been a faculty member since 1982.
	Julie Monet Joint Appt: GEOS	Julie Monet, EdD (Rutgers University, 2006) received her doctorate in Science Education from Rutgers University, MS in Geosciences from San Francisco State University, and her BS in Geology from Sonoma State University. Her main research interests are in the development of teachers' topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching earth science, and the role of epistemic understanding and scientific reasoning in understanding science. Since her appointment at CSU, Chico she has served as the director for the Master’s in Science Teaching Program. She teaches graduate courses for science teachers in earth science, research methods in science education, and science teaching methods for graduate TAs. She also teaches undergraduate courses that include early science teaching experience and science teaching in informal learning environments.
	Irene Salter Chair	Irene Y. Salter, PhD (University of California, San Francisco, 2002) is committed to hands-on, inquiry-based science teaching. Her fascination with "learning by doing" began with her PhD research at the University of California, San Francisco where she studied the neural circuits that drive motivated behavior and learning. In graduate school she discovered her love of teaching and hasn't turned back since. She spent the next four years teaching middle school science in Berkeley and creating a classroom where students work together like real scientists. She also spent some time at the Lawrence Hall of Science, developing curriculum for the GEMS Program. Her current passions lie in creating new hands-on science lessons, teaching teachers, and fostering the growth of an on-line community of educators and scientists. For example, she mentors elementary teachers in the Chico Unified School District, helping them to shape their science curriculum, modeling science teaching practices in their classrooms, and providing an online space to share resources and teaching ideas. Check out examples of her curriculum, as well as those of her partner teachers, at My Science Box.

Lecturers and Lab Instructors

	Chris Brown	Chris Brown has a bachelor’s degree in geology from U.C. Santa Barbara, and a master’s degree in geotechnical engineering from U.C. Berkeley. She loves teaching Science Education courses, and is currently teaching Concepts in Earth and Space Science. She has taught a variety of other geology and environmental science classes at CSU Chico and Butte College over the past 15 years. Chris also owns her own consulting firm, and works part time as a hydrogeologist.
	Tanya Heaston	Tanya Heaston, MA (CSU, Chico) is lecturer in science education and coordinator of the Hands-On Lab at Chico State University. A graduate of the MiST Program, Heaston teaches and directs all activities associated with the Hands-On Lab which is the capstone experience in science for all liberal studies majors and introduces other students to the science teaching profession.
	Cami Liggett
	Christl Messerschmidt

Staff

Sue Barnett

Sue Barnett is the Administrative Support Coordinator for the Department of Science Education. A native of Chico, Sue has been fortunate to live in various parts of the great state of California. Most recently, Sue lived in Southern California for about ten years. During that time, she worked for the Redlands Unified School District. Sue moved back to Chico in 2007 and has worked for Chico State since that time. She is the proud mother of two grown children. When she is not working, Sue enjoys taking scenic drives with her husband, going to the movies, reading and spending time with friends and family.