Catherine Lemmi, PhD

Education

Ph.D. Curriculum and Teacher Education, Stanford University, 2019. 

M.A. Science Education, Stanford University, 2009. 

B.S. Biology, Sewanee: The University of the South, 2005. 

Areas of Expertise

• Literacy, Language, and Language Ideologies
• Science Education in Bi/Multilingual and Heteroglossic Classrooms
• Relevance and Equity in STEM Education

Biography

Dr. Lemmi is an assistant professor of education who teaches courses on Literacy Development and Equity and Access in Education. She earned her California Single Subject Teaching Credential in Biology with a Crosscultural Language and an Academic Development (CLAD) authorization as well as her Ph.D. from Stanford University. She joins the Chico State faculty with over 10 years of experience in public schools serving in various roles including as an ESL teacher in a Japanese middle school, a science teacher at Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California, and a substitute teacher in Memphis City Schools (now Shelby County Schools) in her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.  Additionally, she has served as a cooperating teacher and supervisor of teacher candidates for the Stanford Teacher Education Program as well as a supervisor for the School of Education at Chico State. Her interdisciplinary research uses mixed methods to explore the relationships between language, ideology, and teacher practice in content area classrooms, especially in STEM subjects. Her recent work investigates the role of language ideologies and hybrid language practices in STEM education for bi/multilingual and heteroglossic communities, with an asset-focused approach to students’ language repertoires. Her goal as a teacher educator is to prepare new teachers who are ready to provide equitable, relevant, and humanizing learning experiences for all students in their classes.

Affiliations

• American Educational Research Association (AERA)
• National Association of Research on Science Teaching (NARST) 

Grants & Contracts Awarded

Chico State Student Learning Fee Award for Antiracism Speaker Series - $15,000 per year (2021-2023).

CSU Center for Transformational Educator Preparation Programs (CTEPP); Increasing BIPOC Teacher Candidates in Chico Unified School District - $155,000 (2022).

Chico State Faculty-Mentored Research & Creative Activities Program Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) award-  $13,000 (2021).

S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation Grant: Certificate Sequence in Practice-Based Approaches to Methods Instruction University of Michigan fellowship- $16,000 (2020 -2021).

Adelante Summer Researchers Program Grant [U.S. Department of Education Title V Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions Grant] - $6300 (2020).

Publications & Presentations

Selected Presentations at National & International Conferences

Lemmi, C. (2022) Raciolingiustic Perspectives in Science Education. National Association for Research on Science Teaching (NARST) Annual International Conference. Virtual Presentation.

Lemmi, C. (2022) Language Ideologies in Science Course Materials. American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA. Virtual Presentation.

Lemmi, C. (2021) How Do We Know What We Know? Teaching Epistemologies Across Four Core Content Areas. American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting. Virtual Meeting. 

Born, B.; Hochgreb, T.; Lemmi, C., Lotan, R.; Wong, P. (2019) PED Brasil (Programa de Educação de Docente): Educational imperialism or co-construction of expertise? Comparative International Education Society (CIES). San Francisco, CA.

Lemmi, C. (2019, accepted) Relevance in Science and Environmental Education: A Case Study of a California Museum. American Educational Research Association (AERA), Toronto, Canada. 

Lemmi, C.; Brown, B.A. (2018) Science Teachers in Multilingual Communities: What Teachers Want to Know and Perceptions of Students’ Needs. American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Antonio, TX.

Selected Publications

Lemmi, C.; Perez, G.; Brown, B. (2022) Translanguaging in Science: Drawing on Students’ Full Repertoires in Bi/Multilingual Classes. In Translanguaging in Science Education. Jakobsson, A.; Nygard-Larsson, P.; Karlsson, A.

Slemrod, T., Howorth, S., Wood, A., Hart, S., Lemmi C., Cheney, D. (2022) A Comparison of Science Vocabulary Acquisition using Keyword Mnemonics via Technology and Flash Cards. Journal of Special Education Technology. 

Lemmi, C.; Brown, B.; Wild, A.; Zummo, L.; & Sedlacek, Q. (2019) Language Ideologies in Science Education. Science Education. 103: 854-874.

Galguera, T.; Lemmi, C.; & Martin, P. (2019) Amplifying Science: Phenomenon-Based Lessons to Engage Students in Language-Rich Science Practices. In Bunch, G. and Walqui, A. (Eds.) Amplifying the Curriculum: DesigningQuality Learning Opportunities for English Learners. Teachers College Press.  

Brown, B.; Boda, P.; Lemmi, C.; & Monroe, X. (2018) Moving Culturally Relevant Pedagogy from Theory to Practice: Exploring Teachers’ Application of Culturally Relevant Education in Science and Mathematics. Urban Education. 54(6), 775-803.  

Osborne, J., Sedlacek, Q. C., Friend, M., & Lemmi, C. (2016) Learning to Read Science. Science Scope, 40(3), 36-42.