Dr. Tim Zimmerman is an Assistant Professor of Science Education.  He is jointly appointed in the Department of Learning and Teaching within the Graduate School of Education and the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences within the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.  His research seeks to improve our understanding of student learning of ocean and environmental science concepts, broadly speaking as a means for improving science education and scientific literacy.  In particular, Dr. Zimmerman focuses on the design and use of Internet technologies (e.g., real-time data, GIS, wiki’s, social-networking, Internet media, etc.) in classrooms and on field trips (museums, aquariums, outdoor settings, etc.) both on traditional computers and on mobile computing devices.  These tools are then used to research: 1) the nature of learning across formal and informal contexts, 2) the connections between science learning and environmental decision-making, and 3) the learning and teaching of ocean science as a progression of conceptual understanding.  

Title(s): Assistant Professor of Science Education

Education: Ph.D. in Science Education - University of California, Berkeley, 2005; M.S. in Marine Biology - University of Charleston, Charleston, SC, 1992; B.S. in Biology and Marine Biology - University of Massachusetts, North Dartmouth, MA, 1989

Affiliations:

Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE)
American Educational Research Association (AERA)
International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS)
National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF)

Research interests:

Ocean Science Education
Little is known about student understanding of Earth's largest ecosystem: the ocean.  What is the starting point of students' knowledge of ocean science? What is the character and nature of those ideas?  What would an ocean science learning progression look like?

Integrating Formal (Classroom) and Informal (e.g., aquarium) Learning
Research in science education indicates that out-of-school experiences (e.g., visits to research sites, museums, aquariums, etc.) contribute significantly to learners' interests in and understanding of science.  How can we best leverage technology to mediate science learning across formal and informal learning contexts?  How can mobile technologies, such as handheld devices and wireless networks, improve learning "in the moment?"  How can we design holistic curricula, incorporating curricular design with exhibit or field trip design, which promote knowledge integration?

Science and Environmental Decision-making
Individual decisions about environmental sustainability have collective and long-term effects, yet the connection between knowledge construction and decision-making processes is not well understood.  Does coherence or integration of cognitive scientific constructs have lasting decision-making impacts?  To what extent does decision-making map onto other scientific process abilities such as argument construction or use of scientific evidence?  Are there epistemological constraints associated with such decision-making abilities?

Design and Use of eLearning Technologies
Scientists rely more and more on new technologies, especially computer-based tools, mobile computing devices, real-time data, remote sensing, and others to make sense of the complexities of their research domain.  How can we bring these technologies into classrooms in a meaningful and effective manner?  What technological tools can be utilized or designed that promote improved learning of science?

Recent publications:

Payne, D.L. & Zimmerman, T.D. (in review). Beyond terra firma: Bringing Ocean and Aquatic Sciences to Science Teacher Education. ASTE Monograph: The Inclusion of Environmental Education in Science Teacher Education.

Darling-Hammond, L., Barron, B., Pearson, P.D., Schoenfeld, A.H., Stage, E.K., Zimmerman, T.D., Cervetti, G.N., & Tilson, J.L. (2008). Powerful learning: What we know about teaching for understanding. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Zimmerman, T.D. & Stage, E.K. (2008). Teaching science for understanding. In L. Darling-Hammond (Ed.) Powerful learning: Teaching for understanding in the classroom. (pp. 151-191) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Zimmerman, T.D. (2005). Promoting knowledge integration of scientific principles and environmental stewardship: Assessing an issue-based approach to teaching evolution and marine conservation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.

Zimmerman, T.D. 1992. Latitudinal Reproductive Variation in the Salt Marsh Turtle, the Diamondback Terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin. Unpublished master of science thesis, University of Charleston, Charleston, SC.

Lovich, J.E., A.D. Tucker, D.E. Kling, J.W. Gibbons, and T.D. Zimmerman. 1991. Behavior of hatchling diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) released in a South Carolina salt marsh.  Herpetological Review 22(3):81-83.