简介

Julie Bianchini is a Professor of Science Education and Faculty Director of CalTeach/Science and Mathematics Initiative in the Department of Education. She received both her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences and her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teacher Education from Stanford University. Between degree programs, she taught biology and physics at an all-girls high school in San Francisco. Professor Bianchini’s research investigates ways to make science education accessible, interesting, and understandable to all students. More specifically, she examines issues related to equity and diversity, teacher education and professional development, and the teaching and learning of science. She also has expertise in curriculum development and groupwork instruction. In her dissertation, she explored how sixth-grade students attending an urban middle school learned science during groupwork. Later studies included investigating a three-year faculty and curriculum development initiative designed to help scientists transform their teaching of undergraduate science; examining beginning science teachers’ experiences in both preservice science education courses and secondary science classrooms; and exploring the views and experiences of practicing secondary science and mathematics teachers engaged in a two-year professional development project to learn about equity and equitable instruction. Current research projects include a study of how secondary science teachers use learning progression-based teaching strategies to teach their students environmental science, a study of Latino/a preschoolers’ understanding of germs and nutrition, and a study of what undergraduates learn about the processes of teaching and learning in introductory courses on science and mathematics education. An article based on her dissertation research was awarded the 1998 Outstanding Paper in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (JRST) by the National Association for Research in Science Teaching. In 2000, she also received the Early Career Research Award from this same organization Professor Bianchini teaches a variety of courses in the Gevirtz School. These include the following: ED 221 Qualitative Interviewing; ED 282 Research Along the Learning to Teach Continuum; ED 286ST The History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science in Science Education; and ED 286C Learning Theories and Instructional Practices in Science Education. Professor Bianchini also has helped garner grants for research and scholarships totaling over 5 million dollars. Current grants include one from the National Science Foundation’s Noyce Scholarship Program, CalTeach Physical Sciences and Engineering, and one from the National Institutes of Health, Integrating Health and Biology in a Science Curriculum for Latino Preschoolers.