I am committed to the investigation, development and application of improved
ways of helping students learn physics and develop scientific reasoning. In
conjunction with practicing teachers and a College of Education faculty
member, I have been developing and evaluating a special class for
pre-service elementary teachers - people who are critical for cultivating an
interest in science learning in children. The course we have been
developing has served as a model for the type of course we hope preservice
teachers will be taking and as a model for inservice workshops for
practicing teachers in Appalachia in the $22 million dollar, five year
National Science Foundation grant, Appalachian Science and Mathematics
Partnership. On this grant, I will be serving as Director of the Preservice
Teachers Component, Co-director of the evaluation component, and a
contributor to other science components.
Education
B.E.E, University of Virginia
Ph.D., Physics, University of Virginia
Selected Recent Publications
K. C. Trundle, R. K. Atwood, and J. E. Christopher, "Preservice
elementary teachers' knowledge of observable moon phases and pattern of
change in phases." Accepted for publication in the Journal of
Science Teacher Education, planned for June 2006 issue.
John E. Christopher and Ronald K. Atwood, "Interdisciplinary
Curriculum Planning in a College Course", chapter in D. Sunal, E. Wright,
& J. Bland (Eds.), Research in science Education: Reform in
undergraduate science teaching for the 21st century. Greenwich, CT:
Information Age Publishing. (2004, in press).
K. C. Trundle, R. K. Atwood, and J. E. Christopher, "Preservice
Elementary Teachers' Conceptions of Moon Phases Before and After
Instruction", Journal of Research in Science Teaching 39, 633-658
(2002)
"A Standards-Based Physical Science Course for Elementary School
Teachers", John Christopher, University of Kentucky, and Jerry Cook,
Eastern Kentucky University. A paper presented at the spring
meeting of the Kentucky Association of Physics Teachers, Lexington
Community College, Lexington, KY, March 5, 2005.
"Entering Preservice Elementary Teachers' Performance on
Standards-based Light Concepts Tasks" Ronald K. Atwood, Curriculum and
Instruction, and John E. Christopher, Physics and Astronomy, University
of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, A paper presented at the annual meeting
of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science (AETS),
Colorado Spring, Colorado, January 9-13, 2005.
"Standards-Based Light Concepts for Elementary Science: Are
Teachers Adequately Prepared?" Ronald K. Atwood, Curriculum and
Instruction, and John E. Christopher, Physics and Astronomy, University
of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, presented at the International meeting
of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, March 31
--Apr 3, 2004, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
"Using National Standards to develop a physical science curriculum
for preservice and inservice elementary Teachers", Ronald K. Atwood,
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and John E. Christopher,
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky. Paper
presented at the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science
Annual Conference, Nashville, TN, January 7-11, 2004.
"The MOON Project: Phases of the research" Kathy Cabe Trundle, School
of Teaching and Learning, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.,
Ronald K. Atwood, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and John E.
Christopher, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of
Kentucky, and Walter S. Smith, Ball State University. A
multi-paper set presented the Association for the Education of Teachers
in Science Annual Conference, Nashville, TN, January 7-11, 2004.
A Model for Course Development, Implementation and Evaluation: An
Example for Preservice and Inservice Teachers, John E. Christopher,
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ronald K. Atwood, Department of
Curriculum and Instruction and Carl Lee, Department of Mathematics,
University of Kentucky. Presented at Teacher Education Summit III,
October 9, 2003, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY
"Preservice Elementary Teachers' Conceptions of Moon Phases: A
Longitudinal Study", Kathy Cabe Trundle, School of Teaching and
Learning, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH., Ronald K. Atwood,
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and John E. Christopher,
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky.
A paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of
Research in Science Teaching, Philadelphia, PA. March 23-26, 2003.
