About Us
These people designed the assessment items and conducted this research. You can contact them
at scientificargumentation@stanford.edu.
Project Directors
Jonathan Osborne
Jonathan Osborne is the Kamalachari Professor of Science Education. He
started his career teaching high school physics in inner London before joining
King’s College London in 1985 where he worked for 23 years. He became a full
professor in 2000 and Head of the Department of Education in 2005. He then
joined Stanford in 2009. During his career, he has been an advisor to the UK
House of Commons Science and Technology Committee for their report on Science
Education in 2002, President of the US National Association for Research in
Science Teaching (2006-7) and has won the association’s award for the best
research publication in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching in 2003 and
2004. He was a member of the US National Academies Panel that produced the new
framework for the next generation standards in science in the US. Currently he
is chair of the expert group responsible for producing the framework for the
OECD PISA science assessments in 2015 and 2018. His research focuses on the
teaching and learning of argumentation, how to teach literacy in science, and
students attitudes towards science.
Dr. J. Bryan Henderson
Dr. J. Bryan Henderson received his PhD from Stanford University in Science
Education. He is interested is in the utilization of educational technology to
facilitate peer-to-peer science learning via evidence-based formative assessment
techniques. His classroom-based research on peer learning intersects with
multiple years of experience studying science argumentation under the guidance
of Dr. Jonathan Osborne. As a Co-Founder and Research Director of the Braincandy
non-profit, Henderson is working with teachers across the U.S. to make formative
assessment materials and best practices freely accessible via cloud-based
applications. Henderson’s scientific background is in astrophysics, with
research positions at major observatories in Arizona, Chile, and The
Netherlands. He has over a decade of experience teaching statistics and physics
at both the university and community college levels. In addition to a PhD from
Stanford, Henderson also possesses three Bachelor’s degrees in Physics,
Astronomy, and Philosophy (with Distinction) from The University of Washington
and two Master’s degrees in Physics and Education from Portland State
University. He is currently a tenure-track Assistant Professor at Arizona State
University in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Division of Educational
Leadership and Innovation.
Anna MacPherson
Anna MacPherson is a Ph.D. student in Curriculum and Teacher Education in
the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. Her primary area of
research is science education, with particular expertise in learning, cognition
and assessment. She is interested in developing new ways to assess complex
scientific thinking, as well as understanding how students and teachers use such
assessments in the classroom. She has 4 years of experience working with Drs.
Jonathan Osborne and Mark Wilson on developing a learning progression for
argumentation in middle school physical science, and her dissertation is about
the development of a novel assessment of argumentation in biology/ecology.
Prior to beginning doctoral study, she taught high school biology and chemistry
in the New York City public school system. She holds a B.S. in biology from
Stanford and a M.A. in adolescent science education from Hunter College, CUNY.
Beginning in June 2015 she will be the Manager of Educational Research and
Evaluation at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Evan Szu
Evan Szu is completing his Ph.D. from the Stanford Graduate School of
Education in 2015 where he was awarded an Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Fellowship.
He also holds a B.A. in computer science and a B.S. in chemistry from Brown
University. His research interests include the effects of popular media on the
public engagement with science.
Andrew Wild
Andrew Wild is a PhD Candidate in Science Education. Prior to graduate
school, he taught high school chemistry and conceptual physics in the San
Francisco Bay Area. He is a Knowles Science Teaching Foundation Senior Fellow, a
graduate of the Stanford Teacher Education Program, and he holds a B.A. in
chemistry from Carleton College. Andrew’s research interests include the
influence of social norms on science teaching and equity in science learning.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to our collaborators Mark Wilson, Linda Morell, Shi-Ying Yao, and Tina Chiu at UC-Berkeley, Paul Black at King’s College London, Patrick Hurley, Keziah DeFusco and Karen Tran at SERP, and the teachers who provided feedback on the items and issued them to their students. We particularly wish to acknowledge funding from the Institute of Education Sciences Grant No R305A100692.
