Dr. Goldston has authored research chapters, books,
and articles in journals including Journal of Science Teacher Education, Teacher Education and Practice, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, The Science Teacher, Teaching and Change, Science
and Children, and Physics Teacher. She is an active member, serving on committees in organizations such as the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, American Educational Research Association, Association for Science Teacher Education, National Science Teachers’ Association, Mid-South Educational Research Association, and Alabama Science Teachers Association. She is currently the past President of the Council of Elementary Science International and is a past council member for the National Science Teachers Association. She conducts local, state, national and international conference presentations and professional development workshops for K-12 teachers. Dr. Goldston has served on numerous editorial review boards and is currently an associate editor for the Journal of Science Teacher Education.
Dr. Goldston’s research interest focuses on teacher empowerment related to science teaching identities as influenced by sociocultural contexts with particular interest on inquiry and culturally relevant pedagogies. Award 5: Implications of Research for Education Practice come to the recipient for her collaborative research utilizing digital photographs as narrative centerpieces to evoke community influences that science teachers’ perceived as barriers and/or possibilities for teaching and learning science and literacy. This research was conducted in an African American middle school exploring the implications of research into the practical and theoretical possibilities of teachers and students using photonarratives to explore science and science like performances in their communities. This research reflects Dr. Goldston’s ongoing focus of teacher empowerment through community based practices and the preparation of high quality science teachers through on-going professional teaching and learning communities.
Dr. Sharon (“Sherry”) Nichols is an Associate Professor of Science Education at
The University of Alabama. Sherry received her Bachelor’s degree from the
University of Florida and
was certified to teach secondary Biology and Health Education. Her first
teaching jobs, however, were not in a school setting. Sherry worked for a rural
health care facility in Palatka, Florida where she was responsible for designing
health education programs for Hispanic migrant workers, Vietnamese fern growers,
and pregnant African American teens. After 3 years, she made a change to teach
grades 5-6 for two years. Feeling a need to learn more about teaching, she
pursued graduate studies at Florida State University (FSU) where she had the
fortunate opportunity learn from Ken Tobin, Deborah Tippins and Penny Gilmer. As
well, an exchange visit at Curtin University in Perth, Australia introduced her
to many new ideas and colleagues. Sherry’s varied teaching and research
experiences have fostered her ongoing interests to draw on social constructivist
theory, feminist perspectives, narrative inquiry, and visual ethnography to
explore issues in elementary science teacher preparation and community-based
science education.