Tippins receives Rotary Grant to support further work in Philippines

College of Education professor Deborah Tippins will spend some of her summer this year teaching in a Filipino university's new doctoral program in science education thanks to a grant from Rotary International.

Tippins, a professor of science and elementary education, has received the 2006-07 Rotary University Teachers Grant (RUT). The RUT program chooses 20 individuals each year who they believe can significantly contribute to building international understanding and development, while strengthening higher education in developing nations. She was nominated for the grant by the Athens Rotary Club.

During her time in Iloilo, Philippines, Tippins will share her expertise in ecology, qualitative research methods and professional development with prospective and practicing science teachers and education faculty in West Visayas State University (WVSU)'s first Ph.D. program in science education.

Tippins has been working with WVSU faculty and local science teachers on the Filipino island of Panay in pursuing collaborative research into community-based science education since 2001.

This initial work led to UGA's science education faculty receiving a two-year Educational Partnership Grant from the U.S. Department of State in which the two universities made faculty and student exchanges in 2004-05.

Tippins has served as director of research for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), a member of the board of directors for the Association of Science Teacher Educators (ASTE) and is past president of the southeastern division of this organization.

At UGA, Tippins was selected as an International Fellow, Lilly Teaching Fellow, and is a member of the Teaching Academy. She received the D. Keith Osborn Sr. Faculty Senate Award for Teaching Excellence in 1999 and the College of Education Faculty Fellow Award in 2000. She is also a recipient of the Early Career Research Award from the National Association for Research on Science Teaching, the NSTA/Gustav Ohaus Award for Innovations in Teaching Science, the Innovations in Teaching Science Teachers Award from the ASTE, and the Outstanding Scholarship on Teacher Education Award from the American Association of Colleges and Schools for Teacher Education.

Tippins is co-author and/or co-editor of five books including The Stigma of Genius: Einstein, Consciousness, and Modern Education, Cases in Middle and Secondary Science Education: The Promises and Dilemmas, Learning from Cases: Unraveling the Complexities of Elementary Science Teaching, and Just in Case: Encounters in Science and Mathematics Teaching and Earth Science Experiments.

Tippins received her Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in science education and came to UGA in 1991, where she currently holds joint appointments in the departments of elementary and social studies education, and mathematics and science education.

Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Writer: Angela Hains, 706/542-5889, anicole7@uga.edu
Contact: Deborah Tippins, 706/542-4642, dtippins@uga.edu