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Michael P. Mueller Mathematics and Science Education |
VITA
Research Projects
Editorial Board, Cultural Studies of Science Education
My journey begins as a young child in Seattle and the San Juan Islands where I developed a passion for exploring Washington’s streams, lakes, forests, mountains, tide pools, and the ocean. These experiences helped me to understand that the Earth has many diverse stories, and that we mindfully listen by placing ourselves in situations where we can “hear” what the Earth has to say. An overwhelming curiosity in the science of our planet led me to the teaching profession. I taught middle school and high school youth in Phoenix, Arizona. Teaching youth helped me to recognize and value the interconnections between my students’ cultural ways of knowing and the biodiversity and landscapes of the desert. Eventually, my students organized an expeditionary hiking team and trained as guides so that we could hike Arizona’s unique landscapes and collect rocks and other specimens for our classroom. Although I have hiked to the peaks of mountains, the expeditionary team taught me to value the importance of conserving forests and natural habitats for future generations. My conservation ethic also emerged through surfing in the ocean, where it is easy to lose oneself to the harmony and balance of the Earth’s greatest natural forces. Having two young children of my own doesn’t hurt either; it’s the main reason for doing this work. Over the years, I have learned to connect these experiences to the local community where I live by engaging my beginning teachers in the intergenerational knowledges and skills of local people. My journey continues as a science teacher educator and philosopher of education. My teaching is focused on scholarship of engagement: citizen science, community-centered science education, ecojustice, ecological schools, preparing teachers to think with uncertainty in mind, and youth activism. My research is focused on the development of theoretical frameworks to guide projects focused on sharing responsibility for cultural diversity, biodiversity, natural habitats, and nature’s harmony.
What’s Influencing My Thinking…
The following list of books and articles synthesize the major influences which frame my relationships with others and with the Earth's diverse geographies. David Abram (1996) writes about the holistic relationships between humans and the more-than-human-world as a magician, ecologist, phenomenologist, and world traveler who understands the traditions carried forward by ancient cultural groups. Wendell Berry (2000) is a scholar, environmentalist, and Kentucky farmer who understands the reasonable limitations of the literary arts and of science itself, and the significance of developing a deep personal knowledge of the Earth. Chet Bowers (2009) is an educational philosopher in environmental studies who writes about how particular cultural assumptions passed on through language frame where we pay selective attention, and he advocates for ecojustice ethics predicated on the ways in which people have lived more relational lives within ecosystems. Vandana Shiva (2005) is a physicist, ecofeminist, and environmentalist/ activist in India who understands the challenges for genetic engineering, biotechnology, intellectual property rights, and globalization; she advocates for the livelihoods of local farmers and the significance of local food production and cooperative ventures. James Sterba (2001) is an ethicist who writes a very concise, clear challenge to traditional ethics on three of my favorite science education topics; environmentalism, feminism, and multiculturalism. And finally, much of my thinking was shaped while studying with Barbara Thayer-Bacon (2008) at the University of Tennessee, a cultural studies professor and educational philosopher who shares a love for pluralism and understands the importance of school relationships which guide our interactions with others and within diverse ecologies.
Abram, D. (1996). The spell of the sensuous: Perception and language in a more-than-human world. New York: Vintage Books.
Berry, W. (2000). Life is a miracle: An essay against the modern superstition. Washington, DC: Counterpoint.
Bowers, C.A. (2009). Rethinking social justice issues within an eco-justice conceptual and moral framework. Journal of Educational Controversy, 4(1).
Shiva, V. (2005). Earth democracy: Justice, sustainability, and peace. Cambridge: South End Press.
Sterba, J. (2001). Three Challenges to Ethics: Environmentalism, Feminism, and Multiculturalism. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Thayer-Bacon, B.J. (2008). Beyond Liberal Democracy in Schools: The Power of Pluralism. New York: Teachers College Press
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Forthcoming/ Selected Publications
Stewart, A.J., & Mueller, M.P. (book, in preparation). The art of teaching science with essential questions.
Mueller, M.P. (in preparation). A theory for teacher preparation using citizen science in a methods of science teaching course.
Mueller, M.P., & Pickering, J. (forthcoming). Bee Hunt! An authentic science project for buzzing biodiversity. Science Activities.
Mueller, M.P., & Zeidler, D.L. (in preparation). Moral-ethical character and science education: Ecojustice ethics through socioscientific issues (SSI). In D. Tippins, M. Mueller, M. van Eijck & J. Adams (Eds.), Cultural studies and environmentalism: The confluence of ecojustice, place-based (science) education, and indigenous knowledge systems (pp. 00-00). New York: Springer.
Tippins, D.J., Mueller, M.P., van Eijck, M.W., Adams, J. (Eds.) (book, forthcoming). Cultural studies and environmentalism: The confluence of ecojustice, place-based (science) education, and indigenous knowledge systems.
Mueller, M.P. (in press). On ecological reflections: the tensions of cultivating ecojustice and youth environmentalism. Cultural Studies of Science Education.
Mueller, M.P., & Tippins, D.J. (in press). van Eijck and Roth’s utilitarian science education: why the recalibration of science and traditional ecological knowledge invokes multiple perspectives to protect science education from being exclusive. Cultural Studies of Science Education.
Mueller, M.P., & Tippins, D.J. (in press, April 2010). Citizen science, ecojustice, and science education: Rethinking an education from nowhere. In B.J. Fraser, K. Tobin & C. McRobbie (Eds.), Second international handbook of science education (pp. 00-00). New York: Springer.
Mueller, M.P. (2009). Educational reflections on the “ecological crisis”: Ecojustice, environmentalism, and sustainability. Science & Education, 18(8), 1031-1056.
Mueller, M.P., & Bentley, M.L. (2009). Environmental and science education in "developing nations": A Ghanaian approach to renewing and revitalizing the local community and ecosystems. Journal of Environmental Education, 40(4), 53-63.
Mahaya, E., Tippins, D.J., Mueller, M.P., & Thomson, N.E. (2009). Infectious disinfection: Exploring global water quality. Science Activities, 46(2), 25-31.
Mueller, M.P. (2009). Citizen science can renew a child’s love of nature. Education.com. Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://www.education.com/reference/article/citizen-science-childrens-love-nature/
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Tippins, D.J., & Mueller, M.P. (2009). As if local people and places mattered: A relational, ecological pragmatist framework to guide projects of rural science education. In W.M. Roth & K. Tobin (Eds.), The world of science education: Handbook of research in North America (pp. 529-542). Rotterdam: Sense. |
Mitchell, D., & Mueller, M.P. (2008). The role of ecological literacy in middle school learning communities. Tennessee Association of Middle Schools Journal, 39, 1-9.
Mueller, M.P. (2008). Ecojustice as ecological literacy is much more than being “green!” Educational Studies, 44(2), 155-166.
Article rejoinder: Bowers, C.A. (2008). More than being green. A response to Mike Mueller’s review of Transforming environmental education: Making the cultural and environmental commons the focus of educational reform. Educational Studies, 44(3), 301-306.
Mueller, M.P. (2007). Integrating ecojustice in middle school science education. Tennessee Association of Middle Schools Journal, 37, 7-13.
Mueller, M.P., & Bentley, M.L. (2007). Beyond the “decorated landscapes” of educational reform: Toward landscapes of pluralism in science education. Science Education, 91(2), 321-338.
Mueller, M.P., & Valderrama, P. (2006). Crater appeal. Science Teacher, 73(5), 22-25.
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Forthcoming/ Selected Paper Presentations
Mueller, M.P., Rowe, B., Love, K., Bentley, M.L., & Pagan, T.W. (2009, November). Ecojustice perspectives: Environmentalism, food culture, and river advocacy. Panel session presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Studies Association, Pittsburgh, PA.
Mueller, M.P. (2009, April). Way beyond cultural neutrality: Preparing teachers to think about justice, morals, and right relationships in science education. Invited symposium (Eco-justice in and through science education: A community discussion) paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Anaheim, CA.
Mueller, M.P., & Love, K. (2009, January). Chet Bowers’ “Transforming environmental education: Making the renewal of the cultural and environmental commons the focus of educational reform”: Implications for teachers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education, Hartford, CT.
Eick, C.J., Tippins, D.J., Brown, S., Smolleck, L., Koehler, C., & Mueller, M.P. (2009, January). Science education scholarship for new professors: Defining and doing it for successful promotion and tenure. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education, Hartford, CT.
Mueller, M.P. (2009, January). A guiding framework for taking action in the local community and ecosystems: Methods of science teaching that prepare teachers to engage in ecojustice activism. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education, Hartford, CT.
Mueller, M.P., & Carroll, G.D. (2009, January). Exploring the community-ecology-education (CEE) movement in science education: Teaching methods that prepare local science teachers to engage students in ecojustice. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education, Hartford, CT.
Mueller, M.P., & Tippins, D.J. (2008, October). A citizen-science movement for community life in the twenty-first century. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Studies Association, Savanna, GA.
Mueller, M.P., Tippins, D.J., Pagan, T.W., Cajigal, A.R.V., Hodges, G.W., Britton, S.A., & Wilson, R.E. (2008, October). Beyond an education of nowhere: Advocacy, ecojustice, and uncertainty. Panel session presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Studies Association, Savanna, GA.
Pagan, T.W., & Mueller, M.P. (2008, October). Do rivers have rights? River advocacy and uncertainty. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the North American Association of Environmental Education, Wichita, KS.
Carroll, G. D., Mueller, M.P., Shelton, J.L., & Jackson, R. (2008, October). Ecojustice, uncertainty, and teachers of Georgia’s Satilla watershed. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the North American Association of Environmental Education, Wichita, KS.
Mueller, M.P. (2008, October). Citizen science and ecojustice: Two challenges for preparing science teachers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Association for Science Teacher Education, Columbia, SC.
Mueller, M.P. (2008, July). The moral and ethical consequences of engaging youth in scientific inquiry: Implications for strengthening communities through ecojustice and science education. Paper presented at the 2008 Provoking Research ProVoking Communities conference, Windsor, OT, Canada.
Mueller, M.P. (2008, March). Groundwork for ecojustice: Exploring the cultural myth of ecological crisis. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association, New York, NY.
Mueller, M.P. (2008, January). The case for Chet Bowers’ ecojustice philosophy in science education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education, St. Louis, MO.
Science Education for EcoJustice
PowerPoint on EcoJustice and Science Education for download
Center for EcoJustice Education and “The EcoJustice Review” Journal Web site
Join the Science Education for EcoJustice listserv for updated information and ecojustice research, references, conferences, discussions, curricula and pedagogy.
New ecojustice course coming this fall 2009: ESCI(EFND) 8310 Inquiry of EcoJustice Issues
EcoJustice publications: EcoJustice Foundations, EcoJustice Philosophy, and Science Education for EcoJustice
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