Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia education professor Deborah Tippins has been named the national Outstanding Science Teacher Educator of the Year for 2009 by the Association for Science Teacher Education.
Tippins, a College of Education professor with joint appointments to elementary and science education, was recognized in a category honoring educators with more than 10 years of experience in the field. She will receive a $1,000 award, tributes in the Journal of Science Teacher Education, the ASTE Newsletter and on the ASTE Web site.
Tippins went to the Philippines as a Fulbright Scholar in 2001-02, where she collaborated with science teacher educators at West Visayas State University, teaching and conducting research on community-based science and environmental education. Her work there led to a two-year Educational Partnership grant from the U.S. Department of State and a long-term collaboration between science education faculty at WVSU and UGA.
Tippins has served as director of research for the National Science Teachers Association. She is a member of the board of directors for the ASTE and past president of the Southeast division of ASTE.
At UGA, Tippins has been selected as an International Fellow, a Lilly Teaching Fellow and a member of the Teaching Academy. In the College of Education, she received the D. Keith Osborn Faculty Senate Award for Teaching Excellence in 1999 and the Faculty Fellow Award in 2000.
In addition, Tippins received 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 Teacher Award from the ASTE and the Outstanding Scholarship on Teacher Education Award from the American Association of Colleges and Schools for Teacher Education.
Tippins joined the UGA faculty in 1991. She received her Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in science education. Her research interests include culturally relevant pedagogy, case-based teacher knowledge, citizen sciences, community-centered science education, the anthropology of science education and ethical dimensions of science teaching and learning. She has co-authored or co-edited six books, ranging from a critique of Albert Einstein’s contribution to post-modern education to casebooks for early childhood and secondary science education.
The award was presented at the 2009 ASTE International Conference earlier this month in Hartford, Conn.
