Sharon (Sherry) E. Nichols

Associate Professor, Science Education
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
230-E Graves Hall
(205)-348-5264
snichols@bamaed.ua.edu
Appointed in 2002

Recent Courses Taught:

CEE 304: Teaching Elementary School Science
CSE 493: Diversity Seminar
CSE 670: Research and Theory in Secondary Education
CIE 625: Research in Science Education
CIE 650: Social and Psychological Factors in Curriculum and Teaching

Areas of Research:

Narrative Pedagogy in Science Teacher Education
Community-based Science Education

Academic Degrees:

Ph.D., Florida State University, 1991, Science Education.
M.S., Florida State University, 1991. Science Education.
B.S., University of Florida, 1984. Biology and Health Education.

Professional Experiences:

Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Secondary Science Education, University of Alabama, 2002-present.

Associate Professor, Science Education Department, East Carolina University, 1998-2002.

Assistant Professor, Science Education Center, University of Texas at Austin, 1994-1998 .

Visiting Fellow, Science and Mathematics Education Center, Curtin University of Science and Technology, Perth, Western Australia, 1995.

Selected Publications:

Straits, W.J.,& Nichols, S.E. (2007). Using historical non-fiction and literature circles to develop elementary teachers' nature of science understandings. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 18(6), 901-912.

Nichols, S.E. & Simon, R. (2006). Science learning achievements to leave no community behind. In K. Tobin (Ed.), Teaching and learning science: A handbook (vol 1), pp. 187-192. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Nichols, S.E.& Tippins, D.J. (2006). Prospective elementary teachers and biomythographies: An exploratory approach to autobiographical research. In W.M. Roth (Ed.) Autobiography: Praxis of research method, pp.261-276. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: SensePublishers.

Nichols, S., Tippins, D.J., Morano, L., Bilbao, P., & Barcenal, T. (2006). Community-based science education research: Narratives from a Filipino barangay. In G. Spindler & L. Hammond (Eds.), Innovations in educational ethnography. Mahwah , NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum & Associates.

Arellano, E., Barcenal, T. Bilbao, P., Castellano, M., Nichols, S. & Tippins, D. (2001). From local to global science education reform: Case-based pedagogies as contexts for collaborative inquiry in the Philippines. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38(5), 1-21.

Selected Presentations:

Thomas. S. E., & Nichols, S.E. (January 13, 2006). The place of fundamentalists Southern Baptist religious beliefs in elementary science teaching. Research presentation at the annual international meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education, Portland, OR.

Nichols, S.E.& Evans, V. (January 13, 2006). Science teachers use of photoessays as tool for teaching and conducting research about culturally relevant pedagogy. Research presentation at the annual international meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education, Portland, OR.

Goldston, D. & Nichols, S.E. (January 13, 2006). Narratives of community: Visualizing culturally relevant science pedagogy through the identities of black middle school teachers. Research presentation at the annual international meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education, Portland, OR.

Nichols, S.E., Goldston, D., Bluiett, T., Freeman, L., Pass, C., Rhone, K., Schmitke, A., Thomas, S.E., Thompson, E.C., & Webb, B. (January 9, 2005). Exploring sociocultural issues of education and research: An interactive photoessay gallery. Research presentation at the 18th Annual Conference on Interdisciplinary Qualitative Studies, Athens, GA.

Nichols, S.E., Tippins, D.J. (April, 2004). Memory banking: a narrative tool for envisioning community-based science education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching. Vancouver, Canada.