Christina Schwarz
Candidate for NARST President-Elect
Institutional Affiliation: Michigan State University

Introduction I am deeply honored to be considered for the position of President-elect of NARST. NARST has been a wonderful community of science educators in my career, and I want it to serve that role for others. I have appreciated working on the Board of Directors – including the service from NARST members, the leadership team, the board of directors as we have worked through the pandemic – hosting conferences, keeping NARST financially afloat and working towards new visions of membership and equitable community. Dr. Jerome Shaw as secretary-treasurer has done an incredible job keeping the board organized and financially solvent in an effective and joyful way. While I am running for president-elect to support a thriving NARST community, I support his candidacy for president-elect for the next phase of our organization.

As such, I provide a brief bio and goals to inform the NARST membership and encourage the membership to continue working with one another towards meaningful and equitable science education in communities, schools, and countries across the world.

Brief Personal Bio: I have a background in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary science (B.S., 1990 M.I.T.) and Education in Math, Science and Technology (Ph.D., 1998, U.C. Berkeley). I attended my first NARST conference in 1997 and have been fortunate to attend throughout many years since. My primary academic home has been at Michigan State University since 2002 where I am a faculty member in the department of Teacher Education. I have deep appreciation for my colleagues at MSU, NARST, and the community of science education that we share – being able to learn from and work with others to make the world a better place. 

Research Focus: I have broad interests and several research foci ranging from early childhood and elementary science learning to college level discipline-based science education. Much of my research has aimed at understanding and empowering people to meaningfully engage in making sense of their worlds through science and engineering practices. My teaching and research is also focused on fostering equitable and just elementary science teacher education. This is critical given the unjust and inequitable historical, cultural systems in the world as well as our care for humanity and the benefits that science can offer.

Past NARST experiences: I currently serve on the board of directors for NARST and am the liaison to the Social Media, Website and Communications Committee. The committee has been running NARST Twitter and is working to increase effective communication and functionality of our website. I have also chaired the EPRC committee, been a Sandra K. Abell Mentor, and have been a program coordinator for Strand 7.

Together let’s continue being passionate about science education for all people in the world and work towards meaningful and equitable science teaching and learning. We can do this through critical reflection, thoughtful conversation that elevates marginalized voices, participating in joyful community with one another, conducting substantive, creative and humanizing scholarship, and engaging in public discourse about our efforts. Support NARST - vote for Jerome Shaw as president-elect and get involved!