bio

Who am I?

I'm a science education consultant with a passion for communicating science. I'm also a postdoc in science education research at the University of Colorado at Boulder, applying active engagement to transform junior level physics classes and research the effect of the transformations, and communicating educational practices to K12 and college teachers.

Here's my resume and information about my current clients.

I've had a unique career path, so here are a few articles about my travels:
American Physical Society interview, detailing my career and my advice to other people seeking alternative careers in science

How a Scientist Becomes a Science Writer: Article I wrote for the National Science Writers Association website about my career.

SHORT BIO

Dr. Chasteen is currently a Science Teaching Fellow in the Science Education Initiative at the University of Colorado and an independent consultant to a variety of innovative science education programs. She has a PhD in Condensed Matter Physics, and extensive expertise in science education and education reform through coursework and professional experience. She previously held a postdoctoral appointment at the Exploratorium Museum of Science in which she developed and taught professional development workshops in science inquiry to K12 teachers. At the University of Colorado, she has researched student understanding and developed course materialat to better teach junior-level students the skills and habits of mind that are expected of budding physicists. Her recent projects focus on communicating best teaching practices (as supported by research) to practicing K-16 educators, including workshops, videos, and podcasts. She has presented extensively to K-14 audiences on the use of clickers and peer instruction, learning goals, and cognitive science.

LONG BIO

I was previously at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, as part of a new NSF program to teach scientists to do public education. Below is a photo of me with the other postdocs at the museum.

I have an undergraduate degree in social psychology, a PhD in physics, extensive experience in science journalism, radio, and podcasting, and took a stint in the Peace Corps in West Africa. I'm a mutt. And a happy one.

Here is a recent interview with me from the American Physical Society, detailing my career and my advice to other people seeking alternative careers in science.

Here is the long story....

I grew up among the trees in rural New Hampshire, and quickly fled to the trees of rural New York, where she studied social psychology at Bard College. I took the next logical step, and applied for graduate studies in physics. I finished my doctorate in condensed matter physics (i.e. material science) at UC Santa Cruz in 2005. My doctoral research focussed on making cheaper solar energy using photovoltaics made of semiconducting plastics.

Along the way, I spent two years in the Peace Corps in french-speaking Guinea, West Africa, where I ate a lot of rice, taught a few people about AIDS and sanitation, and got acquainted with various microscopic local flora and fauna. Leaving Guinea proved just as traumatic as arriving there, and to keep connected I helped found Friends of Guinea -- a nonprofit linking returned Peace Corps volunteers and funding development projects in Guinea.

While in graduate school, I fiddled around a lot in science education, through science fairs, tutoring and teaching, coursework, rehashing of undergrad lab manuals, and other such delights. I also worked as a freelance science journalist, amassing a little list of publications on a variety of topics such as evolutionary biology, light propagation, and AIDS. I spent the summer of 2003 as a AAAS Mass Media Fellow at National Public Radio in Washington DC. Very fun.

While at the Exploratorium, I created and taught hands-on science workshops for teachers, wrote and produced podcasts, and had too much fun for words.

When I'm not engaged in compulsive reorganization, I can usually be found on the dance floor -- I dance contra, waltz, swing, zydeco, and 19th century ballroom. I'm an avid rock climber and canyoneer. I like hiking, cats, building webpages, Johnny Cash, and the color blue.

For more about me, check out my (extensive) personal homepage.