Prof. Renee M. Clary, of the Department of Geosciences at Mississippi State University, and Prof. Jim Wandersee, of the Department of Educational Theory, Policy, & Practice (Biology Education Program), Louisiana State University, are the co-founders of the EarthScholarsTM Research Group.
Their research group's primary focus is the integration of geological and biological (geobiological) knowledge during science instruction, in both formal and informal settings. Current areas of their research include (a) the incorporation of the history of geobiology to improve science understanding, (b) the improvement of visual geology/biology learning through innovative visualization strategies, (c) the maximization of geology/biology learning opportunities and experiences in informal educational settings and at field sites, and (d) the monitoring and improvement of public understanding of botany and geology.
Some current in-press publications of the EarthScholarsTM Research Group include the development of research-based guidelines for biogeoscience-based trailside signage systems, archival research on aquarium-view graphics, research on writing and using interactive historical vignettes about the path-blazing contributions of women scientists to the biogeosciences, and the development of writing templates for botany and geology that reveal students' relevant prior experiences.
Both Dr. Renee Clary and Dr. Jim Wandersee stay close to their respective sciences by continuing to conduct, present, and publish geological and botanical scientific research, as well as attend major scientific professional meetings.
Dr. Renee M. Clary was a Geology Instructor at South Louisiana Community College and an Assistant Professor of Geology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette before advancing to her current professorship in the Department of Geosciences at Mississippi State University.
She received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Louisiana State University in May 2003, as a member of the 15-Degree Laboratory Research Group, working in the area of geology education.
Her dissertation on the visual geology education contributions of British geologist Henry T. De la Beche, founder of the British Geological Survey, was conducted in leading UK and US historical archives, using a carefully identified and targeted set of geological manuscripts. She is an expert on the use of illustrations in early geology textbooks during the Golden Age of Geology. She holds master’s degrees in both geology and science education.
Her microfossil research on a USGS Arctic Ocean core identified Pleistocene layers through benthonic foraminiferal zones, as well as unusual trends in dropstone deposition and calcareous dissolution. Her micropaleontological research skills and accomplishments led to her being named the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's "Outstanding Graduate Student" as part of the Richard G. Neiheisel Phi Beta Kappa Endowed Award. She was also previously named the "Outstanding Graduate in the College of Sciences" there. Dr. Clary was awarded a prestigious Louisiana Board of Regents Fellowship in geology.
In addition to her EarthScholars educational research, Dr. Clary conducts geology research in paleontology and geochemistry, and she has led field trips to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas fossil sites. She is the editor of recent textbook chapters on the Geology of Louisiana, and serves as a consultant to and ancillary author for several geology textbook publishers.
She is highly adept at using learning technologies such as electronic classroom response systems ("clickers"), online course management systems, SMART classrooms, and visualization media to teach geoscience to 21st-century students, and she has been very successful in receiving grant support for such projects.
She was elected as a lifetime Fellow of the Geological Society of London (FGS) in 2006.
Dr. Jim Wandersee is LSU’s first William LeBlanc Alumni Association Professor of Biology Education. In 2003, he was named as the first recipient of the William W. Craig Outstanding University Educator Award, administered by the Louisiana Science Teachers Association. In 2004, he was the first science educator to receive the Louisiana Certificate of Commendation from Governor Kathleen Blanco and the Louisiana Legislature at the state capitol for his efforts to improve science education in the State of Louisiana. For example, he authored the founding draft of the Louisiana Science Framework and has served numerous times as an educational research presenter for the Louisiana Board of Regents. In 2006 he was named an IBC Scientist of the Year (Cambridge, UK) for his contributions to research in botany education. He is the 2006-2008 elected Chair of the Teaching Section of the Botanical Society of America.Dr. Wandersee has produced more than 200 publications and presentations--with publications translated into 6 languages. He has been named as one of the top 50 most-established science education researchers in the world by the NARST. A co-authored research paper of his was voted one of the 12 most influential science education research papers ever published by the most-cited Journal of Research in Science Teaching (out of the thousands of articles) at the journal's 40th anniversary celebration in 2003. He received the 2006 American Medal of Science from the ABI for his contributions to plant science education and the 2007 Charles Edwin Bessey Award from the Botanical Society of America for lifetime achievements in botanical education. He was voted to be a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London in 2007.
In Washington, D. C. he received the AAAS rosette pin from the late Harvard University professor and AAAS President Stephen J. Gould to symbolize his election as a lifetime Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS), within the Biological Sciences Section. In 2006 he was elected a lifetime Fellow of the International Bio. Assn. (FIBA). He has served as a science education research consultant for Harvard University for the past 12 years. He was elected and served as Secretary and Treasurer of the National Association of Biology Teachers. He served a 5-year term as the sole Associate Editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching and a 3-year term as North American Editor of the International Journal of Science Education. He currently serves on the editorial boards of these journals: Science and Education; AAAS Science Books and Films; Journal of Biological Education; and the Science Education Review (Australia). In 1989, he founded LSU Science Talk, a quarterly science education newspaper which he has edited for the past 15 years. He is the founder of the 15-Degree Laboratory, the largest biology education research group in the US ((http://www.15DegreeLab.com). In addition to his educational research, his botanical research on the phytomorphology and ecophysiology of Louisiana native dwarf palmetto plants (Sabal minor) is conducted on a 3-acre woodland plot at the LSU Agricultural Center's Burden Research Station.His lateest award is the university-wide 2008 LSU Rainmaker Award for excellence in research.
Dr. Renee Clary and Dr. Jim Wandersee also serve as science educational consultants to botanical gardens and fossil parks. Most recently, they helped design the signage system at the new $5 million Doris I. Schnuck Children's Garden at Missouri Botanical Garden. They have developed a 25-station Palmetto Trail for children at the Barton Arboretum within Burden Research Center. Their innovative research and development work bridges multiple categories: namely, their two research universities; their two science disciplines (geology and botany); the historical archives of those two sciences; biological and geological science societies; 4 continents; visual and verbal research methods; bio-geo classrooms, field sites, laboratories; public informal science education sites; and the gender gap. The guiding motto of all their work is: "A better way for children to learn, through nature."
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