Tammie Visintainer, PhD

Tammie Visintainer

Assistant Professor, Teacher Education

Dr. Visintainer's research focuses on issues of equity in science education at the intersections of race, identity, and learning at the high school and undergraduate levels. She explores the types of learning experiences that engage youth of color (i.e., students historically/currently marginalized in society, school, and science) in authentic science practices, and empowers them as learners and doers of science, and change agents in their communities. In addition, she examine the types of instructional and pedagogical resources that foster inclusion, community development, and the co-development of students’ science and racial identities.

Education

  • Ph.D., Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology, University of California, Berkeley
  • M.S., Marine Science, San Francisco State University
  • B.S., Zoology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Recent Publications

  •  Visintainer, T. (2020). “I think at first glance people would not expect me to be interested in science”: Exploring the racialized science experiences of high school students of color. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21597
  • Visintainer, T. (2017). “Scientists do what we do”: Empowering youth of color as learners and doers of community-based scientific research. In D. Stroupe (Ed.), Reframing science teaching and learning: Students and educators co-developing science practices in and out of school. New York: Routledge.
  • Visintainer, T. (2016). “I Think We Were Pretty Powerful This Summer as Scientists”: Generating New Possibilities for Youth of Color in Science. The International Conference of the Learning Sciences, Volume 1, (pp. 655-662). Singapore: International Society of the Learning Sciences.
  • Visintainer, T., & Linn, M.C. (2015). Sixth grade students’ progress in understanding the mechanisms of global climate change. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 24 (2): 287-310. 

Recent Presentations

  • Visintainer, T. (2020, June 19-23). Reimagining Science Teaching and Learning: Preparing Secondary Science Teachers as Equity Advocates, Designers, and Social Change Agents. Paper presented at the International Conference of the Learning Sciences, Nashville, TN
  • Visintainer, T. (2020, April 17-21). Walking the Walk: Preparing Secondary Science Teachers As Equity Advocates, Designers, and Social Change Agents. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Conference, San Francisco, CA.
  • Visintainer, T. (2020, April 17-21). Exploring the Teaching and Learning of Socio-Scientific Issues: Intersections of Race, Place, and Health Inequities. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Conference, San Francisco, CA.

Noteworthy Grants and Awards

  • Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity (RSCA) Grant, San Jose State University, 2018-19
  • CSU STEM NET Provost Grant, California State University, 2019-20, $50,000

Online Resources

Areas of Research Interest

  • Equity
  • High school
  • Identity
  • Justice-centered pedagogy
  • Race
  • Science education
  • Teacher education
  • Undergraduate STEM
  • Youth of color

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