Jenny Dauer

Contact Information

My Story

I am an associate professor in science literacy in the School of Natural Resources. I am a researcher in the area of Discipline-Based Science Education Research (DBER), and my research interests are: 1) supporting student learning for science literacy and 2) students' understanding of complex biological and earth systems. I use educational research methods to collect data such as interviews, written assessments and survey instruments to characterize and evaluate student learning. The results are then used to inform educators of improved teaching strategies.

1) Scientific literacy and decision-making

Scientifically literate individuals recognize when science has some bearing on their needs and interest, and have the capacity to access and makes sense of science to achieve their goals (Feinstein et al., 2013). The question that drives my research is, how can formal science classrooms support students' science literacy?

The form that this research is currently taking is to investigate students' evidence evaluation and decision-making about complex socioscientific issues (SSI's). SSI's are complex issues that are important to society and have components of science that inform them, and in particular, I am investigating SSI's of water resources, energy use, biodiversity and conservation and food production. I am using social and cognitive psychology and decision-sciences theory to help understand what knowledge, skills and values students bring to bear in their decision-making about what society "should do" about an SSI. Much of this research takes place in the context of SCIL 101: Science and Decision-Making for a Complex World.

2) Student understanding of complex systems

Students are not blank slates and come into a classroom with knowledge and conceptions that may or may not be helpful in future learning. So, it is important to understand what students know or understand in order to teach them more effectively. In particular, biological and earth systems are complex in nature, with multiple scales or organization, heterogeneous components that have interconnections and invisible dynamic components. I am interested in understanding how students make sense of these systems. I have studied this in several contexts:

• Students' understanding of matter and energy: I've collaborated with several colleagues at different institutions to develop theoretical frameworks to describe how students' explanation or argumentation practices about carbon-transforming processes (photosynthesis, cellular respiration, combustion, etc.) increases in sophistication as students learn. For example, I have investigated explanations that students give about matter tracing in plant growth experiments. Additionally, I've written extensive middle and high school curriculum to help students learn about matter and energy (https://carbontime.bscs.org). Most recently I've investigated students' tracing of matter and energy in human energy systems in the context of a novel program to raise awareness of human behaviors that are linked to carbon emissions called Communities Take Charge.
• Pollination systems knowledge: In collaboration with colleagues in the Entomology Department, we are developing a framework that describes undergraduate students' knowledge of pollination systems. This framework will be useful for assessing future educational activities and programming around pollinator conservation.
• Canid species distribution and conservation: In collaboration with biologists in the School of Natural Resources, we are studying students' engagement in a citizen science or Classroom Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) project to collect camera trap data on canid species in Nebraska. The camera trap data will be used to help biologists map the at-risk Swift fox species. This project affords an opportunity to research students understanding of complex interactions between the landscape, human action and ecosystem community dynamics, as well as student thinking about issues of conservation and the role of scientific research.
• Art and story project in Tanzania: In collaboration with colleagues we collecting drawings of school children in Tanzania to qualitatively describe their understanding of connections between human health and planetary health including wildlife, livestock, water sources, and forest resources.

My background:

Before coming to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I was a post-doc in the environmental literacy research group at Michigan State University. There I served as the project director for Carbon TIME (Transformations in Matter and Energy) and developed research-based science curriculum for middle and high school students.

My graduate work included a Ph.D. in forest science at Oregon State University and a M.S. in ecology at Penn State University. Both degrees focused on the role of calcium in biogeochemical cycling. I investigated the role of calcium-oxalate in nutrient cycling and stable isotope ratios in forests, and compared tree species differential uptake of calcium.

I have had an interest in science education for a long time. Before my graduate work, I received a bachelor's in Secondary Education with emphasis in biology and environmental sciences at Penn State University and worked in informal K-12 education at the Franklin Institute Science Museum.

Feature Stories

• Dauer expanding class's civic engagement with grant (12/12/2024)

Selected Publications

Background

Education

Affiliations

• Science Literacy, UNL

Awards

Professional Organizations

Websites

• Science Literacy 101

SNR Program Areas

• Applied Ecology

Areas of Interest/Expertise

• Science Literacy
• Supporting student decision-making
• Socioscientific issues
• Systems thinking
• Student learning about matter and energy
• Media literacy
• Student understanding of socio-ecological systems
• Teaching and curriculum development
• Biogeochemistry
• Ecosystem ecology

Grants

Currently this page only displays grants that were awarded on 1/1/ 2009 to the present. If a grant was awarded prior to 1/1/ 2009 and is still active, it will not be displayed on this page.

Advising

Courses Taught