Science Education in Canada: Consistencies, Commonalities, and Distinctions

Christine D. Tippett, BASc (University of British Columbia), BEd, MA, and PhD (University of Victoria), is an associate professor of science education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa in Ontario. She was an engineer before she obtained her teaching degree, which influences her ways of thinking about science education. Previously she taught at the elementary and middle school level, working with K-8 students. Her research interests include visual representations, science education for all students, and professional development for science educators (preservice, inservice, and informal). Her current projects focus on preservice science teachers’ images of engineers, early childhood STEM education, and assessment of representational competence. She is past president of the Science Education Research Group (SERG, a special interest group of the Canadian Society for Studies in Education) and is actively involved in the Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE).

Todd M. Milford, BSc and BEd (University of Victoria), Dip SpecEd (University of British Columbia), MEd and PhD (University of Victoria), is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. Previously he was a lecturer in the Art, Law, and Education Group at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. He has science and special education classroom teaching experience as well as in the online environment. He has been teaching at the postsecondary level since 2005 primarily in the areas of science education, mathematics education, and classroom assessment. His research has been and continues to be varied; however, the constant theme is using data and data analysis to help teachers and students in the classroom. He is past president of the Science Education Research Group (a special interest group of the Canadian Society for Studies in Education).