Tim Slater is an associate professor of astronomy at The University of Arizona where he and his graduate students in the Astronomy Department conduct research on the teaching and learning of astronomy at K-12 and higher education levels. Dr. Slater is the Director of the University Science and Mathematics Education Center and the Education and Public Outreach Lead Scientist for the Arizona Astrobiology Institute. In addition to teaching large-enrollment courses in introductory astronomy, he also teaches courses for pre-service and in-service science teachers that focus on the pragmatic aspects of teaching science as inquiry. Through extensive funding from the National Science Foundation and NASA, he and his colleagues pioneered the use of collaborative learning groups in the context the large-lecture, astronomy survey course for non-science majors and developed the nationally-normed Astronomy Diagnostics Test (ADT) which measures student achievement in ASTRO 101 courses. He also has significant experience working in the area of Internet-based science education.
Dr. Slater earned a BS degree in physical science and a BS in secondary science education from Kansas State University and a MS degree in physics from Clemson University. In 1993, he earned his Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the University of South Carolina where his dissertation focused on how middle school teachers integrate the teaching of astronomy into the curriculum.
Back to the Astronomy Education Workshop Home Page