Jacqueline S. McLaughlin is Associate Professor of Biology at Penn State Lehigh Valley. McLaughlin received her doctorate degree in cell and developmental biology from Rutgers University/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and her master's degree in the same field from The Florida State University. A dedicated and passionate member of the science education community, McLaughlin's quest as an educator is to continually improve the quality of science education for educators and students at both the high school and collegiate levels on the local, state, national, and international context by developing and offering up-to-date alternatives to traditional biology instruction. Thus, she has spent her academic life building and assessing new and effective online classroom learning tools and strategies, and international field courses that transition both teachers and students out of simple inquiry-based learning objects (textbooks and powerpoints; drill and practice paradigms, etc.) and toward professional science practice itself (research, more student responsibility, problem-solving paradigms that focus on student understanding and application of knowledge). The key element of her teaching method— either in her traditional, online, or field-based classrooms—is "research" itself.
In her traditional Penn State classrooms she teaches courses in basic biological concepts and biodiversity, physiology, developmental biology, molecular and cell biology, and environmental science. In the field, she has developed and led numerous Penn State embedded field courses throughout Alaska, Australia, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Peru, Panama, Pennsylvania, and Tanzania using her proven "Classrooms without Walls - Experiential Learning Field Course Model." These embedded international field courses focus on biodiversity and conservation biology and provide the opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to experience selected biomes, and to contextualize that vision in a strong foundation of biological knowledge. At the present time she is active in China, Costa Rica and Panama through her work as the Founding Director of the award-winning, international Connecting Humans And Nature through Conservation Experiences (CHANCE) program. Through international field courses and on-line curricular tools, participants engage in open-ended, inquiry-based research opportunities and conservation efforts that allow them to better understand and act upon some of the world's most troubling environmental issues.
McLaughlin has had numerous research articles published in peer-reviewed journals, books and on professional web sites. She has earned numerous awards for her excellence in both teaching and research including: The National Association of Biology Teachers' (NABT) 2001 Four-year College and University Outstanding Teacher Award; The Pennsylvania State University's most prestigious teaching award, the 2003 George Atherton Award; Penn State Lehigh Valley's 2007 Outstanding Research and/or Creative Accomplishment Award; and, most recently, The Pennsylvania State University's 2010 Spirit of Internationalization Award and The Pennsylvania Council for International Education's 2010 David A. Portlock Outstanding International Educator Award.
As for her scholarly research, she is presently working on three specific research projects with colleagues, graduate students, and undergraduates, all of which follow her mantra to "blend real-world research with teaching."
See: http://www.lv.psu.edu/Academics/ugradresearch.htm
An international highlight for Penn State undergraduate and graduate students in May, 2011 was the CHANCE field course to China, Biology 497C – Global Environmental Sustainability: A Field Study in China. Using a course model of pre-trip, field-trip (practicum; hands-on research on Lake Taihu in China), and post-trip activities, Penn State and Jiangnan University students gained an interdisciplinary and international understanding of the correlation between global economic growth and its impact on the environment. This course can be considered a powerful tool for effectively understanding and promoting global environmental sustainability and stewardship, especially in the area of water conservation. In the summer of 2012, she and her colleagues will lead a field course in Panama in partnership with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI).
Upcoming Presentations and Workshops
|
Biology
110 - Basic Concepts and Biodiversity
Costa Rica 2003
