Jacqueline S. McLaughlin is Associate Professor of Biology at The Pennsylvania State University (PSU), Lehigh Valley. McLaughlin received her Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from Rutgers/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in 1991. A dedicated and passionate member of the science education community, McLaughlin has spent much of her career helping to improve the quality of science education for educators and students at both the high school and collegiate levels.
Beyond teaching courses in basic biological concepts and biodiversity, physiology, developmental biology, molecular and cell biology, and environmental science in the classroom, she has led numerous Penn State field courses throughout Pennsylvania, Alaska, Australia, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Peru, Panama, Tanzania, and Costa Rica using her proven "Classrooms without Walls - Experiential Learning Field Course Model." McLaughlin is Founding Director of the award-winning international CHANCE program, a partnership between PSU and The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to enhance high school science education throughout the state of Pennsylvania. She is also Editor and main author of the CHANCE "research modules" - multimedia web-based teaching and learning tools that allow teachers and students to blend real-world scientific data and research methods from renowned researchers world-wide into their daily classroom lessons.
She has had research articles published in The Journal of Cell Science, The American Biology Teacher, The Journal of College Science Teaching, Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, The Science Teacher and Tested Studies for Laboratory Teaching. Her numerous other technology based resources for teaching and learning science are posted on Web sites hosted by PSU, Society of Developmental Biology (SDB), and Pearson Education, Inc. She has earned numerous awards for her excellence in teaching and research including Penn State's most prestigious teaching award, the 2003 George Atherton Award, and esteemed 2001 Outstanding University/College Biology Teacher in The Nation Award from the National Association of Biology Teachers.
Currently she serves as Chair of the NABT Northeast Regional Faculty Development Committee and Co-Chair of the NABT Four-Year College and University Faculty Development Committee. She also serves on the SDB's Professional Development and Curriculum Committee Review Panel and is member of the PA International Education Advisory Council. Presently, McLaughlin continues to train Pennsylvania high school teachers and students in-the-field (in Costa Rica and China) and is hard at work to further develop and assess the use of technology products that blend real-world research data and experimental methods with the teaching of biology in today's high school and college classrooms. Indeed, the CHANCE modules are setting the groundwork for using technology as a means to engage teachers and students in actual scientific research and to break out of textbook memorization.
An international highlight for PSU undergraduate and graduate students, and pre-service and in-service high school teachers in the summer of 2010 is the field course to Costa Rica as part of the CHANCE program. Additionally, in the summer of 2010, Dr. McLaughlin will lead an international field course to China to further her quest to teach environmental literacy and stewardship. This summer course will focus on the environmental impact of China's booming industrial economy.
Upcoming Presentations and Workshops
2009 CHANCE Brochure
2009 CHANCE Videos
2009 CHANCE Idol Program
2009 Undergraduate Biology Faculty Development Annual Summit
Biology
141/142 - Human Physiology 
Costa Rica 2003
