DR. JACQUELINE MCLAUGHLIN
Director, CHANCE

BIOGRAPHY

Jacqueline S. McLaughlin is Assistant Professor of Biology at The Pennsylvania State University, Lehigh Valley. 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.

McLaughlin is Founding Director of the CHANCE Program, a partnership between The Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to enhance high school science education throughout the state of Pennsylvania. She is also Editor of the CHANCE Web-based "research modules."

McLaughlin has had articles published in The Journal of Cell Science, The American Biology Teacher, The Journal of Science Teaching, The Journal of College Science Teaching, International Educator, Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, and Tested Studies for Laboratory Teaching. Her inquiry-based resources for teaching and learning science are posted on Web sites hosted by Penn State University, Society of Developmental Biology (SDB), and Pearson Education, Inc. She has earned numerous awards for her teaching excellence and presently serves as Chair of the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) Four-Year College/University Section, on the SDB's Professional Development and Curriculum Committee Review Panel, and on the International Education Advisory Council for the PDE.

McLaughlin 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 Field Course Model." These courses aim to broaden Penn State biology students' awareness of conservation biology; are part of her continued quest to promote the benefits of study abroad; and fulfill her special interest in understanding the global water supply.

Presently, McLaughlin continues to train Pennsylvania high school teachers and students in-the-field (in Costa Rica through CHANCE), and is hard at work developing new "research-modules" that focus on global environmental issues - like global climate change, river pollution, watershed management, and wetland restoration. She is also working diligently to foster global citizenship through environmental and economic education in China.

Teaching Awards

1998 Teaching Excellence Award, Penn State Lehigh Valley