CRESME - Purdue University

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Co-directed by faculty from the Colleges of Education and Science, the Center for Research and Engagement in Science and Mathematics Education (CRESME) focuses on improving science and mathematics education for students from preschool to college. The result is a powerful combination of skills for discovering distinctive ways to improve science and mathematics education.

THE MISSION
The center’s mission is to research, develop, and implement exemplary mathematics and science programs in all grade levels and to facilitate collaboration among faculty in the Colleges of Education and Science to work towards the improvement of mathematics and science education locally and globally.

CRESME provides a common intellectual home for science and mathematics education researchers at Purdue to:

Formulate and address both fundamental and applied science and mathematics education research issues of national and international significance.
Attract significant grant support for conducting interdisciplinary research and engagement.
Improve science teaching and learning for Purdue faculty and students, P–12 teachers and their students, and serve as a model for engagement and innovation at all levels nationwide.
Provide opportunities for graduate students to develop skills that will enable them to meet the pressing need for faculty with expertise in science and mathematics education.

New pedagogies, technologies, assessment mechanisms, and more created by faculty, staff, and students through CRESME will lead to progressive and effective teaching methods and improve training of teachers and, in turn, improve student science and mathematics learning.

Download a copy of the CRESME brochure (pdf, 1.71mb).

Download a copy of Carl Wieman's presentation (PowerPoint, 875 kb) from the CRESME Kickoff Celebration.

ABOUT THE CO-DIRECTORS
	John Staver is a professor in the Departments of Curriculum and Instruction and Chemistry. He is also interim director of the Indiana Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (I-STEM) Resource Center. Presently his research focuses on constructivist epistemology and its implications for improving science teaching and learning. He is also examining the interface between science and religion within a constructivist perspective, with a focus on the nature of each discipline and perceived conflicts between them. In 1994, he was elected a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science for his work on behalf of a national reform agenda in science education.
CONTACT John Staver Co-director 765-496-2189
	Eric Riggs is an associate professor in the Departments of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Curriculum and Instruction. He serves on the executive committee of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers and is a member of the Earth System Science Education research group at Purdue University. Riggs and his graduate students study aspects of field-based teaching and learning in the geosciences, focusing on issues of geoscience knowledge construction, spatial cognition related to geoscience expertise, and cross-cultural education. Riggs is the co-founder of the Indigenous Earth Sciences Project, based at Purdue, which is a research and outreach effort working to make geoscience education accessible and useful to Native Americans across North America.
CONTACT Eric Riggs Co-director 765-496-1974