MARK R. OLSON, PhD
2005 KSTF Research Fellow
Assistant Professor of Science Education
Oakland University

Dr. Mark Olson is an assistant professor of science education at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. He was a high school science and mathematics teacher for seven years in Washington State and has a deep appreciation for teaching and learning in secondary schools. During his time at Oakland he worked extensively with secondary science teachers in Michigan and Connecticut. Mark received his BA in physics and mathematics from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota and his PhD in curriculum, teaching and educational policy from Michigan State University. His research examines how teachers learn to teach science and he is working to develop new tools for understanding the relationships between subject matter knowledge and teaching.

Project summary

Mark’s research engaged three interacting lines of inquiry for improving the quality of science teaching. The first was a qualitative inquiry into teachers’ use of explanations, demonstrations, labs, and activities because they often impact and define a student’s opportunity to learn science. Building on the insights gained from looking at teaching practice, the second line of inquiry developed assessment items to investigate the subject matter knowledge for teaching physical science. The third line of inquiry was built on the first two by articulating a new conceptual relationship between instructional representations and science subject matter knowledge for teaching. This framework linked the structure of scientific understanding to instructional representations and was based on distinctions between narrative and paradigmatic ways of knowing.

“Since most people agree that high quality science teaching requires a strong understanding of subject matter, it is perhaps surprising that there is little consensus as to just how much content knowledge is needed and what the nature of that knowledge is. If we are to ensure high quality science teachers, we must articulate what a science teacher should know about his or her subject matter.”