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Faculty Julie Brown

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Julie Brown 

Associate Professor

Julie Brown

Phone

(352) 273-4218

Email

jbrown@coe.ufl.edu

Address

P.O. Box 117048
Gainesville, FL 32611

Connect

@docbrownuf

About

My interdisciplinary team examines how students, teachers, and local communities use science to effect change in their world. We do this through place-based initiatives that support learners’ engagement in authentic science practices as they address local challenges. In this scholarship we employ design-based research methods to devise, assess, and revise theoretically grounded interventions that are responsive to specific, contextualized problems. A hallmark of my work is partnering with multiple stakeholders, including STEM educators, biology faculty, aquatic veterinarians, local communities, and policymakers.


Affiliations

  • School of Teaching and Learning

Research Interests

Curriculum Development, Curriculum Integration, Data Collection and Analysis, Inquiry-Based Science Teaching and Learning, Professional Development, STEM Teaching Assistant Development, Science Education, Teacher Evaluation, Teacher Quality

Education

  • Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction (Science Education), 2014 University of Florida
  • M.Ed. in Science Education, 2006 University of Florida
  • B.S. in Animal and Veterinary Science, 2003 University of Rhode Island

Professional Appointments

  • Associate Professor, Science Education, University of Florida, 2018 - Present
  • Associate Professor, STEM Education, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 2018
  • Assistant Professor, STEM Education, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 2014 - 2018

Activities and Honors

  • University of Florida International Center — Global Fellow, 2026
  • University of Florida -- Rosser Term Professorship 2024 - 2026
  • University of Minnesota -- Women's Philanthropic Leadership Circle, "Rising Star Faculty Award", 2015
  • University of Florida -- Outstanding Graduate Research Award, 2014
  • External Sources -- National Association for Research in Science Teaching
  • Jhumki Basu Scholar, 2013

Selected Grants

Guardians of the Gulf: Promoting Youth Engagement for Marine Animal Conservation in Florida’s Nature Coast

Role
  • PI
Funding Agency
  • National Academy of Sciences’ Gulf Research Program
Award Amount
  • $427,065

Culturally Responsive, Affective-Focused Teaching of Science and Mathematics

Role
  • PI
Funding Agency
  • National Science Foundation - DRK12 program
Award Amount
  • $1,448,590

Responsive Instruction for Emergent Bilingual Learners in Biology Classrooms

Role
  • PI
Funding Agency
  • National Science Foundation - DRK12 program
Award Amount
  • $1,120,163

Building Excellence with Scientific Teaching (BEST): Transforming the College of Biological Sciences with a Scientific Teaching Certification Series

Role
  • Co-PI
Funding Agency
  • National Science Foundation - IUSE program
Award Amount
  • $291,481

Cultivating equity in STEM classrooms at UF: A multidisciplinary collaboration to create a training course in inclusive, antiracist teaching practices for Learning Assistants (LAs) in STEM courses

Role
  • Co-PI
Funding Agency
  • University of Florida, Office of Research
Award Amount
  • $60,000

Project CREST: Developing Culturally Responsive and Equitable Science Teachers

Role
  • PI
Funding Agency
  • University of Florida, School of Teaching and Learning Shewey Foundation Endowment Fund
Award Amount
  • $40,000

Project RISE: Developing a Responsive Model of Biology Instruction for Newcomer ELLs.

Role
  • Co-PI
Funding Agency
  • University of Florida, College of Education College Research Incentive Fund (CRIF)
Award Amount
  • $38,705

Selected Publications

  • Koukoulidis, N. M., Pacheco, M. B., Brown, J. C. & Shin, J. (2025). Development of an observation protocol for teachers' culturally and linguistically responsive science instruction. Science Education. https://doi/pdf/10.1002/sce.70002  
  • Castro, S. K., Brown, J. C. & Crippen, K. J. (2025). K-12 science and mathematics teachers’ experiences supporting students’ critical consciousness: A descriptive systematic review. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43031-025-00126-y
  • Deig, A., Herring, H., Koukoulidis, N. M., Pacheco, M. B., & Brown, J. C. (2025). More than just scaffolding: Leveraging multimodal pedagogies to support multilingual learners in science. TESOL Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.70032
  • Zheng, H., Pacheco, M. B., & Brown, J. C. (2024). Enhancing multilingual learners’ participation in science practices through language scaffolding. Language & Education. 39(2), 512-530. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2024.2430499
  • Koukoulidis, N. M., Kotluk, N., & Brown, J. C. (2024). The status of culturally relevant teacher education in the European context: A systematic review of research. Review of Education. 12(3) http://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.70002
  • Staggs, M. M. & Brown, J. C. (2024). 'Me hizo sentir como científica': The expressed science identities of multilingual learners in high school biology classrooms. International Journal of Science Education, 46(2), 155-180. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2023.2225230
  • Brown, J. C. & Joyce, M. C. (2023). The emphasis on multicultural science instruction in NSTA Science Scope and The Science Teacher journals. Journal of Science Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2023.2181506

Selected Links