Gayle Nelson Evans
Clinical Assistant Professor in Science Education
Phone
352-273-4186
Address
PO Box 117048
Gainesville, FL 32611-7048
Connect
About
As a Clinical Assistant Professor in science education, I am most involved in teaching and science coordination for UFTeach, a UTeach institute member program with minors in secondary mathematics and science education. The underlying philosophy guiding UFTeach is that a person best learns to teach through engaging in cycles of planning, teaching and reflection. Because of this, much of my efforts are based in building and maintaining partnerships with local teachers, schools, afterschool programs and informal educational settings to provide pre-service teachers with varied opportunities to work with learners across the K-12 spectrum and beyond.
My research interests center around teacher learning, from pre-service teacher education, as university students prepare for a career in teaching, continuing through to the lifelong learning and professional growth of practicing teachers. Specifically, I am committed to helping teachers plan curricula that will meet the demands of state and national science standards while still finding ways to keep their students actively engaged in scientific and mathematical inquiry. Additionally, I am an advocate for integrating science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in ways that offer students authentic problem solving and critical thinking opportunities within their science coursework. Because I began my career as a high school teacher, I am always trying to find ways to ensure that the work we do here at UF will help to positively impact the STEM education opportunities for students and families in our local community.
My research interests center around teacher learning, from pre-service teacher education, as university students prepare for a career in teaching, continuing through to the lifelong learning and professional growth of practicing teachers. Specifically, I am committed to helping teachers plan curricula that will meet the demands of state and national science standards while still finding ways to keep their students actively engaged in scientific and mathematical inquiry. Additionally, I am an advocate for integrating science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in ways that offer students authentic problem solving and critical thinking opportunities within their science coursework. Because I began my career as a high school teacher, I am always trying to find ways to ensure that the work we do here at UF will help to positively impact the STEM education opportunities for students and families in our local community.
Affiliations
- School of Teaching and Learning
Research Interests
Environmental Education, Mathematics Education, Middle School / Jr. High, Professional Development, Science Education, Secondary / High School Transition, Teacher Evaluation, Trauma
Education
- Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction (STEM Education), 2020 University of Florida
- M.Ed. in Science Education, 2000 University of Florida
- B.A. in Biology, 1994 Mount Holyoke College
Professional Appointments
- Lecturer, University of Florida, 2014-Present
- Visiting Lecturer, University of Florida, 2012-2014
- Science Teacher, Gainesville High School, Gainesville Fl, 1998-2012
Activities and Honors
- Undergraduate Teacher of the Year, College of Education, 2016
Selected Publications
- Apraiz, K., Evans, G., Dana, T. (2020). Aligning field and classroom experiences for secondary STEM teacher preparation. In J. Goodell & S. Koc (Eds.), Preparing STEM Teachers. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
- Crippen, K. J., Bokor, J. R., & Evans, G. N. (2018). A Synthesis of the Empirical Research on Blended Learning in K-12 Science Education, 2000 - 2014. In Handbook of Research on K-12 Online and Blended Learning (2nd ed., pp. 1-685). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University: ETC Press.
- Evans, G. N. (2012). AP Environmental Science Crash Course. Piscataway, NJ: Research & Education Association.