(Otero, Valerie K - 2015) -- President's Teaching Scholar
Overview
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A physics education researcher, Professor Otero explores the dynamic nature of the learning environment and its relationship with the evolution of learners’ ideas. Her teaching interests are in the areas of science teacher education, laboratory based physics classrooms, history and philosophy of physics education, and learning theory. She mentors faculty and K–12 science teachers in the community to help them build learning environments that empower students. At CU Boulder since 2001, Professor Otero serves as executive director of the Colorado Learning Assistant Program and is codirector and cofounder of the Center for STEM Learning. Her many awards include the national Woman Physicist Accomplishment Award and the Boulder Faculty Assembly Award for Excellence. “Valerie is committed to education at all levels,” wrote Steven J. Pollock in his nominating letter. “She cares deeply about students, about science education, and about educational change. And, she puts her energy into action.”
