Biography: Joni Falk
Joni Falk
Center Leader (Center for School Reform)
617 873-9632
Joni_Falk@terc.edu
Program/Areas of Interest
Electronic communities of practice; Science inquiry in middle school; Technology that supports science education; Systemic reform
TERC Projects
- IGERT Resource Center
- Infusing NSDL in Middle Schools: Obstacles and Strategies
- MSPnet: The Math and Science Partnership Network
- Researching the Wireless High School
Biographical Summary
Joni Falk co-directs the Center for School Reform at TERC, a nonprofit research and development institution aimed at improving mathematics and science teaching and learning. Much of her recent work has focused on creating and researching electronic learning communities. She is currently the Principal Investigator of MSPnet.org, the electronic learning community that supports NSF's Math and Science Partnership Program, and of IGERT.org the collaborative community created for NSF's flagship IGERT program (Interdisciplinary Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program).
She is co-editor of, and a contributor to, a recently published book entitled "Creating and Sustaining Online Professional Learning Communities."
In addition to developing and researching e-communities for leaders engaged in educational reform, Falk is also Co-PI of two research projects that are studying the effects of technology infusion on science teaching and learning. These are Researching Science in the Wireless High School and Infusing Web-based Digital Resources into the Middle School Science Classroom: Strategies and Challenges. Joni has a particular interest in science inquiry at the middle school level. She was Principal Investigator of Eyes to the Future, an NSF-funded telementoring project that connects middle school girls with high school role models and women scientists, and also of a research project The Inquiry-based Classroom in Context, a research project studying the gap between teachers' practice and policy mandates.
Selected Publications
- Cultivating a Culture of Inquiry Joni Falk and Brian Drayton (2001) Hands On! , 23 (2:1)
- Dimensions That Shape Teacher-Scientist Collaborations for Teacher Enhancement Joni Falk and Brian Drayton (2006) Science Education 90 (4)
- MSPnet: Design Dimensions for Nested Learning Communities Joni Falk and Brian Drayton ; Joni Falk and Brian Drayton (eds.) (2009) Creating and Sustaining Online Professional Learning Communities . New York: Teachers College Press. 175-203.
- State Testing and Inquiry-Based Science: Are They Complementary or Competing Reforms? Joni Falk and Brian Drayton (2004) Journal of Educational Change 5 (4) . 344-387.
- Structuring a Virtual Conference to Facilitate Collaboration and Reflective Dialogue Joni Falk ; Joni Falk and Brian Drayton (eds.) (2009) Creating and Sustaining Online Professional Learning Communities . New York: Teachers College Press. 175-203.
