Bhaskar Upadhyay
Assistant professor
Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Science education
374A Peik Hall
612-625-3286
upadh006@umn.edu
Office hours: by appointment
Preferred method of contact: e-mail
As a former science teacher, I am interested in research and teaching that addresses issues of science teaching and learning in the high-poverty urban schools. At the K-12 level I not only want to examine how science teaching and learning can be improved in the classrooms but also look at issues of access, ethnicity, and race that surround science education in our urban schools.
In addition, my research focuses on how social justice and equity be achieved through science education. In this regard, I examine the nature and purposes of science education for students from high-poverty, immigrant, and minority families. I use the theories of critical pedagogy, culturally responsive and culturally relevant pedagogy, social justice, constructivist learning, and context based instruction to understand and critically examine these issues in the context of science teaching and learning.
I am using Linking Food and Environment (LiFE) curriculum to understand teachers' thinking about students' lived experiences in teaching science. LiFE is an elementary level curriculum designed by Teachers College to teach life and the environment science to urban school children.
Through various research grants and projects I am examining:
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community and science
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science as an agent for change, empowerment, and social justice for urban minority youths
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the intersection of science and socio-cultural habits in urban school settings
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issues of science learning for the students from immigrant families and roles of immigrant parents in their children's science learning
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social justice and equity
Publications
(refereed)
Upadhyay, B. (in press). Negotiating identity and science teaching in a high-stakes testing environment: An elementary teacher’s perceptions. Cultural Studies of Science Education.
Upadhyay, B. (in press). Teaching science for empowerment in an urban classroom: Using Hmong students’ funds of knowledge. Equity and Excellence in Education.
Upadhyay, B. & DeFranco, C. (2008). Elementary students’ retention of environmental science knowledge: Connected science versus direct instruction. The Journal of Elementary Science Education, 20, 23-37.
Upadhyay, B. R. (2006). Using students’ lived experiences in an urban science classroom: An elementary school teacher’s thinking. Science Education, 90 (1), 94-110.
Upadhyay, B. R. (2005). Practicing reform-based science curriculum in an urban classroom: A Hispanic elementary school teacher’s thinking and decisions. School Science and Mathematics, 105 (7), 343-351.
Upadhyay, B. R., Barton, A.C. & Zahur, R. (2005). Teaching science in a poor urban school in Pakistan: Tensions in the life history of a female elementary teacher. Science Education, 89 (5), 725-743.
Zahur, R., Barton, A.C. & Upadhyay, B. R. (2002). Science education for empowerment and social change: A case study of a teacher educator in urban Pakistani school. International Journal of Science Education, U.K., 24 (9), 899-917.
Text books
Upadhyay, B.R. (1996). My Environment (Grade 5). Budhanilkantha School: Kathmandu, Nepal.
Upadhyay, B.R. (1996). General School Science (Part 6). Nepal Sahitya Prakashan: Kathmandu, Nepal.
Upadhyay, B.R. (1991). Complete School
Physics with Astronomy for classes IX & X.
S. Prasad & Co.: Kathmandu, Nepal.
Chapters in books
Upadhyay, B., Fortney, B., & Fleming, M. (2008). Strengthening retention of science knowledge in elementary students by incorporating students’ experiences in everyday inquiry oriented science instructions. In J. N. Casey and R. E. Upton (Eds.), Educational Curricula Development and Evaluation (p. 161-182). NY: Nova Science Publishers.
Upadhyay, B., Regmi, J., & Sharma, U. (in press). Seeking for Empowerment and Social Justice through Science Education in Nepal. In Y.-J. Lee (Eds.), Science Education Research in Asia. Amsterdam: Sense Publishers.
Research grants and contracts
Grant-in-Aid (GIA) from University of Minnesota,
2004-2006
PI: Bhaskar Upadhyay
Title: Hmong Students’ Ways of Making Sense of Science: The
Role of Race, Language, and Socioeconomic Status
Multicultural Research Grant from University of
Minnesota, 2004-2005
PI: Bhaskar Upadhyay
Title: Hmong Students’ Ways of Learning Science in Community
Settings
Technology-enhanced Learning (TEL) from University of
Minnesota, 2005-2006
PIs: Leslie Flynn, Gillian H. Roehrig, and Bhaskar Upadhyay
Title: Integrating Technology into the K-12 Science Initial
Licensure Program
Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Minnesota,
2005-2006
PI: Bhaskar Upadhyay
Title: MinnAqua Youth Supplement Curriculum Evaluation: Lived
Experiences and Retention of Science Knowledge
Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM), 2005-2006
PI: Bhaskar Upadhyay
Title: Community Partnerships Serving Science Education
Teaching
- CI 8571—Equity, Policy and Social Justice in Science Education: course for Ph.D. students to provide a broad understanding of equity, multicultural education, connected science, empowerment, social justice, etc.
- CI 5536—Equity, Policy, and Assessment in Science Education: course for K-12 licensure students to support their teaching practices in diverse school settings.
- CI 5501—Teaching Science and Health in the Elementary School: course for elementary licensure students to practice inquiry-based, constructivist science teaching practices; practice science lessons in multicultural, multiracial, and multilingual school settings.
Featured research and outreach
Revised October 2008
