Wilson J. Gonzalez-Espada
Assistant Professor of Physical Science and Science Education
Graduate and Undergraduate Faculty Member
Appointed Fall 2001
Ph.D. Science Education, The University of Georgia, 2001
M.A. Science Education, Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, 1997
B.A. Secondary Education-Physics, University of Puerto Rico, 1993
1999-2000 Teaching Assistant, Science Education, The University of Georgia
1996-1998 Instructor, Physics and Mathematics, Instituto Tecnológico de Puerto Rico
(2-year college)
1994-1995 Teacher, Physics and Chemistry, Notre Dame High School
1993 Teacher, Geometry and Algebra, Notre Dame High School
Other: Summer Research Fellow, Center for Applied Research and Evaluation, Arkansas Children’s Hospital/University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR (2004)
Summer Visiting Scholar, Center for Fairness in Assessment, Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ (2003)
University Supervisor of student teachers in physical science education, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR (2001-present)
University Supervisor of student teachers in science education, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA (2000)
Summer Research Intern, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities USDA Forest Service, Athens, GA (1999).
Research Assistant, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA (1998-2001).
Summer Research Intern, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, WI (1994).
Faculty Load
Fall 2003 – PHSC 1013, 1021, 3003, 4701; PHYS 1114
Spring 2004 – PHSC 1013, 1021, 3003, 6883
Other Collegiate
Assignments
University
Service
Blackjack Dealer: Tech’s Casino Night (2004).
Member: Student Affairs Committee (2003-present)
Faculty Advisor: Hispanic Students Association (2003 - present)
Freshmen Mentor: Bridge to Excellence Retention Program (2003 - present)
Judge: Arkansas Tech University Debate and Forensics Team Annual Tournament (2003).
Member: Student Services Committee, Arkansas Tech University (2003).
Member: Honors Council Committee, Arkansas Tech University (2002-present).
Collaborator/Co-Instructor: Arkansas Tech Gifted and Talented Summer Camp (GTED 6863 – Practicum in Gifted Education) (2002).
Member: NCATE Assessment Task Group, School of Education, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR (2002-2003).
School/Department
Service
Scientific Judge: Regional Science Bowl, Russellville, AR (2002-2004)
Science Fair Project Evaluator: Arkansas River Valley Middle Level Science Fair. Russellville, AR (2004)
Member,
Search Committee, Elementary Science Instructional
Specialist (2004).
Participant: Physical science booth, Tech Open House, R. Pendergraft Library (2003)
Collaborator: Kids-University Science Component (2002-2003)
Science Fair Project Evaluator: Pottsville Elementary Science Fair, Pottsville, AR (2003).
Member: Arkansas River Valley Math/Science Alliance
(2003-present)
Science Fair Project Evaluator: Arkansas State Science
Fair, University of Central Arkansas, AR (2002-2003).
Assessment Specialist: Revision of the assessment objectives and methods used to evaluate the objectives for all the secondary education degree programs offered by the Department of Physical and Life Science, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR (2002).
Member: Advisory Council of the Math & Science
Institute, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR (2001 – present).
Member: Faculty Selection Committee, Department of Physical
Science, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR (2001).
Current
Professional and Academic Memberships
NSTA, ASTA, AAPT, AAPT-AOK
Current
Professional Assignments and Activities
Member, Committee of Advisers for the international journal Revista de Enseñanza de las Ciencias/Journal of Science Education, 2003 – present
Consultant on Multicultural Science Teaching, Danville High School, Danville, AR (2003).
Committee Member, Arkansas Academy of Science - Science Education Committee, 2002 - present
Editorial Board Member for the journal Science Education Review, 2003 - present
Journal Article Reviewer for the science section of the electronic journal Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (CITE), 2001-2003.
Proposal Reviewer for NARST 2001 Meeting in St. Louis, MO (Strand Two – Learning: Classroom Contexts and Learner Characteristics), 2000
Proposal Reviewer for the Eisenhower Program at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 2000
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J., and Bullock, D. (2004). Speededness and Classroom Response Systems: A Pilot Study. The Physics Teacher (submitted).
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J., Ibarra, M., Ochoa, R., and Vargas, P.A. (2004). Multicultural Medical Encounters: The Experience at a Pediatric Clinic. Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society (submitted).
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J., Ibarra, M., Ochoa, R., and Vargas, P.A. (2004). Physicians and Hispanic Patients’ Perceptions of Differential Treatment in an Arkansas Specialized Healthcare Facility. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences (submitted).
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2004). Las
limitaciones del metodo cientifico. Revista Spin Cero: Cuaderno de Ciencias.
(submitted).
Kondrick, L. and Gonzalez-Espada,
W. J. (2004). Are religions and science fair projects miscible? Science
Teacher (submitted).
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J., and Oliver, J. S. (2004). Foreign influences and local contexts: The interaction of teacher and textbook on high school physics in Puerto Rico. Electronic Magazine of Multicultural Education (submitted).
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2004).
Status Options as Pedagogical Influence: Ideological beliefs and culturally
relevant physics teaching in Puerto Rico. Revista Pedagogía.
(submitted).
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2004).
Reinforcing physical science concepts with original comic strips. In M. Druger,
E. D. Siebert, and L. W. Crow (Eds.) Teaching
Tips: Innovations in Undergraduate Science Instruction. Arlington, VA:
National Science Teachers Association Press.
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2004).
Multicultural education: Helping all students succeed in science. Electronic
Journal of Literacy Through Science (accepted).
Hemmati, M. and Gonzalez-Espada, W.
J. (2003). Thermal behavior inside an igloo: An improved model. Physics
Education, 38(3), 270-271. A multimedia file with additional details and
derivations was made available by the journal at:
http://www.iop.org/EJ/mmedia/0031-9120/38/3/605/. (REFERRED JOURNAL)
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2003).
Learning and having fun with electric letter soups! Science Education Review,
2(3), 79-83. Available at http://www.flexi.net.au/~willdown/ vol2.html.
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2003).
Integrating physical science and the graphic arts with scientifically accurate
comic strips: Rationale,
description, and implementation. Revista Electronica de Enseñanza de las
Ciencias, 2(1). Available at http://www.saum.uvigo.es/ reec/Volumenes.htm.
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. and Oliver,
J. S. (2002). Context and cultural relevance in
Puerto
Rican high school physics: A quantitative analysis of influencing factors Proceedings
of
the
2002 Annual International Conference of the Association for the Education of
Teachers in
Science, USA, 7, 682-702. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED (465 602). Also
available electronically at http://www.ed.psu.edu/CI/journals/2002aets/02file1.asp.
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J., and Trantkam, K. (2002). How is Energy like Money:
Analysis and Opposing Viewpoints of Using Qualitative Analogical Reasoning in Physics
Instruction. School Science Review (accepted).
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2002). Physics education research in the United States: A summary of its rationale and main findings. Journal of Science Education/ Revista de Educación en Ciencias, 4(1).
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2002). A last chance for getting it right: Addressing misconceptions in Physical Science through independent research. The Physics Teacher, 41(1).
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J., Bryan, L.A., and Kang, N. (2001). The intriguing physics inside an igloo. Physics Education, 36(4).
Presentations
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J., and Bullock, D. (2004). Speededness and Classroom Response Systems: A Pilot Study (with Dr. Daniel Bullock). Paper presented at the Annual American Association of Physics Teachers Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas (AAPT-AOK) Meeting, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR.
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2004). Scientific Method: Limitations and Alternatives. Paper presented at the Arkansas Conference on Teaching, Little Rock, AR.
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2003). Multicultural Education: Helping Hispanic Students Succeed in Physical Science. Paper presented at the Arkansas Conference on Teaching, Little Rock, AR.
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2003). Integrating Math, Science, and History Through Density Explorations. Paper presented at the Arkansas Conference on Teaching, Little Rock, AR.
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2003). Success in Physical Science: The Role of Mathematics Knowledge. Paper presented at the 2003 Annual American Association of Physics Teachers Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas (AAPT-AOK) Meeting, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. and Robertson, J. (2003). The Doppler Effect for a Constantly Accelerating Sound Source Receding from a Stationary Observer: Determining the Acceleration of Gravity Based on Acoustic Data. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Arkansas Academy of Science (AAS), Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2003). Status Options as Pedagogical Influence: Ideological Beliefs and Culturally Relevant Physics Teaching in Puerto Rico. Paper presented for the VII Congreso Puertorriqueño de Investigacion en la Educacion, Centro de Investigaciones Educativas, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, PR
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2002). Learning Science Through Art: The Use of Comic Strips in Synthesizing Scientific Information. Paper presented at the Arkansas Conference on Teaching, Little Rock, AR
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. and Trantham, K. (2002). How is Energy like Money: Analysis and Opposing Viewpoints of Using Qualitative Analogical Reasoning in Physics Instruction Paper presented at the 2002 Annual American Association of Physics Teachers Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas (AAPT-AOK) Meeting, East Central University, Ada, OK.
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2002). Making Puerto Rican High School Physics Contextual and Culturally Relevant: A Statistical Analysis of Influencing Factors. Paper presented at the International Conference of the Association of Educators and Teachers of Science (AETS), Charlotte, NC
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2001). The Nature of Physics: Opposing Viewpoints and Implications for Classroom Practice. Paper presented at the Annual American Association of Physics Teachers Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas (AAPT-AOK) Meeting, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2001). La Influencia del Libro de Texto en los Aspectos Contextuales y Culturales de la Enseñanza de Fisica en las Escuelas de Puerto Rico. Paper presented at the VI Congreso Puertorriqueño de Investigacion en la Educacion, Centro de Investigaciones Educativas, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, PR
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2000). High School Physics Teaching in Puerto Rico: Cultural and Contextual Issues. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Educators and Teachers of Science (SAETS), Auburn, AL
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2000). Informal Ways to Improve our Physics Education Knowledge. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Georgia Science Teacher Association (GSTA), Macon, GA
Gonzalez-Espada, W. J. (2000). Physics Education Research: Implications for College Science Teaching. Paper presented at the 2000 Annual Conference of the International Alliance of Teacher Scholars (IATS), Athens, GA
Other
Basic Skills in Multicultural Science Education. Guest speaker in the course PHSC
3213, Science in Elementary School, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR, 2004
(15 students).
Oops! The OTHER Scientific Method. Guest speaker at the 38th Arkansas Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR, 2004.(5 sessions).
Puerto Rican Music: A Sampler. Guest speaker in the course AMST 2003, American Studies: The Latino Experience, Arkansas Tech Univeristy, Russellville, AR, 2003
Looks Like Science, Sounds Like Science, Feels Like Science… Is it Really Science? Guest speaker at the 36th Arkansas Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR, 2002.(5 sessions).
Cultura y Contexto en la Enseñanza de Fisica en la Escuela Secundaria Puertorriqueña. Guest speaker at the CETP Project seminar series, University of Puerto Rico at Cayey, PR, 2001
¿Quienes Somos? An Introduction to Hispanics in the United States and How to Teach Them. Guest speaker in the graduate course EFND 7200, Multicultural Education in the United States, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 2001
The Natural Inquirer: Tropical Forests. Presentation of the special issue of The Natural Inquirer at the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, DC, 1999
The Natural Inquirer: A Research and Science Education Journal. Guest speaker at the University of Georgia Science Education Department Fall Colloquium Series, Athens, GA, 1999
A Contemporary Interpretation to Faraday’s Letters on Lecturing. Guest speaker at the University of Georgia Science Education Department Spring Colloquium Series, Athens, GA, 1999.