Charlene D’Avanzo

Professor of Ecology and Director, Center for Teaching & Learning
Hampshire College, Amherst, MA 01002
cdavanzo@hampshire.edu

Education

1975 Ph.D. (Biology) Boston University Marine Program,
Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA

1969 B.A. Skidmore College

Selected Education Publications

Hartley LM, J Momsen, P Maskiewics, and C D’Avanzo. 2012. Energy and matter: Differences in discourse in physical and biological sciences can be confusing for introductory biology students. BioScience 62: 488-496.

D’Avanzo C, Anderson CW, Hartley L, Pelaez P. 2012. A faculty development model for transforming introductory biology and ecology courses. BioScience. 62: 416-427. (PDF)

D’Avanzo, C. 2011. High marks for transformative teachers. Science331: 1011 (PDF)

Knapp AK and C. D’Avanzo. 2011. Teaching with principles: towards more effective pedagogy in ecology. Ecosphere 1:15 (electronic journal) doi: 10.1890/ES10-00013.1 (PDF)

Hartley LM, Wilke BJ, Schramm SW, D’Avanzo C, Anderson CW. 2011.College students’ understanding of the carbon cycle: contrasting principle-based and informal reasoning. BioScience 61, 65-75.  (PDF)

D’Avanzo, C. 2009. Supporting faculty through a new teaching and learning center. Peer Review 11: 22-25

Lowman, M, C. D’Avanzo and C. Brewer. 2009. NEON – A National Ecological Network for Research and Education. Science. 32: 1172-1173 (PDF)

D’Avanzo. C. 2008. Biology concept inventories: overview, status, and next steps. BioScience 58: 1079-1085 (PDF)

D’Avanzo, C. and D. Morris. 2008. Investigating your own teaching: faculty as research practitioners. Academe 94: 40-44

D’Avanzo, C. 2008. Why is Ecology Hard to Learn?  Ecological Society of America Bulletin 89 (4): 462-464

D’Avanzo C, Grant BW, Morris D, Musante S, Taylor J, Riney J, and Udovic D. 2006. Design and evaluation of TIEE, a peer-reviewed electronic teaching resource. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 4: 189-195.

D’Avanzo, C. 2003. Application of research on learning to college teaching: ecological examples. BioScience 53: 1121-1128 (PDF)

McNeal A. and C.D’Avanzo. 1997. Student Active Science: Models of Innovation in College Science Teaching. Saunders College Publishing, Philadelphia.

Award & Recent Grants (since 2000)

2012 Eugene P. Odum Education Award, Ecological Society of America

2009 NSF CCLI (Lead PI) Collaborative Research: Improving General Biology Teaching with Diagnostic Question Clusters and Active Teaching

2009 NSF RCN (co-PI) Preparing to Prepare the 21st Century Biology Student: Using Scientific Societies as Change Agents for the Introductory Biology Experience

2007 NSF CCLI (Lead PI) Diagnostic Question Clusters to Improve Student Reasoning and Understanding in General Biology Courses

2004 NSF CCLI EMD (lead PI) Enhancing Use of TIEE Through a Formative Evaluation-Practitioner Research Component

2002 NSF CCLI EMD (lead PI) Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology: Developing Web and CD-ROM-Based Education Materials Through the ESA,

2000 NSF CCLI EMD (lead PI): Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology, Proof of Concept

Professional Activities

Education Editor, BioScience (American Institute of Biological Science)

Education Editor, EcoSphere (Ecological Society of America)

Editor, Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology (TIEE; tiee.esa.org; Ecological Society of America)