Mike Taber
Professor, Associate Chair
Education
Academic Positions
Professor, Colorado College Education Department (2019-present)
Associate Professor, Colorado College Education Department (2006-2019)
Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, University of Northern Colorado, Earth Sciences (2000-2006)
Research Assistant Professor, Northwestern University, School of Education and Social Policy (1999-2000)
Graduate Research Assistant, Iowa State University, IA (1994-1999)
Graduate Research Assistant, Iowa State University, International Institute of Theoretical and Applied Physics (1995-1998)
Teacher, Panorama Middle School, Colorado Springs, CO (1990-1994)
Teacher, Hanks High School, El Paso, TX (1988-1990)
Research & Teaching Interests
Area of Specialization
Areas of specialization include education research on rural educator teacher preparation, inquiry, culturally responsive curriculum design, using data in the classroom to inform instruction, and how we learn complex systems. Science research focuses on heterogeneous surface energy fluxes.
Research
Active
(Lead PI) Colorado College Noyce Scholarship Program (CCNSP). Manya Whitaker, Tina Valtierra, Howard Drossman, Co-PIs. Funding for providing a community of undergraduate science interns to develop into science teachers. $1,193,400. NSF Award #1540672.
Recently Completed (2013-2018)
(Lead PI) Proactive Positioning of Future Educators for Rural Community Success. Co-PI: Robert Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Education, UCCS. Funding for providing an early rural education experience for future teachers. $63,199. Funding supported by the Colorado Department of Higher Education.
(Co-PI) Colorado College Rural Organizational Pikes Peak Partnership (CCROPPP). Kathy Randolph, Lead PI. Co-PIs Manya Whitaker and Tina Valtierra. A project to develop a strategic partnership between Colorado College Education Department and the Pikes Peak Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) for improving the preparation of rural teachers. $41,875. Funding supported by the Colorado Department of Higher Education. Project completed in July 2018.
Comparative Environmental Issues - Diverse Study Solutions: Collaborative exchange between Colorado College, Carleton Collage, member Associated Colleges of the Midwest, University of Juiz de Fora, and the Universidade de Brasília. A $264,000 project through U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), CFDA 84.116M. Completed in May 2014.
Elementary Integrated Math-Science Partnership with Colorado Springs School District 11 and Colorado College Education Department. Funding for developing a cohort of teacher leaders on the integration of math and science at the elementary level. A three-year project funded by the Colorado Department of Education ($952,000). Completed in May 2014.
Collaborative International Event: Approaches to Pedagogy and Learning about the Environment. An ACM FaCE Collaborative Event project with Nick Gomersall from Luther College and Fabio Roland from University Federal of Juiz de Fora. ($15,000). Completed in May 2012.
Enhancing Use of Data in Education: Bridging the Scientific and Educational Communities: A collaborative project with Tamara Shapiro Ledley (TERC) and Ben Domenico (UNIDATA/UCAR). (Subcontract with TERC). $135,441 awarded by NSF (EAR-0623136). Completed in May 2010.
Publications
Juried
In Preparation
Taber, M.R. Rethinking Constructivism: Developing a Critical Consciousness Through Visual Thinking Strategies and Culturally Responsive Praxis. Journal of Science Education.
Taber, M.R. Redefining STEM Teacher Preparation: Dismantling ‘isms for the creation of socioscientific reasoning. Journal of Science Education.
Under Revision
Taber, M.R., K. Randolph, N. Wurzweiler, 2018. Teacher Autonomy and Job Satisfaction: Comparing Rural, City, and Suburban Teachers. Submitted November 11, 2018 to Journal of Research in Rural Education.
Articles
Taber, M.R., Kummel, M. 2022. Reframing the Teaching of Climate Change through Empathy and Social Innovation. New Perspectives in Science Education: Conference Proceedings, 12th Edition. Published by Liberiauniversitaria, Florence, Italy.
Taber, M.R., 2018. A New Paradigm for Implementing Culturally Responsive Pedagogy to Pre-service Science Teachers. New Perspectives in Science Education: Conference Proceedings, 7th Edition. Published by Liberiauniversitaria, Florence, Italy.
De Souza Machado, P. , J.H.C. Ribeiro, T. P. da Silva, Taber, M., E. B. Pasin, 3028. Atividades lúdicas relacionadas a questões hídricas: inclusão de abordagens CTS no currículo de Biologia do Ensino Médio. Cadernos da Educação Básica, vol. 1, n. 2, outubro 2016.
Taber, M.R., E. Benedict, E. Waterman, 2015. The Cognitive Development of Visual Literacy for Scientific Symbolic Problem Solving. New Perspectives in Science Education: Conference Proceedings, 4th Edition. Published by Liberiauniversitaria, Florence, Italy.
Taber, M.R., F. Roland, B. Milanez, E. Pasin, F Alvim Carvalho, 2014. Water in a Changing World: Developing Learning Materials for Pre-Professional Teachers in Brazil and the United States. New Perspectives in Science Education: Conference Proceedings, 3rd Edition. Published by Liberiauniversitaria, Florence, Italy.
Taber, M. R., T. Ledley, S. Lynds, B. Domenico, L. Dahlman, 2012. Geoscience Data for Educational Use: Recommendations from Scientific/Technical and Educational Communities. Research results from the Enhancing Use of Data in the Classroom Project (EAR-0623136). Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol. 60(3), August 2012. Outstanding Paper Award for 2012.
Ledley T., M. R. Taber, S. Lynds, B. Domenico, L. Dahlman, 2012. A Model for Enabling an Effective Outcome-Oriented Communication Between the Scientific and Educational Communities. Research results from the Enhancing Use of Data in the Classroom Project (EAR-0623136). Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol 60(3), August 2012.
Taber, M. R., 2012. Building new cognitive knowledge structures about complex systems: An illustration of a model activity. Earth and Mind, Volume II. Kastens and Manduca, eds. Geological Society of America Special Publication; pp 123 - 125.
Ledley, T., L. Dahlman, C. McAuliffe, N. Haddad, M. Taber, B. Domenico, S. Lynds, M. Grogan. Making Earth Science Data Accessible and Usable in Education. Science. Vol. 333. 30 September 2011. Note: This paper was the recipient Science Prize for Online Resources in Education (SPORE) award from the journal, Science.
Non-Juried
Articles
Taber, M. R., 2011. Book Review of Stories in Stone by David B. Williams. In the Trenches, an editor reviewed publication of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers. April 2001. http://nagt.org/nagt/publications/trenches/issues/apr11.html
Books and Chapters
Taber, M. R., K. Kester, P. May, A. Yurkanin, 2011. Environmental Stewardship - a dialog between religion and the environment, in Fostering Religious Diversity Across Campus, Miriam Diamond, ed. New Forums Press, Inc.
Professional Presentations
Juried
Taber, M.R. and Kummel, M., 2022. Reframing the Teaching of Climate Change Through Empathy and Social Innovation. New Perspectives in Science Education Conference. Presentation March 17-18, 2022. Florence, Italy
Taber, M. R., 2020. Why Effective Science Teaching in Rural Schools Matters in the United States. New Perspectives in Science Education conference, March 19-20, 2021. Abstract accepted on November 25, 2020. Conference Cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Mitchell, R., M.R. Taber, 2019. Rural Deep End: College Immersion in Remote Districts. National Rural Education Association 111th NREA Convention and Research Symposium. October 24-26, 2019. Paper accepted May 2019.
Valtierra, T., M.R. Taber, 2016. Teacher Dispositions: Putting Values into Action. Round Table paper discussion. 68th Annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. February, 2016.
Kummel, M., C. Dickson, M.R. Taber, 2013. What allows diffuse treelines to respond to regional warming? The role of boundary layer micrometeorology. 98th Ecological Society of America Annual Convention, August, 2013
Taber, M.R., M. Urban, G. Saunders, 2012. Earth Exploration Toolbook: Using Web-based, Large Datasets to Explore Science Concepts. Workshop Session at the Association of Science Teacher Educators (ASTE) Annual Conference. January, 2012.
Taber, M.R., T.S. Ledley, B. Domenico, L. Dahlman, 2010. Bridging the Gap on Data Access and Learning: A collaboration model that brings together scientists, educators, and data and tool specialists. Poster presentation at the European Geosciences Union Meeting, May 2010, Vienna, Austria. EGU2010-13146. Presented in Session SSS45/EOS10.
Non-Juried
Taber, M. R., 2004. Benefits, Challenges, and Opportunities in Building Cross-Disciplinary, Cross Grade Level Science-Math-Tech Alliances Lessons Learned from the Colorado Alliance for Science (CAS). Invited Presentation to the Revolutions II in Earth Science workshop, October 2004, American Geophysical Union, Washington, D. C.
Taber, M. R., 2004. Strategies for Building Data Access Tools for Teachers and Learners. Invited presentation to the Ridge 2000 Open Data Exchange Workshop, July 2004, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, NY.
Taber, M. R., M. Urban, S. Buhr, and E. Takle, 2004. First Year Report: A Course on Global Change at the University of Northern Colorado, 2004. Presentation at the Earth System Science Education for the 21st Centuray (ESSE21) annual meeting, June 2004, Monterey, California.
Taber, M. R., J. Entwisle, 2001. Teaching Climate Change, invited presentation, Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) Annual Meeting. Flagstaff, Arizona. August 2-4, 2001 (http://www.dlese.org/annualmtg/2001/index.html)
Leadership
Chair, Colorado College Education Department (2010-2019)
Faculty Director, Children's Summer Programs, Colorado College Education Department (2006-2019)
Co-Chair, representing Private Institutions (1 year appointments), Colorado Council of Deans of Education (CCODE) (2013-2014)
President, National Association of Geoscience Teachers (2009-2010)
Director, Environmental Program, Colorado College (2007-2009)
1st Vice President, National Association of Geoscience Teachers (2008-2009)
2nd Vice President, National Association of Geoscience Teachers (2007-2008)
Chair, Science and Math General Education Committee, University of Northern Colorado (2001-2006)
Professional Consultation/Reviews
Scientific Committee Member, International Conference for New Perspectives in Science Education (2014 - present)
Advisory Board Member, Climate Literacy and Education Network (NSDL Project) (2009-2013)
Advisory Board Member, NAGT Cutting Edge Workshops (NSF Funded) (2007-2010)
External Reviewer, Beloit College Education Department (Nov 2007)
Manuscript Reviewer, Journal of Geoscience Education (2005 - present)
Proposal Reviewer for NASA Research Announcement, "Inspiring the Next Generation of Earth Explorers: Integrated Solutions ofr K-16 and Informal Education," National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (2004)
Panel Reviewer for NASA Educational Materials (Annual Fall Panel Participant), Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) (2003 - present)
Robert F. Noyce Scholarship Program Proposal Reviewer (2018); Geoscience Education Panel Member (2014); Hyrdological Sciences Proposal Reviewer (2010); EarthScope Proposal Reviewer (2006); DLESE Proposal Reviewer (2005), National Science Foundation (2003 - present)
Reviewer for Introductory Geology and Meterology Textbooks, Various Publishers (2003 - present)
Advisory Board Member for the Evaluation Tool Kit (Susan Buhr, PI), Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) (2002-2004)
Professional Association Membership
Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) (2009 - present)
Association of Science Teacher Education (ASTE) (2008 - present)
American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) (2007 - present)
National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) (2001 - present)
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) (2000 - present)
American Geophysical Union (AGU) (2000 - present)
Geological Society of America (GSA) (1999 - present)
American Meteorological Society (AMS) (1996 - 1999)
Honors & Awards
Science Prize for Online Resources in Education (SPORE) from the journal Science. (Sept. 2012)
Outstanding Paper Award – Journal of Geoscience Education (Oct. 2012)
Past-President, National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) (Oct. 2010)
Elected President, National Association of Geoscience Teachers (Oct. 2009)
Elected 1st Vice President, National Association of Geoscience Teachers (Oct. 2008)
Elected 2nd Vice President, National Association of Geoscience Teachers (Oct. 2007)
National Association of Geoscience Teachers Distinguished Speaker (2004-06)
New Faculty Recognition Award in Sponsored Programs in recognition and appreciation for outstanding work in Sponsored Research, SPARC, University of Northern Colorado (Nov. 2003)
Global Change Scholarship to attend the 7th Symposium on Global Change at the 76th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society, January 28-February 2 1996, Atlanta, GA. (1996)
1996 Iowa Educational Technology Award for Global Change, a Web based course for the Department of Atmospheric Science. (1996)
Teacher of the Year, Panorama Middle School, Harrison SD 2, Colorado Springs, CO (1994)
