Keynote Speaker: Douglas Llewellyn

KEYNOTE ADDRESS:  How Students Learn Science

Becoming an exemplary inquiry teacher necessitates an understanding of how children learn. This interactive presentation will bridge philosophy of constructivist theory with practice of inquiry-based instruction.

Douglas Llewellyn will demonstrate how constructivist learning theory is a prerequisite for teaching through scientific inquiry. The historical developments of behaviorism and constructivism will be compared and a model for learning science will be shared. Through modeling, the he will introduce thoughts on student misconceptions, conceptual change, and the role language acquisition plays in constructing scientific knowledge. Developing the notion of students as young investigators, comparisons will also be drawn between how scientists do science to how children learn science.

About Douglas Llewellyn

Douglas Llewellyn teaches science education and educational leadership courses at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY. Previously, he was the K-12 Director of Science at the Rochester City School District, a junior high school principal, and a middle school science teacher.

Llewellyn has been involved with several National Science Foundation and Department of Education grants on systemic reform. His research interests are in the areas of scientific inquiry, constructivist teaching, and teacher leadership. He present co-directs a program in Rochester to develop teacher/leaders in mathematics and science.

He serves on the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Nominations Committee, writes an on-going column on science leadership for NSTA Reports, and is a book reviewer for NSTA Recommends. Llewellyn is a frequent speaker at state and national conferences on constructivist and inquiry-based teaching. 

His book, Inquire Within: Implementing Inquiry-Based Science Standards in Grades 3-8, Second edition, is published by Corwin Press. His 9-12 grade book, Teaching High School Science Inquiry through Inquiry, is co-published by Corwin Press and NSTA.

Doug enjoys boating on the New York State Finger Lakes and is an avid Boston Red Sox fan.