Titles

• Senior Global Futures Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory
• Professor, Human Dimensions of Biology, School of Life Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Professor, Division of Educational Leadership and Innovation, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College

Biography

Dr. Luft is committed to studying and examining various components of the science teacher education process. Her research in science teacher education began with an examination of teachers observing and learning from each other during professional development programs, and expanded to studies of teachers working in diverse settings and teachers learning to create inquiry-based lessons. Her current work has been focused on beginning secondary science teachers and the development of their knowledge and instructional practices during science-specific induction programs. This research reveals the importance of content knowledge during induction programs and suggests new roles for science educators in higher education.

Dr. Luft is currently an associate editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching and School Science and Mathematics, an elected board member and the research director of National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). In 2010, she received the Association of Science Teacher Educators (ASTE) Outstanding Science Teacher Educator Award, the Association of Educational Publishers Award and became a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Education

• PhD, Science Education, University of Iowa, 1994
• MST, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 1990
• BS, University of New Mexico, 1985

Expertise

• science teacher education
• secondary education
• education development