2016 Keynotes Speakers

Our keynote speakers will address some critical issues in science education today to advance environmental biology. They will explore the  practice of science, how students think and learn and  ways to create connections across institutions and sectors to create research-rich environmental biology classrooms

Friday March 17, 2016	Saturday, March 18, 2016
Andrew Martin, Professor, University of Colorado	Kevin Coyle, Vice President for Education and Training, National Wildlife Federation
Andrew is an evolutionary and conservation biologist with a strong interest in pedagogy and curriculum development that fosters student centered learning in large enrollment courses. He is also interested in promoting the development of faculty education groups with the goal of promoting integrated learning experiences across the major for undergraduates that stem from real-world relevant content and science process learning goals. This work was initially supported by a Science Education Initiative grant that supported Science Teaching Fellows that work closely with individual faculty in an effort to generate sustained transformation of teaching practices. The effort led to the development of a faculty support group that meets weekly for the purpose of developing and vetting curriculum that align with research-supported best practices. In addition, our current funded research involves testing the effectiveness of jigsaw lessons for promoting productive collaboration among students. Finally, these efforts are part of a more general movement towards developing an institutional mindset that values effective teaching and authentic assessment for productive and continuous revision of departmental and college-level science education.	Kevin has committed 35 years to U.S. river and watershed conservation and environmental education. An expert on wild rivers, watersheds, higher education sustainability, environmental literacy and community-based conservation, Kevin oversees NWF’s Eco schools USA, habitat certification system, campus EcoLeaders and children and nature programs. He also guides the organization’s education policy work for greener K-12 schools, environmental education and applied science education. Prior to NWF, Kevin was President and CEO of the National Environmental Education Foundation, CEO of American Rivers, Chair of the Natural Resource Council of America, and was an Assistant Regional Director at the National Park Service overseeing the Land and Water Conservation Fund and wild river and national area resource studies in the Northeastern U.S.  Kevin has a Juris Doctorate from Temple University. He is recipient of numerous awards including the Interior Department’s Meritorious Service Award, The White House Reinventing Government Award and Paddler Magazine’s Top Ten River Conservationists of All Time.