Educational Background

• PhD, Curriculum and instruction/Science education, University of Maryland, College Park
• MA, Curriculum and instruction/Chemical education, University of Maryland, College Park
• BA, Chemistry and secondary education, Thomas More College

Teaching Profession
Courses regularly taught
• Philosophical and Theoretical foundations in the Pedagogy of Science
• Curriculum and Teaching in Science
• Practica in Teaching Science
• Elementary School Science: Content, Methods, and Research

Current Research Interests

• Director of The Center for Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education (CSMTE)
• Science-society technology curriculum development
• Minds-on constructivist approaches to teaching
• Concerns-based approaches to inservice education/staff development
• Teacher leadership networks

Selected Publications

• O'Brien, T. (1998).Chemistry in the community. American Chemical Society. Kendall Hunt, 1998. Contributing author for student text and Editor/Author for Teacher's Guide.
• O'Brien, T. & Cheeks, D. (1996). NYSTEP Teacher Guide. Albany, NY: New York State Education Department. See Research Highlights to read more about this guide.
• O'Brien, T. (1992).Science inservice workshops that work for elementary teachers. School Science and Mathematics, 92, 422-426.
• O'Brien, T. (1991).The science and art of demonstrations. Journal of Chemical Education, 68, 933-936.

Other Professional Activities

Co-Principal Investigator on numerous grants:

• Community Collaboration to Enhance Investigative Biology, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
• Community of Faculty and Student Scholars in Biology, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• Improving Access, Success and Teaching Performance in Molecular Biology, funded by the National Science Foundation
• Statewide Training for Educators in Physical Sciences (STEPS), funded by the National Science Foundation
• STEP-UP: Southern Tier Educators Program for Understanding Physics, funded by the New York State Education Department

Selected Recognitions
• University and Chancellor's Awards for Excellence in Teaching, 1999
• New York State Association of Teacher Educator's (NYSATE) R. Neal Appleby Award for New York State's "Outstanding Teacher Educator," 1999