Lawrence Escalada
Associate Professor of Physics and Science Education
e-mail: lawrence.escalada@uni.edu
Dr. Escalada arrived at UNI in the Fall of 1997. He received his
doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction with an emphasis in Physics
and Science Education, master's in Physics, and bachelor degrees in
Physics and Education from Kansas State University. His graduate work
focused on developing and evaluating innovative physics curriculum
materials and software and resulted in a few national awards including
the National Association for Research in Science Teaching Outstanding
Master's Thesis of the Year in 1986.
He has taught high school physics and physical science and has been
a faculty consultant for the Advanced Placement Physics program. As
a UNI faculty member in both Physics and Science Education, he has
taught a wide variety of courses from Liberal Arts Core courses (including
General Physics I, Physics in Everyday Life, and Inquiry into Physical
Science) to courses (both undergraduate and graduate) that are applicable
to preservice and inservice physics and science teachers (including
Orientation to Science Teaching, Current Curricula in Physics, Current
Technologies in Science Teaching, and Workshop PRISMS: Activities
for High School Physics Teachers). He serves as faculty advisor to
undergraduate physics teaching and secondary science teaching majors
and graduate (MA) science education majors. He also provides community
service by coordinating a number of UNI Physics Outreach opportunities
for students and teachers including the UNI/AEA7 Regional Physics
Olympics Competition and UNI Physics Update Conference.
Dr. Escalada's research interests are in the fields of physics and
science education. As an educator and researcher, he has focused on
making science, especially physics, more accessible and relevant to
all students while at the same time increasing the quality of teaching
and learning the subject. He has adopted the equitable and effective
integration of technology with activity-based, student centered instructional
strategies in the courses he teaches as well as the instructional
materials he develops. His emphasis is in developing and evaluating
high school activity-based physics and physical science curricula
that utilize inexpensive materials and interactive instructional technologies
to develop proficiency in science inquiry and reasoning skills and
to develop and reinforce conceptual understanding of the topics being
introduced for all students especially those students who do not have
strong backgrounds in mathematics and science. He also has research
interests in using innovative curricula and instructional strategies
as a means to improve the science education of culturally and linguistically
diverse students and to provide professional development for inservice
science teachers especially for those who are under prepared in the
teaching of physical science and who are teaching out of their subject
area.
Dr. Escalada is currently collaborating with Roy Unruh on the final
edit of the latest version of the PRISMS (Physics Resources and Instructional
Resources to Motivate Students) materials, called PRISMS PLUS in preparation
for the commercial national publication by Center Pointe Learning.
The PRISMS PLUS materials focuses on the use of the learning cycle
pedagogy, real-life relevant activities, student conceptual support
materials, and inexpensive and technological resources.
Additional information can be found at: http://www.physics.uni.edu/escalada
.
Recent Publications and Instructional Materials
Escalada, L.T., Unruh, R., Markegard, A., Vining, T., Mader, J. &
Schaefer, K. PRISMS (Physics Resources and Instructional Strategies
to Motivate Students) Plus - A High School Physics Resource consisting
of 45 learning cycles of student activities, student conceptual support
materials , and comprehensive teacher notes. Center Pointe Learning,
Fairfield, OH (in press).
Escalada, L. T., Rebello, N. S., & Zollman, D. A., Student explorations
of quantum effects in LEDs and luminescent devices, The Physics Teacher
(in press).
Escalada, L. T., Luminescence or Incandescence?: Aphysical science
lesson plan. In C. A. Grant and C. E. Sleeter, Turning on Learning:
Five Approaches for Multicultural Teaching Plans for Race, Class,
Gender, and Disability, 3rd edition, New York, NY: Wiley & Sons
(2003).
Escalada, L. T., Rebello, N. S., & Zollman, D. A., Luminescence:
It's cool light!: Investigations on the quantum effects in luminescent
materials and devices. In Kansas State University Physics
Education Research Group, Visual Quantum Mechanics - The Original
CD-ROM, Lexington, KY: Ztek Co. Multimedia for Physics Education (2002).
Escalada, L. T., Rebello, N. S., & Zollman, D. A., Solids &
Light: Investigations on the quantum effects in light emitting diodes,
In Kansas State University Physics Education Research Group,
Visual Quantum Mechanics - The Original CD-ROM, Lexington, KY: Ztek
Co. Multimedia for Physics Education (2002).
Escalada, L. T., An investigation on the impact of implementing Visual
Quantum Mechanics on student learning and student instructor beliefs.
In S. Franklin, J. Marx, & K. Cummings (Eds.), Proceedings of
the 2001 Physics Education Research Conference, (pp. 21-24). Rochester,
NY: National Physics Education Research Conference (2001).
Escalada, L. T., Unruh, R., Cooney, T., & Foltz, J., "Students
see the light: Investigating luminescence and incandescence through
a three-part learning cycle," The Science Teacher 68(4), 40-43
(2001).
Rebello, N. S., Cumaranatunge, C., Escalada, L. T., & Zollman,
D. A., "Simulating the spectra of light sources," Computers
in Physics,12(1), 28-33 (1998).
Rebello, N. S., Ravipati, C., Zollman, D. A., & Escalada, L.
T., "Computer simulation of P-N junction devices," American
Journal of Physics 65(8), 765-773 (1997).
Escalada, L. T. & Zollman, D. A., "An investigation on the
effects of using interactive digital video in a physics classroom
on student learning and attitudes," Journal of Research in Science
Teaching 34 (5), 467-489 (1997).
Escalada, L. T., Baptiste, Jr., H. P., Zollman, D. A., & Rebello,
N. S., "Physics for all: How technology can spark universal success
in the physics classroom," The Science Teacher 64, 2 (1997).
Escalada, L. T., Grabhorn, R. P., & Zollman, D. A., "Applications
of interactive digital video in a physics classroom," Journal
of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 5(1), 73-97 (1996).
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