Steve Fifield, PhD   

Associate Policy Scientist; Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Dr. Fifield’s work focuses on evaluation and research in science education and interdisciplinary science research initiatives. He is especially interested in the application of qualitative/interpretive methods, systems and complexity perspectives, and participatory evaluation to inform project design and management, and enhance clients’ capacities to carry out and use evaluation. In studies of science education, he was PI of the Science Semester project, an elementary teacher education initiative supported by an NSF Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement grant. He is currently a Co-PI of an NSF Teacher Professional Continuum study of the development of prospective K-8 teachers’ knowledge and identities during inquiry-based undergraduate courses. In the area of science and technology research initiatives, he is an internal evaluator for the NSF funded Delaware Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and the NIH funded Delaware IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE). He is also PI of an NSF funded study of the social dynamics of interdisciplinary research centers. This study is integrating ethnographic methods and social network analysis to explore factors that enable collaborative research across disciplinary and institutional cultures. Prior to joining the Education R&D Center in 2003, Dr. Fifield was a faculty member in the University of Delaware Department of Biological Sciences, where he taught secondary science education methods courses and non-majors biology courses for prospective teachers. He is a past Program Co-Chair for the LGBT Issues TIG of the American Evaluation Association.