Hannah
Huvard Russo, phd
ABOUT ME
I hold a PhD in Education and Human Development with a concentration is in Science Education. My background is primarily in Biology and Biology Education. My teaching emphasizes the application of sociocultural learning theories and the use of metacognitive strategies to enhance student engagement and retention.
My research is situated at the intersection of biological science and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), with a specific focus on identifying and dismantling barriers to success in STEM across both formal and informal learning environments.
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Outside of my formal role in academia, I have served as the curriculum developer for the USA BMX Foundation, where I directed the design, NGSS-alignment, and implementation of inquiry-based STEM programs. The USA BMX foundation is a non-profit organization that aims to get more kids active on bicycles through interactive educational programs.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
I am a certified faculty partner of the Embedded Peer Educator Collaboration (EPEC) Institute. In this institute, I further developed a specific plan of action to integrate metacognitive strategies and the use of an Embedded Peer Educator (EPE) in my Statistics for Biologists course. Specifically, I integrated strategies like retrieval practice, interleaving, and focused review with intentional scaffolding into my curriculum.
CurriculumDevelopment
As the lead STEM curriculum developer for the USA BMX Foundation, I directed the design, NGSS-alignment, and implementation of inquiry-based STEM programs. These programs aim to increase participation in STEM through non-traditional learning environments, specifically for underrepresented TK–12 students. This process also involved training TK–12 educators on implementing the curriculum through authoring training manuals, creating training videos, and meeting with teachers to showcase the curriculum.
Example page of my authored curriculum. In this lesson, students use a bicycle's drive train -- the system of gears, cranks, and wheels that move the bicycle in a predictable pattern (forward) as it is pedaled -- to measure how far the bicycle moves with each rotation of the wheels. This lesson showcases Next Generation Science Standards related to forces and motion and the use of measurement to produce data.
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This curriculum is copyrighted by the USA BMX Foundation. For more information, visit the USA BMX Foundation website.
Check out my authored curriculum in action at the Discovery Lab Children's Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma!
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The "Riders Ready: The Science of BMX" exhibit is an interactive experience based on my authored curriculum with the USA BMX Foundation. This exhibit has plans to travel nationwide after its tenure in Tulsa.
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For more information visit the Discovery Lab Website
SELECT REFEREED ARTICLES AND PRESENTATIONS
CURRENT RESEARCH
Measurement of Student Traits
Generating new ways to conceptualize and measure student traits of learning and engagement in science
EDUCATION
2017 - 2021
University of Colorado Denver
Ph.D., Education and Human Development: Science Education
Impacts on Undergraduate Mentor-Teachers
Examining the effects of peer learning support for both undergraduate mentors and mentees
2012 - 2014
Keck Graduate Institute at The Claremont Colleges
M.B.S, BioScience
Science Identity Development
How science identity is developed, strengthened, and measured in undergraduate science students
2008 - 2012
Chapman University
B.S., Biological Sciences