Christine U. Eccles, PhD

O: 410-516-8225

Chris Eccles is a lecturer in the School of Education. She is an instructor and advisor in the Mind Brain and Teaching Certificate program, the International Teaching and Global Learning Masters program, as well as in the online Doctor of Education Program as an instructor and dissertation advisor. As an instructor, her focus is on practical applications of research from the learning sciences in educational settings. She has an ongoing interest in neuroscience and cognition that stems from her previous work on behavioral and electrophysiological effects of heavy metal exposure during brain development in animal models. This work began during her doctoral training at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and continued while on the faculty at the University of Maryland, where she taught courses in human biology, pharmacology and toxicology in the pharmacy and nursing professional programs. She also taught high school biology for 10 years at an independent school in Baltimore. She is interested in the relative efficacy of traditional versus inquiry-based teaching methods in high school science education, particularly as they pertain to gender-based preferences and attitudes in science, and on the role science literacy plays in promoting deeper conceptual understanding in science. Her coursework in mind, brain and education at Harvard University allowed her to expand and update her knowledge in the neuroscience of cognition and learning and its relevance for educational pedagogy. In addition to her work with JHU, she oversaw the administration of assessments and data management for the Strategic Education Research Partnership’s Word Generation/CCDD academic language study in Baltimore City schools from 2012 through 2014.