Professional Background
A K-12 classroom teacher turned developmental psychologist, Christopher Andersen focuses his professional activities around translating psychology research into educational practice. After teaching music, science, mathematics, and self-contained classroom in Venezuela and New York City, his interests in understanding children's thinking led him to graduate study at Columbia University (M.A. in education, M.Phil. and Ph.D. in developmental psychology). His research examines student inquiry across the curriculum, using microgenetic methodology to study reasoning strategies and the role of metacognition in their development. He has a particular interest in learning in informal education settings and has worked in museums, educational television production, toy design, and software development. He often conducts his research collaboratively and currently is working with colleagues at Universtat de Barcelona (Spain) on argumentation and science learning. He is active in state and national educational organizations, having served on committees within the American Educational Research Association, National Association for Research in Science Teaching, School Science and Mathematics Association, National Science Teachers Association, and the Ohio Department of Education, and he has been a member of the board of directors of the Science Education Council of Ohio, Ohio Council for Elementary School Science, and Science Center of Inquiry.
He currently serves as Director of Project GRO (Project to Support Grants for Research Outreach), an initiative within the university's Office of Research and Office of University Outreach and Engagement to create a sustained and coordinated resource for faculty who include an outreach/engagement component in their grant proposals for research funding. Funded by seven colleges (Mathematical and Physical Sciences; Biological Sciences; Engineering; Medicine and Public Health; Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences; Social and Behavioral Sciences; Education and Human Ecology), the Office of University Outreach and Engagement, and the Office of Research, Project GRO works with individual faculty and outreach/engagement staff within each college as well as outreach/engagement providers outside the university.
Dr. Andersen came to Ohio State in 1997 as a visiting assistant professor in education at the Newark campus, later assuming a tenure-track assistant professor position. In addition to his involvement with the School of Teaching and Learning's Integrated Teaching and Learning (ITL) and Mathematics, Science, and Technology (MSAT) sections, he was associated with the School of Educational Policy and Leadership's program in Psychological Studies in Education and College of Education's program in Teacher Education. Prior to coming to OSU, he was an instructional designer at the Center for Educational Technologies, where he developed multimedia and Internet-based interdisciplinary educational applications using NASA technology, as well as Associate Director for the Galaxy Classroom distance learning network, an interactive science and language arts curricula that combined satellite-delivered video programs, classroom investigations, and collaborative communications technology to increase science and language arts interest and achievement.
