Research
Christopher Andersen's research explores inquiry and reasoning across the curricula, focusing on the role of metacognition in their development. His work uses metacognitive control of theory-evidence differentiation and coordination (Kuhn, Garcia-Mila, Zohar, & Andersen, 1995) as a common theoretical framework for examining inquiry in areas as disparate as science (Yuruk, Beeth, & Andersen, 2009), drama (Andersen, 2002, 2004a, 2004b, 2006; Warner & Andersen, 2004), and hypermedia (Schwartz, Andersen, Hong, Howard, & McGee, 2004). He is completing a set of studies with Dr. Merce Garcia-Milà (Universitat de Barcelona) on metacognitive development of representational practices (for example, inscriptions in laboratory notebooks) during science reasoning (Garcia-Mila, Rojo, & Andersen, 2005; Garcia-Mila & Andersen, 2007; Garcia-Mila, Andersen, & Rojo, 2009), and they are beginning to examine the role of metacognition in argumentation in science (Garcia-Mila & Andersen, 2008). In recent years, he has presented his research at international conferences in China, Cyprus, France, Norway, Panama, Spain, and the UK and has lectured at universities in China, Denmark, and Spain.
As a former K-12 classroom teacher, Dr. Andersen has a particular interest in translating psychological research into educational practice. He finds ample opportunities to bridge this gap in his position as Director of Project GRO, where he works with investigators in departments across the university as they develop outreach programs to share their research with students and the public. He has had additional opportunities to share his psychological research with educators through his writing, including service as guest editor for the "Developmental Psychology: Implications for Teaching" special issue of the educational journal Theory Into Practice.
Books and Monographs
Kuhn, D., Garcia-Mila, M., Zohar, A., & Andersen, C. (1995). Strategies of knowledge acquisition. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 60 (4, Serial No. 245).
Andersen, C., Scheuer, N., Pérez Echeverría, M. P., & Teubal, E. (Eds.) (2009). Representational systems and practices as learning tools. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Recent Journal Articles and Book Chapters
Andersen, C. (2002). Thinking as and thinking about: Cognition and metacognition in drama in education. In Bjørn Rasmussen & Anna-Lena Østern (Eds.), Playing betwixt and between: The IDEA dialogues 2001 (pp. 265-270). Oslo: Landslaget Drama i Skolen.
Andersen, C., Nuñez, C. A., & Myers, R. J. (2003). Educational reform across a multi-campus secondary and tertiary system: Implementing Problem-Based Learning at ITESM. In D. F. Berlin & A. L. White (Eds.), Improving science and mathematics education: Insights from a global community (pp. 113-117). Columbus, OH: International Consortium for Research in Science and Mathematics Education.
Andersen, C. (2004a). Throwing out the baby with the bathwater? A psychologist's view of "brain-based drama." Drama, 11 (2), 29-30.
Andersen, C. (2004b). Learning in "as-if" worlds: Cognition in drama in education. Theory Into Practice, 42, 281-286.
Schwartz, N. H., Andersen, C., Hong, N., Howard, B., & McGee, S. (2004). The influence of metacognitive skills on learners' memory of information in a hypermedia environment. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 31, 77-93.
Warner, C. D., & Andersen, C. (2004). "Snails are science": Creating context for science inquiry and writing through process drama. Youth Theatre Journal, 18, 68-86.
Garcia-Mila, M., Rojo, N., & Andersen, C. (2005). Etude de cas: Prise de notes et recherche scientifique (Case study: Notetaking and scientific research). La Lettre de l´AIRDF, 37 (2), 15-18.
Andersen, C. (2006). Drama. In S. Feinstein (Ed.), The Praeger handbook of learning and the brain (Vol. 1, pp. 182-186). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
Garcia-Mila, M., & Andersen, C. (2007). Developmental change in notetaking during scientific inquiry. International Journal of Science Education, 29, 1035-1058.
Garcia-Mila, M., & Andersen, C. (2008). Cognitive foundations of learning argumentation. In S. Erduran & M. Jimenez-Aleixandre (Eds.), Argumentation in science education: Perspectives from classroom-based research (pp. 29-45). New York: Springer Academic Publishers.
Garcia-Mila, M., Andersen, C., & Rojo, N. (2009). The development of scientific inquiry strategies and representational practices in preadolescents. In C. Andersen, N. Scheuer, M. P. Pérez Echeverría, & E. Teubal (Eds.), Representational systems and practices as learning tools (pp. 167-185). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Yuruk, N., Beeth, M. W., & Andersen, C. (2009). Analyzing the effect of metaconceptual teaching practices on students' understanding of force and motion concepts. Research in Science Education, 39, 449-475.
