Steven Zuiker
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Phone: 602-496-8372
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Mail code: 1811Campus: Tempe
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Steve Zuiker is an associate professor of learning sciences in the division for advancing education policy, practice, and leadership. His research is broadly based on the notion that ideas are only as important as what we can do with them. Learning environments, like school gardens and video games, as well as research findings, like scholarly journal articles, can each be both useful and used to create value in educational and local communities. Dr. Zuiker's research agenda explores how to design activities, resources, and projects that interconnect classrooms and schoolyards, digital video games and real-world activities, and ultimately, educational research and educational practice.
His scholarship and publications advance two goals related to what we can all do with ideas. First, through design-based research, he develops and improves learning and teaching systems in K-12 science education, often utilizing digital technologies. For example, environmental sensor networks in gardens and virtual environmental scenarios in video games can be tools to support students' meaningful engagement with science in a classroom, on campus, and with the local community. Second, he investigates how educational research itself is a system of learning and teaching in which research reports remain one among many means of sharing ideas and doing things with them. In this way, Dr. Zuiker considers how educational practitioners and researchers organize these systems of learning and teaching and how digital technologies can enhance the social relationships through which education stakeholders inspire and enable insight and mutual understanding.
- Ph.D. Learning Sciences, Indiana University-Bloomington
- M.A. Educational Psychology, University of Georgia
- B.A. Psychology, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign
Guiding Research Questions:
- How can practical connections between schools, local neighborhoods, and professional disciplinary communities enhance learning and teaching activities in science education?
- How can educational activities inspire and enable students, educators, and researchers, respectively, to expand the reach and impact of what they learn to other settings and contexts?
Current Research Projects:
Zuiker is the principal investigator for the Step Outside teacher professional development program. Step Outside involves K-12 Arizona teachers in co-designing teaching strategies that connect indoor classrooms and outdoor campuses using shorter-term activities and longer-term projects. Step Outside organizes networked learning for 200 teachers across 37 schools, 9 districts, and 3 level III ecoregions in order to explore how school campuses can enhance learning and teaching. Specifically, the Step Outside program enables researchers and practitioners to put ideas to work in two ways. First, program participants engage in peer learning and professional development about outdoor education in real-time and over time. Second, they connect Step Outside teaching tools to their local schools campus in order to provide students with strategic opportunities to learn outside and, in turn, to share personal insights from their own local classroom-campus contexts with program peers.
Zuiker is also co-prinicipal investigator on a multi-national, team-based project entitled Participatory Design for Climate Change Adaptation. Scholars across 8 universities in Canada, South Africa, and the United States are working in partnership with nine local schools and communities across three level III ecoregions in South Africa. Partners will co-develop intergenerational gardening projects at each locale and an intergenerational gardening network across them. Local and networked learning will support community goals for food security and climate literacy grounded in indigenous and local ecological knowledge. Learn more at the project website.
SELECT JOURNAL ARTICLES (* denotes student author)
- Zuiker, S. J., & Riske*, A. (2021). Designing for garden-based learning: Mapping practical and theoretical work through design. Environmental Education Research, 27(8), 1152-1171. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2021.1888886
- Jordan, M., Zuiker, S. J., Wakefield*, W., & De La Rosa@, M. (2021). Real work with real consequences: Enlisting community energy engineering as an approach to envisioning engineering in context. Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research, 11(1), 1-26. doi: 10.7771/2157-9288.1294
- Merritt, E., Peterson, A., Evans, S., Marston, S., & Zuiker, S. J. (2021). Learning about culture and sustainable harvesting of native plants. Science & Children, 58(4), 69-73.
- Zuiker, S. J., & Anderson, K. T. (2019). Fostering peer dialogic engagement in science classrooms with an educational videogame. Research in Science Education. DOI: 10.1007/s11165-019-9842-z
- Zuiker, S. J., Jordan, M., and the Learning Landscapes Team*. (2019). Inter-organizational design thinking in education: Joint work between learning sciences courses and a zoo education program. Open Education Studies. doi: 10.1515/edu-2019-0001
- Zuiker, S. J., Piepgrass*, N., Tefera, A., Anderson, K. T., Fischman, G., & Winn*, K. (2019). Recognizing and transforming knowledge mobilization in colleges of education. International Journal of Educational Policy & Leadership, 15(1), 1-19. DOI: 10.22230/ijepl.2018v15n1a808
- Fischman, G., Anderson, K. T., Tefera, A., & Zuiker, S. J. (2018). If mobilizing educational research is the answer, who can afford to ask the question? An analysis of knowledge mobilization for scholarship in education. AERA Open, 4(1), 1-17. DOI: 10.1177/2332858417750133 [all authors contributed equally]
- Zuiker, S. J., Piepgrass*, N., & Evans*, M. D. (2017). Expanding approaches to design research from researcher “ego-systems” to stakeholder ecosystems. In J. M. Spector, B. B. Lockee, & M. D. Childress (Eds.) Learning, Design, and Technology. An International Compendium of Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. New York: Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-17727-4_74-1
- Zuiker, S. J., Anderson, K., Jordan, M., & Stewart*, O. (2016). Complementary lenses: Using theories of situativity and complexity to understand collaborative learning as systems-level social activity. Learning, Culture, & Social Interaction, 9, 80-94. DOI: 10.1016/j.lcsi.2016.02.003
- Zuiker, S. J., & Wright*, K. (2015). Learning in and beyond school gardens with cyber-physical systems. Interactive Learning Environments, 23 (5), 556-577. doi:10.1080/10494820.2015.1063512
- Nxumbalo, F., Madkins, T., Nkonki-Madleni, B., Zuiker, S. J., Lanza, K., Maddalena, D., Li, Y., & Ayisi, K. K. (2024-2026). Participatory design for climate change adaptation: Intergenerational climate responsive school gardening as an approach to food security and climate literacy in South African communities. Canada Research Coordinating Committee New Frontiers in Research Fund, International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation.
- Zuiker, S. J., Early, J., & Cloutier, S. (2023-2024). Teachers Connecting Campuses and Core Curricula. Arizona Governor’s Office, Negative Economic Impacts: Educational Disparities and Teacher Professional Development Grant Program - Award GR-ARPA-EDPD-ABORASU-05.
- Jordan, M., Zuiker, S. J., & Miller, C. (2020-2022). Co-Developing Community Energy Engineering After-School Programing with Latinx Youth. Spencer Foundation Small Grant 202000196.
- Zuiker, S. J., Merritt, E., and Marston, S. (2019-2021). The School Gardeners' Southwest Desert Almanac: A Conference for Supporting, Sustaining, and Spreading Garden-Based Science Teaching. National Science Foundation Grant, Education and Human Resources Directorate – DRK-12 Program Award 1908886.
- Fischman, G., Zuiker, S. J., Teferas, A., & Anderson, K. T. (2014-2016). For whom and to what end is educational research ultimately directed: An analysis of knowledge mobilization strategies. Spencer Foundation Organizational Learning Grant 10003022.
Courses
2026 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| LSE 570 | Case Exemplars Learning Systms |
2025 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| DCI 792 | Research |
| EPA 792 | Research |
| DCI 784 | Internship |
| DCI 790 | Reading and Conference |
| DCI 799 | Dissertation |
| LSE 591 | Seminar |
| EDU 494 | Special Topics |
| HUL 494 | Special Topics |
| EDU 598 | Special Topics |
| HUL 598 | Special Topics |
| ENG 494 | Special Topics |
| ENG 598 | Special Topics |
2025 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| EDT 580 | Practicum |
| TEL 708 | Collab Apprch Data-Inf Dcn Mkg |
| TEL 708 | Collab Apprch Data-Inf Dcn Mkg |
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| DCI 799 | Dissertation |
| DCI 792 | Research |
| DCI 784 | Internship |
| DCI 790 | Reading and Conference |
| LSE 570 | Case Exemplars Learning Systms |
| LSE 599 | Thesis |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| DCI 792 | Research |
| EPA 792 | Research |
| DCI 784 | Internship |
| DCI 790 | Reading and Conference |
| DCI 799 | Dissertation |
| EDT 690 | Reading and Conference |
| EDT 584 | Internship |
| LSE 591 | Seminar |
2024 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| EDT 580 | Practicum |
| EDT 584 | Internship |
| DCI 784 | Internship |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| DCI 799 | Dissertation |
| DCI 792 | Research |
| DCI 784 | Internship |
| DCI 790 | Reading and Conference |
| SOS 493 | Honors Thesis |
2023 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| DCI 792 | Research |
| DCI 784 | Internship |
| DCI 790 | Reading and Conference |
| DCI 799 | Dissertation |
| EDT 690 | Reading and Conference |
| EDT 584 | Internship |
| LSE 591 | Seminar |
2023 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| EDT 580 | Practicum |
| EDT 584 | Internship |
| DCI 784 | Internship |
2023 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SOS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| DCI 799 | Dissertation |
| DCI 792 | Research |
| DCI 784 | Internship |
| DCI 790 | Reading and Conference |
2022 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| DCI 792 | Research |
| DCI 784 | Internship |
| DCI 790 | Reading and Conference |
| DCI 799 | Dissertation |
| EDT 690 | Reading and Conference |
| EDT 584 | Internship |
| LSE 591 | Seminar |
| HUL 598 | Special Topics |
| HUL 494 | Special Topics |
| EDU 494 | Special Topics |
| PHI 494 | Special Topics |
| PHI 598 | Special Topics |
| SOS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| SOS 594 | Conference and Workshop |
2022 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| EDT 580 | Practicum |
| EDT 584 | Internship |
| TEL 704 | Leadership for Org Change |
| TEL 704 | Leadership for Org Change |
| DCI 784 | Internship |
2022 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| DCI 799 | Dissertation |
| DCI 792 | Research |
| DCI 790 | Reading and Conference |
| LSE 570 | Case Exemplars Learning Systms |
| LSE 305 | Conceptualizing Learning |
2021 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| DCI 792 | Research |
| DCI 790 | Reading and Conference |
| DCI 799 | Dissertation |
| EDT 690 | Reading and Conference |
| EDT 584 | Internship |
| LSE 591 | Seminar |
| DCI 691 | Seminar |
2021 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| EDT 580 | Practicum |
| EDT 584 | Internship |
| TEL 704 | Leadership for Org Change |
2021 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| DCI 799 | Dissertation |
| DCI 792 | Research |
| DCI 790 | Reading and Conference |
| LSE 570 | Case Exemplars Learning Systms |
| LSE 599 | Thesis |
| DCI 691 | Seminar |
2020 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| DCI 792 | Research |
| DCI 790 | Reading and Conference |
| EDT 799 | Dissertation |
| TEL 215 | Intro to Child&Adolescent Dev |
| EDT 690 | Reading and Conference |
| EDT 584 | Internship |
| LSE 591 | Seminar |
| LSE 599 | Thesis |
2010 Best Paper Award, 4th IEEE International Conference on Digital Ecosystems and Technologies
2008 Best Paper Nomination, International Conference of the Learning Sciences
2006 Reviewer of the Year Award, Educational Researcher.
- Editorial Board Member for the International Journal of Educational Policy & Leadership
- Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Research on Technology in Education
- American Educational Research Association (aera.net)
- International Society of the Learning Science (isls.org)
DISSERTATION CHAIR
- Bregje van Geffen. Learning, Literacies, & Technology PhD program. (Current)
- Annette Schimdt. Learning, Literacies, & Technology PhD program. (Current)
DISSERTATION CO-CHAIR
- Amanda Riske. Learning, Literacies, & Technology PhD program. (Graduated 2023)
- Tome Martinez. Educational Technology PhD Program. (Graduated 2019)
- James Thomas. Educational Technology PhD Program. (Graduated 2017)
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE MEMBER
- Cori Lomonte. Educational Leadership & Innovation EdD Program. (Graduated 2019)
- Priyanka Parekh. Learning, Literacies, & Technology PhD program. (Graduated 2018)
- Jennifer Vargas Wright. Educational Technology PhD Program. (Graduated 2018)
- Dianna Lippincott. Educational Leadership & Innovation EdD Program. (Graduated 2017)
THESIS CHAIR
- Danielle Du. Learning Sciences MA program. (Current)
- Rebekah Jongewaard. Learning Sciences MA program. (Graduated 2021)
- Siyuan Lee. Learning Sciences MA program. (Graduated 2019)
- Elizabeth Sanders. Learning Sciences MA program. (Graduated 2019)
THESIS COMMITTEE
- Curtiss Brouthers. Learning Sciences MA program. (Graduated 2021)
- Digengni. Learning Sciences MA program. (Graduated 2020)