Andrea Weinberg

Andrea Weinberg is an assistant professor in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College in the division of teacher preparation. Her scholarship, teaching, and service are grounded in her commitment to enhancing teacher quality and improving teacher retention and satisfaction. Using participatory and interdisciplinary approaches, Professor Weinberg examines practices that have the potential to increase the effectiveness and retention of early-career teachers, both individually and collectively.

Her ongoing research in the area of transdisciplinary teaching and learning for sustainable development includes collaboration and collective engagement in K-12 and teacher education. She is engaged in youth-oriented PAR alongside undergraduate students, and is studying the transformative learning experiences of preservice teachers, the extent of their preparedness to implement transformative (e.g., place-based) oriented pedagogies in P-12 classrooms, and the experiences that motivate future teachers toward action in their communities and classrooms. Further, she collaborates with elementary teachers to create and study curriculum centered on community-driven challenges including urban biodiversity loss, food waste, and equitable access to nutritious and culturally relevant foods in schools and in the community. Dr. Weinberg has been PI and co-PI of two NSF Noyce programs aimed to recruit and train high quality STEM teachers for high-needs districts, with an emphasis on developing and researching place-based professional development and mentoring for preservice and early career STEM teachers. A

Professor Weinberg currently teaches courses in sustainability science for elementary teachers, as well as special education. Her teaching is directly informed by her research as she works to prepare future educators to engage in collaboration and integrated teaching in their own classrooms as a means to better meet the needs of their students, and to continuously improve their own professional practice. She strives to harness the power of intellectual curiosity to ignite passion in teacher candidates—a passion that will enable them to not only excel and persevere in the profession, but become fervent advocates for their students and communities as well as for the profession of teaching.