McCausland College of Arts and Sciences
Directory
Merrie Koester
| Title: | Director STEAM, Kids Teaching Flood Resilience |
| Department: | Center for Science Education McCausland College of Arts and Sciences |
| Resources: | Website |
Dr. Merrie Koester is a veteran science teacher and educational researcher specializing in youth-based participatory action research. Her work is focused on building practice partnerships between higher education, schools, community programs and civic leaders to achieve high-impact forms of science literacy. Since 2016, Dr. Koester has directed a community outreach effort called Kids Teaching Flood Resilience, which positions youth in flood-prone communities as resources of knowledge about hazard risk mitigation in the face of extreme weather events.
Dr. Koester has published and presented extensively on the power of teaching STEM and the arts together, a pedagogical practice called STEAM. She is the author of a series of science education novels and curriculum for middle-grade readers. Her text, Science Teachers Who Draw: The Red Is Always There, narrates the journey of five middle school science teachers who explored with Dr. Koester the impact of teaching science through drawing and visual thinking with students who struggled with reading.