Sara Dozier

Assistant Professor, Graduate Advisor

Courses Taught at CSULB

  • SCED 401: A Process Approach to Science
  • SCED 550: Current Issues and Research in Science Education
  • SCED 560: Science Education Research Methods
  • SCED 697: Directed Research
  • SCED 698: Thesis

Research Interests and Projects

My scholarship focuses on how teachers understand and respond to students' ideas about science in ways that work toward justice and equity. I examine how teachers of science can recenter assessment around students' knowledge and experiences in ways that value student contributions and provide useful information about how students understand both science and their own learning.

My curiosity about this area of research is informed by my experiences as a high school science teacher in California public schools, an administrator at the county level, and a research biologist. This work is only possible by learning with and working alongside K-12 students and teachers to collectively make sense of the complex process of science learning.

Selected Publications

  • Dozier, S. J., Morell, L., and MacPherson, A., Gochyyev, P., Wilson, M. (2023). Developing a learning progression for interdependent relationships in ecosystems. Sustainability. 15, 14212. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914212
  • Vi, K. & Dozier, S.J. (2023). Asset-based feedback: An equity-oriented approach to responding to student work. California Classroom Science, 36(2). https://classroomscience.org/articles/fyi/asset-based-feedback-equity-o…
  • Zummo, L. and Dozier, S.J. (2021). Using epistemic tools to support secondary science teachers' social construction of knowledge of anthropogenic climate change during a professional learning experience. Journal of Geoscience Education 70(4), 530-545. https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2021.1986785
  • Osborne, J. F., Forbes, C., Neuman, K., Schiepe-Tiska, A., Duclos, M., Le Hebel, F., Tiberghien, A., Montpied, P., Fontanieu,V., Dozier, S. J., Azzolini, D., Bazoli, N., Vergolini, L. (2021). PISA 2015: What Can Science Education Learn from the Data? In: Levrini, O., Tasquier, G., Amin, T.G., Branchetti, L., Levin, M. (eds) Engaging with Contemporary Challenges through Science Education Research. Contributions from Science Education Research, vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74490-8_7
  • Dozier, S. J. (2021) Is more always better? What PISA 2015 can actually tell us about inquiry-based science teaching practices (OCLC No. 1258124373) [Doctoral dissertation, Stanford University]. Stanford University Publishing.
  • Dozier, S. J. (2015). Strategies for Assessing Student Understanding in the NGSS Classroom. California Classroom Science, 27(8).