Thomas R. Koballa Jr.

— Biography from the 2019 Spring Commencement program —

Dr. Koballa received his Bachelor of Science (1976) and his Master of Arts in Education (1978) degrees from East Carolina University. He earned his Doctorate of Philosophy from Pennsylvania State University (1981). For 28 years prior to coming to Georgia Southern University, he held faculty and administrative positions at the University of Georgia and the University of Texas at Austin. As a teacher–scholar, Dr. Koballa positioned his research to inform his teaching and his teaching to inform his research. Over the years, he taught courses in science education, biology and general education. In addition, he mentored undergraduate and graduate students and directed theses and dissertations at the University of Georgia and the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Koballa was recognized for his university teaching and mentoring accomplishments by the Association for Science Teacher Education, the Georgia Science Teachers Association, and the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education. The research he conducted early in his career examined science educators’ attitudes and was informed by social psychological theories. More recently, his research has involved greater collaboration with P-12 school and community partners and university faculty in a host of STEM disciplines. It has expanded to include investigations of educator mentoring, examinations of the influence of case-based pedagogy, and studies of conference participation on the thinking and practice of STEM educators. Dr. Koballa’s work has been published in refereed journals, including the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, the International Journal of Science Education and the Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. He has authored and edited books and textbooks, and published chapters in multiple books, including the Handbook of College Science Teaching and the Second International Handbook of Science Education. Dr. Koballa received external funding from the National Science Foundation, the Janet H. and C. Harry Knowles Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education, among others. In addition, he was elected and served as president of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching and president of Southeastern Association for Science Teacher Education by fellow researchers. For these and many other distinguished accomplishments too numerous to mention here, Dr. Thomas R. Koballa, Jr. deserves the title of Dean and Professor Emeritus.*