Kelsey Lipsitz, a third year doctoral student in LTC’s Science Education, has been selected to a prominent Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE) Fellowship.

Lipsitz is a former fifth grade teacher and has been serving as a graduate research assistant on the Quality Elementary Science Teaching (QuEST) project, which investigates a practicum based professional development model designed for elementary teachers.

Lipstiz’s future research will examine elementary teachers’ understanding of science and how to bring more authentic science learning experiences into the classroom, so that students are better prepared to engage in science as they encounter it in their daily lives.

The CADRE Fellows program is a competitive fellowship designed to be a capacity-building experience for early career researchers and developers. Fellows learn about DR K-12 research beyond their projects, and network with researchers and developers from across the country.

“As an elementary educator in science education, Kelsey is a rarity—the majority of folks in our field hail from secondary science teaching contexts,” said Deborah Hanuscin, professor, who is the faculty adviser for Lipsitz. “Her familiarity with instruction in all content areas is an asset, and the opportunity to network with professionals from other STEM fields will be invaluable to her. She’s a rising star in our program and this will only further her work.”