Dr. Burrell is an assistant professor in science education in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership & Policy in the School of Education and Urban Studies, at Morgan State University. Dr. Burrell is a socio-cognitive researcher applying both quantitative and qualitative analytical methods to the study of science teaching and learning. With advanced degrees in the geosciences and curriculum and instruction, Dr. Burrell’s research agenda includes: transformative learning experiences, science interest development, self-efficacy, Earth science and geoscience education, environmental justice, and science for social justice. Her research, Understanding the relationship between teacher use of epistemic operations and complexity of students’ explanations (2017) was awarded the Richard C. Anderson Graduate Student Research Award by the National Consortium for Instruction and Cognition. Dr. Burrell’s dissertation work, Towards a geoscience pedagogy: a socio-cognitive model (2019), was awarded the Dr. Rita Wolotkiewicz Phi Delta Kappa Award by Temple University’s College of Education in recognition of outstanding professional achievement.
Dr. Burrell is committed to designing and developing equitable and justice-oriented science learning experiences.
Research Interests: equity, geoscience education research, transformative science learning experiences, science interest development, self-efficacy, environmental justice, and justice-oriented science pedagogy.