Karl Jung

Karl Jung

Co-Director for the Center of STEM Education, Assistant Professor

    Westlake Hall 331
    (309) 677-3413
   kjung@bradley.edu

 

Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction: STEM Education
B.S. Elementary Education
B.S. Elementary Education

Biography

Karl Jung is a former elementary school teacher, having taught 2nd grade in Rapid City, South Dakota. After completing his master’s degree, Dr. Jung returned to the University of Minnesota where he completed his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in STEM Education. Following the completion of his program, Dr. Jung was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Science Education K-8 at the University of South Florida, where he worked from 2017-2022 conducting science education research, facilitating grant projects, coaching pre-service elementary science teachers, and teaching elementary science and STEM methods. Desiring a shift in his career, Dr. Jung joined Bradley in the fall of 2022 as an Assistant Professor of Science Education and Co-Director of the Center for STEM Education. Dr. Jung is passionate about supporting K-12 science teachers in improving the practice and better supporting their K-12 students’ science learning, as well as in teaching pre-service science teachers as they grow their practice as beginning teachers.

Teaching

Jung teaches courses in science methods at both the elementary, middle, and high school levels. These courses seek to help pre-service teachers in developing their abilities to engage K-12 students in meaningful and authentic science learning experiences. These course include:

    • ETE 336 Methods of Teaching Science Grades 1-6
    • ETE 356 Methods of Teaching Middle School Science
    • ETE 374 Methods of Teaching High School Science

Scholarship

Jung’s scholarship focuses on supporting the learning of science teachers as they explore how to implement new instructional strategies and techniques into their classrooms. Primarily focused on elementary classrooms, his work utilizes qualitative methods to generate rich descriptions of the actions teacher’s take and the influences those actions have in their classrooms. This work has been supported by external funding, including a $1.1 million National Science Foundation DRK-12 grant.

Publications

    • McFadden, J., Jung, K.G., Tretter, T., & Robinson, B. (2021). Teacher-developed multi-dimensional science assessments supporting elementary teacher learning about the next generation science standards. Journal of Science Teacher Education.
    • Sherry, M. B., Agosto, V., Blank, J., Braun, A., Cain, L., Feldman, A., Jung, K.G., & Wolgemuth, J. (2021). On being a methodologist in 5Ws +H. Research in the Schools, 21(1), 34-43.
    • Jung, K.G. (2019). Learning to scaffold science academic language: Lessons from an instructional coaching partnership. Research in Science Education. 49(4), 1013–1024. DOI: 10.1007/s11165-019-9851-y
    • Constantine, A.M. & Jung, K.G. (2019). Using digital science notebooks to support elementary student learning: Lessons and perspectives from a 5th grade science classroom. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education. 19(3), 373-412. Retrieved from: https://www.citejournal.org/volume-19/issue-3-19/science/using-digital-science-notebooks-to-support-elementary-student-learning-lessons-and-perspectives-from-a-fifth-grade-science-classroom/
    • Jung, K.G. & McFadden, J. (2018). Student justifications in engineering design descriptions: Examining authority and legitimation. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology (IJEMST), 6(4), 398-423. DOI:10.18404/ijemst.440342
    • Jung, K.G. & Brown, J.C. (2016). Examining the effectiveness of an academic language planning organizer as a tool for planning science academic language instruction and supports. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 27(8), 847-872. DOI: 10.1007/s10972-016-9491-2

Service

Jung is actively involved in service to both the Bradley University community, as well as the regional, national, and international science education community. At Bradley, he advises students, serves on the Clinical Education committee, has participated in search committees for new faculty, and supports the teacher education program. At the regional, national, and international level, Dr. Jung has served in numerous roles within multiple organizations including the Association for Science Teacher Education and NARST: A Global Organization for Improving Science Education through Research, including as strand coordinator, graduate student president, proposal reviewer, editorial review board member, committee member, and conference volunteer and presider.