Kim A. Kastens

Kim Kastens began her career in marine geology before shifting her focus towards improving the public’s understanding of the Earth and the environment, through training of environmental journalists, development of instructional materials, professional development for teachers, innovative use of information technology, and science of learning research. She has developed software to help children learn to read maps as well as data puzzles to foster use of authentic geoscience data in high schools. Kastens designed a series of workshops to enhance the spatial thinking of high school Earth science teachers and students. For her work in geoscience education research and development, she received the Award for Excellence in Geophysical Education from the American Geophysical Union. Kastens holds a bachelor’s degree in Geology & Geophysics from Yale University and a Ph.D. in oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego. Since 1981, she has been a research scientist and research professor at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University; her current position is Special Research Scientist. From 2012 to 2014, she was a Distinguished Scholar at the Education Development Center.