Registered user since Fri 20 Oct 2023
Justice Toshiba Walker, Ph.D., is a Learning Scientist and Assistant Professor of STEM Education at the University of Texas at El Paso, the nation’s leading R1 Hispanic-Serving Institution, where he leads the ABC Learning Lab and its emphasis on learning technologies that leverage next generation bio and computing tools. His research examines how middle and high school youth respond to learning paradigms that emphasize cultural relevance, epistemological agency and critical literacies. In one line of his funded work, Walker co-developed Biodesign activities—Synthetic Biology and Me—wherein learners can use biotechnologies like synthetic biology to design, build and learn about biomaterials and sophisticated biological processes, while also critically interrogating contemporary socio-scientific issues in relation to their personal values, needs and priorities. In another line of research, Walker developed a sandbox approach to Data Science-based computing education called, “Coding Like A Data Miner” wherein youth learn to scrape big data from the Twitter social media platform in order to curate data aligned their the personal, cultural and/or sociopolitical concerns. These projects illustrate Walker’s commitment to equity, innovation and learning. Walker holds a B.S. in Molecular Biology and English Literature from the University of Miami, and M.S. in Biotech Engineering and Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning, both earned at the University of Pennsylvania.
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