Malcolm Butler’s current
research focuses on how to influence teachers to use science
in the classroom. He is also studying how cultural issues
such as race, gender and ethnicity affect the learning
and teaching of science. (Photo by Peter Frey)
Education prof focuses on helping teachers connect science,
students
Growing up in south Louisiana
as the youngest of 10 children, Malcolm Butler was
encouraged not only by his parents but also by his older
brothers and sisters to take education seriously. “School
became a part of who I was—it was a place I needed
to be,” says Butler, who was one of three first-generation
college graduates in his family.
In school, Butler found that he liked science and became
intrigued by looking at logical ways to solve problems.
The opportunity for a physics scholarship in college encouraged
him to pursue science, first as an undergraduate and then
as a graduate student. During his graduate work, Butler
decided to focus more on science education.
“I
was fortunate enough to get involved in an after-school
program for African-American children and I became excited
about working with children and seeing them get excited
about science in a way that made sense to them,”
he says.
FACTS
MALCOLM BUTLER
Assistant Professor of
Science Education Ph.D.: University of Florida,
1995 M.Ed.: University of Florida,
1991 B.S.: Southern University, 1989 At UGA: 3-1/2 years
After toying with the idea of working in education, Butler
decided to combine his love for science with helping educate
students. “Whether students are going to be
the next Einstein or a street magician, there is some
level of science that is important in all of these children’s
lives,” he says. “I want to see how to make
the science connect with the students.”
Butler’s current research interests feed into how
to influence teachers to use science in the classroom.
One project Butler is currently working on is called “Writing
to Learn,” which focuses on what teachers are doing
in writing and how that can be used to support what is
happening in science.
Another research area for Butler centers on issues of
culture. Whether it is race, ethnicity or gender, he is
looking at how “difference” issues affect
science teaching and learning.
Each summer, Butler also teaches a course on the Georgia
coast for teachers and teacher educators. The class investigates
marine science issues in Brunswick, Sapelo and several
other barrier islands.
As an assistant professor of education at Texas A&M–Corpus
Christi, Butler was named one of the “Top 40 Under
40” by the Corpus
Christi Caller-Times in 1998. That same year he
also received the Outstanding Young Men of America award
and the Corpus Christi District United Methodist Church
Discipleship Award. Yet Butler still considers his highest
accomplishment to be achieving his Ph.D.
“Look
at my family background and history and it wouldn’t
be expected that I would earn that degree,” he says.
“Not only is receiving a Ph.D. my academic high,
but it is also a personal high. I recognize that if it
had not been for my family when I was growing up, along
with my wife and my son, I would not have been able to
achieve what I have.”
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