About+Vikki

Dr. Victoria Brookhart Costa is Director of the Catalyst Center for the Advancement of Research in Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science. She has extensive expertise in state and national science and math education reform efforts and currently serves as Principal Investigator for Collaborating for Excellence in Middle School Science (CEMSS), a California Math/Science Partnership (CaMSP) with the Orange County Department of Education and Anaheim Union High School District. She also directs the Fullerton Mathematics and Science Teacher (MAST) Project, part of the system-wide Math and Science Teacher Initiative to recruit, support, and retain secondary science and mathematics teachers, and represents California State University Fullerton on The Leadership Collaborative of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) Science and Mathematics Teacher Initiative. Dr. Costa has implemented the Promoting Resources in Informal Science Education (PRISE) Summer Internship Program, which places future science teachers with informal science education agencies to enhance teacher content knowledge and skills in communicating science. She has also consulted for The JASON Project, a subsidiary of the National Geographic Society; and NASA Education. This past year, Victoria joined a crew of student researchers and science educators conducting remote sensing research on NASA's DC-8, a suborbital flying laboratory. Since 1980, Dr. Costa has taught chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics, and education at the secondary, community college, and university levels. She earned a Texas teaching credential in chemistry, mathematics, and biology and taught high school science for three years before moving to Massachusetts, where she taught another year of mathematics. Costa's involvement in university teaching began in September, 1984, as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Cal State Fullerton teaching non-science majors completing general education requirements. In addition to her work in science and math education, Dr. Costa focuses on teacher training, research, and project design and implementation of the use of technology to improve teaching and learning in science and mathematics. Dr. Costa consults for Intel Education and has traveled to throughout the United States and to South Korea, Japan, Egypt, and Portugal to provide professional development in educational technologies to university teacher education faculty and K-12 classroom teachers. She teaches courses in educational technology for secondary teachers; consults with local school districts on technology management and use; and directs university grants and projects in educational technology. Costa recently completed a three-year role as Co-Principal Investigator for the CPEC-funded Improving Teacher Quality Grant, Professional Development Resources Online in Mathematics (PD-ROM). This project provided an online standards- and textbook-aligned professional development program for teachers of middle school mathematics through the utilization of video case studies of middle school classroom practice modeled by exceptional mathematics teachers in California. One of her new projects is the development of an online middle school science and math credential program. Dr. Costa has received state and national awards for her research and innovative teacher education projects, including a National Academy of Education Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship and Best Practice Award from the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE), awarded for the Interprofessional Training Program in the Anaheim Professional Development Center. She has published in //Journal of Curriculum Studies, Journal of College Science Teaching, Science Education, International Journal of Science Education//, //Issues in Teacher Education, Teacher Education Quarterly,// and //Journal of Research in Science Teaching//. Her co-authored book, //Secrets to Success for Science Teachers//, was recently published by Corwin Press. ** Contact Information: ** Victoria Brookhart Costa, vcosta@fullerton.edu, 657-278-2307 McCarthy Hall 527, Center for Science Education, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92834
 * [[image:IMG_4698.JPG width="142" height="179"]]VICTORIA BROOKHART COSTA  **