Alexandra E. Schindel (she/her)

My research lies at the crux of two of the most significant challenges in US schooling: a) the pressing need to increase the participation of young people in science from communities that have historically been underrepresented in STEM fields; and b) educating youth in a time of climate crisis. In my research, I address the critical need to increase learning and participation in science, environmental, and climate change education among underrepresented youth and to develop teacher capacity to facilitate empowering, equity-based and critical place-based practices in these fields. I accomplish this through two interrelated strands: (1) examining and enacting critical approaches to environmental and climate change education; and (2) examining contexts that support youth participation, civic action, and empowerment in science learning environments.

• PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2011)
• MAT, Cornell University (2001)
• BS, Brigham Young University (1998)

• Delmont, M., Wang, W., Karalis Noel, T., & Schindel, A. (2026). Improving Scientific Literacy Through Enhanced Rigot in the Secondary Science Classroom. School Science and Mathematics. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author/T5XKHPD34KNGDRSYIKZZ?target=10.1111/ssm.70024
• Proctor, C., Steilen, K., Cipollone, K., Monreal, T., Schindel, A., Cullen, A., Mioducki, K., Small, S. (2026). Designing a University-Assisted Community School: Figuring Organizational Change Through Personal Relationships. Universities and community schools, 12(1), 61-72. https://www.nettercenter.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/UCS_Journal_Vol12_2026_0.pdf
• Hennings, L., & Schindel, A. (2025). Impact of culturally relevant pedagogy on Black learners enrolled in online undergraduate mathematics classes. Online Learning, 29(2), pp. 357–392. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v29i2.4453
• Miles, M., Schindel, A., and Haq, K. (2025). Whiteness in education: A barrier to the environmental justice education movement. Environmental Justice.

• Schindel, A., & Tolbert, S. (2026). Ebola: Teaching Science, Race, and the Media. In G. Kraig-Turner, L. Finkel, J. Dean, and J. Sauer (Eds.), Science Teaching for Social Justice, pp. 113-122. Milwakee, WI: Rethinking Schools Ltd. *Reprinted from Rethinking Schools (2016)

• Haas, D., Grabowski, K., and Schindel, A. (2024). Policy Efforts to Improve P-12 Climate Change Education in New York State. Science Teachers Association of New York State (STANYS). Syracuse, NY.;
• Schindel, A., Teles Muñoz, E., & Fano, E. (2025). Storytelling as Movement Building: The Grassroots Intergenerational Movement for Climate Education and Action in New York State. In Structured Poster Session “Attending to Climate and Environmental Hope, Despair, and Repair Through Storytelling”. Poster presented at the annual meeting of American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO.;

• Citizen Science Teachers: University at Buffalo (UB) Noyce Residency Scholars; Federal Government; NSF NOYCE; Awarded; (06/04/2021-06/01/2025)

• AERA Environmental Education SIG Chair for 2025 Conference
  Apr 2023-Apr 2026
• Climate Resilience Education Task Force (CRETF), Policy Action Committee Member
  Apr 2023-May 2025