Dr. Victoria B. Costa, Professor
and Department Chair
California
State University, Fullerton
P.O. Box 6868
Department of
Secondary Education, EC-526
Fullerton, CA
92834-6868
Office:
EC 527 714-278-7037
Email:
vcosta@fullerton.edu
Professional
Experience
Victoria Brookhart Costa is
professor and Chair of the Department of Secondary Education at Cal State
Fullerton. Since 1980, she has taught chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics,
and education at the secondary, community college, and university levels. She
earned a
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. She continued
teaching at
Scholarly and Creative
Activities
Currently, Dr. Costa focuses
on teacher training, research, and project design and implementation of the use
of technology-embedded curriculum, instruction, and assessment in secondary
classrooms. She teaches courses in educational technology for secondary
teachers; consults with local school districts on technology management and
use; directs university grants and projects in educational technology; and
consults internationally as a Senior Trainer for Intel® Teach to the Future. The
Single Subject Credential Program has a partnership with Intel (R) Teach to the
Future, in which credential candidates are provided with free text resources
for their EDSC 304/307 courses. Candidates create a technology-integrated
unit that is aligned with California Content Standards.
Dr. Costa is currently
completing a three-year role as Co-Principal Investigator for CPEC-funded
Improving Teacher Quality Grant, the Professional Development
Resources Online in Mathematics (PD-ROM). This project provides a
standards-aligned 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
Service, Honors, and
Distinctions
Victoria Costa was chaired a
state-wide Study Team for the CSU Excellence in Teacher Preparation Initiative
for the 21st Century, which is part of the national Teachers for a New Era (TNE)
initiative. Teachers for a New Era is a landmark initiative designed to strengthen
K-12 teaching by developing state-of-the-art programs at schools of education. The Study Team conducted a study to determine
the current status and needs of teacher preparation program evaluation.
Dr. Costa is currently a
member of the Cal State Fullerton Education Doctorate Executive Committee and
was involved in the development of the new Doctorate in Education. She also
directs the Math and
Science Teachers Project (MAST), part of the Chancellor’s Office Math
Science Initiative. Past service includes member of the Editorial Review Boards
for Journal of College Science Teaching, Science Education, and Anthropology
and Education Quarterly. Within the university, Dr. Costa has served as
2002-2003 Chair of the Cal State Fullerton Planning, Budget, and Resource
Committee (PRCB); member of the 2002-2003 University Planning Committee;
2000-2002 Search Committee Chair/Member for CSU Channel Islands; and 2000
Education Accreditation Co-Coordinator
Dr. Costa led the
implementation of the Teaching
Performance Assessment (TPA) for the Single Subject Credential
Program. During her tenure as Chair, the Department of Secondary
Education has added a hybrid online graduate program with three emphases and a
new credential in Foundational Level Mathematics. In addition, she is
Webmaster for the Department of
Secondary Education Website.
Dr. Costa has received state
and national awards for her research and innovative teacher education projects,
including the 1996-1997 National Academy of Education Spencer
Postdoctoral Fellowship and the 1997 Best Practice
Award, American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, awarded for
the Interprofessional Training Program in the Anaheim Professional Development
Center. She has published in highly respected journals. Click on the link for
abstracts of science education articles published in the Journal
of Curriculum Studies, Journal
of College Science Teaching, Science
Education, International
Journal of Science Education, and Journal
of Research in Science Teaching. See also her work on
interprofessional education for the Casey Foundation at the Council on Social Work Education
and Teacher
Education Quarterly.
Dr. Costa’s current scholarly
activities focus on teacher preparation in a Web 2.0 environment. She her demonstration Websites: Costa
Bookmarks (log-in as guest: vcosta), Chemistry Class Wiki, and Technology Blog.
Pictures below:
·
Top row, left to right: at commencement 2007 with colleagues in
the new doctoral program, celebrating approval of the doctoral program with
College of Education colleagues, and smiling after the successful completion of
the Intel Education Senior Trainer Summit 2007
·
Middle row, left to right:
with PD-ROM colleagues publicizing a new module involving monkeys and
penguins in mathematics and with EDSC colleagues at the 2006 Winter Party.
. 
