Full STEAM Ahead with Dr. Christopher Brownell: Visiting Scholar from California at the Finnish Institute for Educational Research

Christopher (Chris) Brownell Ph.D. is a visiting scholar from California in the USA. He is working with the Finnish Institute for Educational Research’s “Innovative Learning Environments” group. He is working with the STEAM education team, coordinated by Kristóf Fenyvesi and Takumi Yada. Dr. Brownell’s visit is taking place in September and October 2022.

GeoGebra STEAM Day at the Museum of Mathematics in New York. Left to right: Kristóf Fenyvesi (Finland), Hogul Park (South Korea), Zsolt Lavicza (Austria), Chris Brownell (USA)

“I have been a mathematics and mathematics education professor for 22 years in the US and prior to that I was a mathematics teacher in the California Secondary Schools. I am an author of Math Recess Playful Learning in an Age of Disruption (https://www.amazon.com/Math-Recess-Playful-Learning-Disruption/dp/1948334100), a book written for an audience of primarily teachers and parents. This book already has a chapter about Finland, summarizing my first impressions at an Experience Workshop (www.experienceworkshop.org) event I realized together with Dr. Fenyvesi and Professor Osmo Pekonen in April 2017 in Kuopio. Currently, my research interests are largely focused on the role of creativity, and embodiment in the learning and teaching of the integrated subjects of STEAM. Further, I have a keen interest in the role critical thinking must play in schooling in the future. I am excited to learn more about Finnish culture and language.“ - says Dr. Brownell.

Dr. Brownell has a desk on the third floor of the Ruusupuisto building and his email while here at JYU is cbrownel@jyu.fi