Sarah Carrier—an Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor and science educator in NC State’s College of Education—will be the next head of the Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences (TELS). The three-year appointment will begin April 1, 2025.
“Dr. Carrier is a thoughtful and caring leader with a deep familiarity with the TELS department, our college and NC State,” said College of Education Dean Paola Sztjan. “I know she will continue to be successful as she transitions into this new role and with the support of colleagues across the college and university.”
Carrier is a former elementary school teacher who earned her master’s and Ph.D. in science education with a research emphasis in environmental education from the University of Florida. Following two years as an assistant professor at Auburn University, she joined our College of Education at NC State in 2007 and helped start what was then our STEM-focused Department of Elementary Education, which later merged with the Department of Curriculum and Instruction to become the TELS department. The elementary education program remains the only STEM-focused elementary education program of its kind in North Carolina.
“This is my 18th year at NC State, for I have been in education for over 30 years. I deeply value the TELS community and have developed important relationships across the university, nationally and internationally,” Carrier said. “The beauty of being in education is that I have learned so much and I continue to learn every day.”
Today, the TELS department is home to over 40 full-time faculty, 300 undergraduate students and 200 graduate students who conduct research and study across nearly 10 disciplines and fields within education, including elementary education, literacy and English language arts, learning design and technology, middle grades education, curriculum and instruction, special education, multilingual education and educational psychology.
“The TELS department hosts different and complementary areas of scholarship, making it a vibrant and exciting department. Importantly, the faculty, students and staff in TELS are its pride and strength,” Carrier said. “I view this opportunity to lead the TELS department as a profound responsibility, and I am truly honored by the support and trust of my colleagues.”
Carrier is internationally recognized for her research and scholarship on science teaching and learning with strong interest in environmental education. Her most recent research continues her contributions to outdoor science and interdisciplinary instruction in collaboration with colleagues from Horizon Research and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences to inform best practices for including Participatory Science, also called Citizen Science, programs in schools.
“These are unprecedented times in education, and I believe that our strengths are also unprecedented and give me hope,” she said. “I am devoted to highlighting and communicating the amazing work of TELS and our college as we continue to prepare the very best teachers and researchers in North Carolina and beyond.”
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