Matt Reynolds

Bio

Dr. Wm. Matthew Reynolds is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Science Education in the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education within the College of Education at NC State. Currently, he is the Undergraduate and Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program Coordinator for Science Education.

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Matt has always known his life’s calling was to be a teacher; in fact, he is a fourth-generation educator himself. After receiving his B.S.Ed. in Science Education (Biology Education) from the University of Georgia, he taught middle school science and high school biology for several years in Utah. While teaching in Utah, Matt earned his M.S. in Earth Science from the University of Utah. Hoping to one day expand his influence to classrooms beyond his own, he earned his Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning in STEM from North Carolina State University. Now a teacher educator, he still strives to avoid merely lecturing on theory and best practices in education (e.g., inquiry-based teaching, social and emotional learning, instructional technologies, alternative assessment techniques, fostering an equitable and inclusive classroom environment, etc.) but instead model how to engage students in these practices using his own classroom.

Broadly, Dr. Reynolds’ research focuses on how teachers develop the knowledge and skills required for high-quality teaching, specifically pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and examines the relative importance of various sources of PCK development commonly found within teacher preparation programs, such as methods coursework, the student teaching experience, and teacher performance assessments (i.e., the edTPA). When he is not working in science education and teacher preparation, Matt enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, woodworking, restoring vintage cars, and fixing broken things.

Publications

• Cross-national investigation of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in the U.S. and South Korea: what proxy measures of teacher quality are related to PCK? , International Journal of Science Education (2020)
• Examining the relationship between the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment and preservice teachers' pedagogical content knowledge , Journal of Research in Science Teaching (2020)