Who We Are

ScienceQuest is a unique after-school project blending informal science learning with state-of-the-art technology. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the project works with teams of middle-school-aged students and volunteer coaches in local community technology centers. Together, teams investigate questions of science by interviewing local scientists and visiting museums, zoos, and community resources. Teams showcase their discoveries on the Internet by building web sites, complete with pictures and information from research.

ScienceQuest is a project of Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) in Newton, Massachusetts. With more than 325 projects around the world, EDC is a leading nonprofit research and health organization that brings together researchers and practitioners to create tools and conditions for learning.

Our Partners

ScienceQuest collaborates with ThinkQuest, Inc. to build and launch teams' web sites. ThinkQuest is a web-based program that combines the principles of successful student-directed project-based learning with the communication, information, and human resources available on the Internet.

In addition, we work with dozens of community technology centers that host ScienceQuest after-school programs, as well as science institutions that support local teams' research and investigations.

ScienceQuest Staff

Jennifer Dorsen is the Project Director for ScienceQuest. She has worked as a teacher, non-profit administrator, trainer and community organizer for over 15 years. She has worked with public access cable stations, start-up technology centers, and for Boston Cyberarts, Inc. Other work includes teaching adult English as a second language, leading teachers in curriculum development and school reform efforts, and managing a political campaign in Somerville, MA. She has a Masters in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Massachusetts Secondary English teaching credential. Between 1997 and 2001, she was on the Board of Directors/Steering Committee of the Community Technology Centers Network (CTCNet). Email Jennifer at jdorsen@edc.org.

Vivian Wong is the Project Assistant for ScienceQuest. She has experience as a state and national level organizer on adolescent health issues. In Illinois, Vivian was the youth coordinator for the Youth Need to Know Network. As a Public Policy Associate at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), Vivian co-authored "Between the Lines," a report on how states implemented abstinence-only programs in 1998. Vivian also worked with various community organizations and state health agencies as director of the state health coalition project at SIECUS. Other work experience includes serving as Manager of Research and Usability at New York Times Digital and Bureau Assistant at Children's Express Chicago. Vivian Wong has a BA from the University of Chicago. Email Vivian at vwong@edc.org.

Dr. Joseph Martinez is the Science Resource Specialist for ScienceQuest. As a Science Resource Specialist, he provides ScienceQuest teams with ideas for experiments and information about scientific discoveries.

Prior to EDC, Dr. Martinez worked at the Microcosmos Project of the Boston University School of Education on a three-year National Science Foundation-funded professional development program directed at middle and high school science teachers. Recently, he completed a doctoral program at the Boston University School of Education. His dissertation concerned the professional development of science teachers. He is also interested in informal science education; he contributed to the initial evaluation of the Boston Computer Museum's web site and to the evaluation of a curriculum developed by the Boston Transportation Museum.

Dr. Martinez also has a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, in science education, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology, both from Boston University. His original science interest was in vertebrate zoology. He has ten years experience in exotic animal husbandry, having worked for both the Boston and the New York Zoological Societies, and continues to engage in field studies of a herpetological nature. Email Joe at j.d.martinez@verizon.net.

Caroline Parker is the Evaluator for ScienceQuest. She also works at EDC as Research Associate for the Addressing Accessibility in Middle School Mathematics Project.

Before moving to the Boston area, Ms. Parker lived in Nicaragua for thirteen years. She worked as a human rights observer, journalist, translator and educator. She is currently completing her doctoral studies at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research interests include gender and secondary education in Latin America as well as the experiences of immigrant students in the United States. She focuses on inequities in educational access and attainment, and the effect of school cultures on student attendance and achievement. In her research and work she links student experiences with broader cultural and economic dynamics. Email Caroline at cparker@edc.org.

Dr. Judith Zorfass, the Principal Investigator for ScienceQuest, has been at EDC since 1986. Since that time, in her role as Associate Center Director, and more recently as Senior Director of Strategic Planning, she has directed projects that focus on research, curriculum design, software production, staff development, and dissemination via articles, books, videos and web sites.

Her work has concentrated on helping general and special education teachers ensure that students with disabilities succeed in the general education classroom. Within this context, she has focused on the role that technology plays in supporting students. Much of her work has revolved around middle school change. Dr. Zorfass earned her doctorate in 1983 from Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

Based on a decade of research, drawn from work with schools across the country, she is the author of "Teaching Middle School Students to be Active Researchers," a book published by ASCD in 1988. She is the lead author of Make It Happen! and the Search Organizer software, products that help teachers and students in middle schools integrate technology into an inquiry-based curriculum. Apart from her professional life, she is very busy enjoying her three grandchildren, Hannah, Nathan, and Sam. Email Dr. Zorfass at jzorfass@edc.org.