Patricia Hauslein

Patricia Hauslein is an Associate Professor of Biology & Science Education at St. Cloud State University, where she integrates her dual expertise in biology and cognitive science to advance science education and faculty development. Her work is distinguished by a deep commitment to understanding how emotional and psychological factors—the affective domain—influence both student learning and instructor practice.

Education

• Ph.D. in Science Education with an emphasis in Cognitive Science
• M.S. in Religious Studies
• B.A. in Religious Studies
• B.A. or B.S. in Biology (implied by her role as a biologist)

Research & Professional Focus

Hauslein's research centers on creating psychologically safe classroom environments that foster active learning and allow students to engage content without fear of failure. She explores how fear blocks learning and how motivation, excitement, and reflective practices promote lifelong learning. A second major strand of her scholarship examines the intersection of spirituality and science, particularly as it relates to evolution education and the creationism/intelligent design debate. She advocates for helping students understand their own religious traditions as part of the scientific dialogue.

Climate change education forms another pillar of her multidisciplinary interests. Over a decade ago she led a FIPSE-funded project that used global warming as a unifying curricular theme, culminating in the widely recognized “Earth Summit II” community event.

Outreach & Faculty Development

Hauslein is actively engaged in faculty development initiatives, drawing on the writings of Parker Palmer and emphasizing the affective needs of educators themselves. She contributed the chapter “Role of the Affective Domain” to the NSF-supported proceedings of a national evolution-education conference held at Louisiana State University.

Laboratory & Teams

While specific laboratory or research-group names are not provided, her multidisciplinary collaborations span biology, geoscience, and religious-studies faculty, as evidenced by her leadership in the FIPSE project and her ongoing curricular work bridging science and spirituality.