Prior to joining HRI in 1991, Dr. Smith taught high school chemistry and physics. In addition, he was a member of the Education Studies Department at Berea College, where he taught courses in elementary science methods and the philosophical foundations of education.
Dr. Smith has worked extensively on materials development for Project Earth Science, a middle-grades earth science project. He also worked on the evaluation of the NSF funded Statewide Systemic Initiative for North and South Carolina, the core evaluation for the Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement project. He was the project manager for the 2000 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education.
He currently directs the evaluation for the National Teacher Enhancement Network for Elementary Teachers, an NSF-funded teacher enhancement project delivered via the Internet. Dr. Smith also coordinates the evaluation of the Virtual Professional Development Schools program as well as two materials-development projects-one focused on materials for middle school physical science instruction and another collecting digital materials for technology education.
