Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Illinois Inst Of Tec, USA, 2014
  • Master of Education, Univ Minn Duluth, USA, 2006
  • Bachelor of Science, University Minnesota, USA, 2003

Biography

Joy Kubarek is a Co-Founder and Partner with Inform Evaluation & Research, an education research and evaluation consulting firm. She has conducted scientific field research and led research expeditions but the bulk of her career has focused on research and evaluation of science education. She founded the Learning Planning & Evaluation department at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and later moved on to become Vice President of Learning at the aquarium, strategically guiding both the programmatic and evaluation functions of education at the aquarium. Joy holds a BS in Biology, a MEd with a focus on environmental education, and a PhD in Science Education from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Her most recent research focused on the evaluation practices of zoos and aquariums around their teacher professional development programs. Joy has presented on her work nationally and internationally, and remains active in a number of professional associations including the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the Visitor Studies Association (VSA), and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).