Christine began her career in the Cornell Tree Ring Lab, where she was first an undergraduate research assistant and then returned after graduating to train the next cohort of undergraduate researchers. She went on to teach ESL and Science primarily in Grades 6-8 in the Republic of Cape Verde, New York City, and Washington, D.C. After earning a master's degree in international education, Christine relocated to Colorado and has been a program evaluator with CIRES CEEE (formerly Education & Outreach) since 2016. In this role, she enjoys collaborating with scientists, educators, and community members to explore how we can improve science education programs and practices.
- M.A., International Education, New York University, New York, NY, 2009
- M.A., Teaching E.S.O.L., Peace Corps Fellow, Teachers College, New York, NY, 2006
- B.A., History of Art; Independent Study in Dendrochronology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1999
-
Associate Scientist, CIRES, University of Colorado Boulder, 2016-Present
-
Professional Research Assistant, Institute of Cognitive Science (ICS), University of Colorado Boulder, 2012-2015
-
Teacher, ESL, District of Columbia Public Schools, 2010-2011
-
Independent Research Consultant in International Education, 2009-2011
-
Teacher, Science and ESL, New York City Department of Education, 2003-2008
-
Teacher, ESL, U.S. Peace Corps, Republic of Cape Verde, 2001-2003
-
Research Aide, Aegean Dendrochronology Project, Cornell Tree Ring Lab, Cornell University, 2000-2001
Okochi C, Littrell MK, Boyd KJ, Gold AU. Water meaning maps: Diving deeper into rural library visitors’ connections with water in the Southwest. NARST 2024. 2024 March.
Okochi, C., Gold, A. U., Christensen, A., & Batchelor, R. L. (2023). Early access to science research opportunities: Growth within a geoscience summer research program for community college students. Plos one, 18(12), e0293674.
Littrell, M.K., Gold, A.U., Koskey, K.L.K., May, T.A., Leckey, E., & Okochi, C. (2022). Transformative Experience in an Informal Science Learning Program about Climate Change. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 1-25, DOI: 10.1002/tea.21750
Boyd, K.J., Okochi, C., Littrell, M.K., Batchelor, R.L., Gold, A.U., & Leckey, E. (2021). Career implications for college student mentors through their contribution to a climate film outreach program for adolescents. International Journal of Science Education, Part B. DOI: 10.1080/21548455.2021.1996656
Leckey, E.H., Littrell, M.K., Okochi, C., González-Bascó, I., Gold, A.U., & Rosales-Collins, S. (2021). Exploring local environmental change through filmmaking: the Lentes en Cambio Climático program, Journal of Environmental Education, 52:4, 207-222, DOI: 10.1080/00958964.2021.1949570
Batchelor, R., Christensen, A., Gold, A.U., & Okochi, C. (2020). A Two-week Virtual Research Experience Program for Community College Students in the Geosciences. Advances in Engineering Education.
Okochi, C., Gold, A.U., Batchelor, R, & Christensen, A., (2020, October). A Two-week Virtual Research Experience for Community College Students (RECCS): An Entry-point for Students into the Geosciences. Abstract at GSA 2020 Connects Online.
Christensen, A., Batchelor, R., Gold, A.U., & Okochi, C. (2020). Going virtual: Lessons Learned from a Two-Week Virtual Summer Research Experience for Community College Students. Abstract at AGU Fall Meeting 7-11 December.
Tayne, K., Littrell, M. K., Okochi, C., Gold, A. U., & Leckey, E. (2020). Framing action in a youth climate change filmmaking program: Hope, agency, and action across scales. Environmental Education Research, 1-21. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2020.1821870.
Littrell, M. K., Tayne, K., Okochi, C., Leckey, E., Gold, A. U., & Lynds, S. (2020). Student perspectives on climate change through place-based filmmaking. Environmental Education Research, 26 (4), 594-610. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2020.1736516.
Littrell, M., Gold, A.U., Tayne, K., Okochi, C., Leckey, E., Lynds, S., Williams, V., Wise, S. (2019): Exploring the role of place in students’ engagement with environmental challenges in their community through filmmaking: A case study on the Lens on Climate Change program. Journal of Geoscience Education. doi: 10.1080/10899995.2019.1633510
Littrell, M., Gold, A., Leckey, E., & Okochi, C. (2019, June). Engaging middle and high school students in the Lens on Climate Change filmmaking program. National Science Foundation ITEST Principle Investigator and Evaluator Summit: Living, Learning, and Working in the Digital Age, Alexandria, VA.
Littrell, M.K., Leckey, E., Gold, A.U., Tayne, K., Okochi, C., & Lynds, S. (2019, April). The Lens on Climate Change: Engaging and inspiring secondary students through place-based filmmaking. Paper presented at the 92nd Annual International Conference of the National Association for Research in Science Education (NARST), Baltimore, Maryland.
Gold, Anne U., Leckey, Erin, Littrell, Megan, Okochi, Christine, Lynds, Susan, Wise, Sarah, 2018-12-13: Lens on Climate Change. Inspiring youth to learn about local impacts of climate change through filmmaking- a transformative experience. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Washington, D.C.
Littrell, M., Tayne, K., Leckey, E., Gold, A., Okochi, C., Wise, S., Lynds, S., Smith, L., Oonk, D. (2018): A Qualitative Approach to Understanding Lens on Climate Change Students' Perspectives on Climate Change. Paper presented at the American Evaluation Research Association, Annual Conference, New York.
Leckey, E., Littrell, M., Tayne, K., Gold, A.U., Okochi, C., Oonk, D., Smith, L., Lynds, S.E. (2017): Storytelling and Technology Combine to Create Student Engagement Around Locally Relevant Climate Change Topics ED41C-01. Presented at 2017 Fall Meeting American Geophysical Union, New Orleans, LA.
Littrell, M.K., Friend, A., Caccamise, D., & Okochi, C. (2015). Using retrieval practice and metacognitive skills to improve content learning. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 58(8), 680-687. doi: 10.1002/jaal.420
Caccamise, D., Friend, A., Groneman, C., Littrell, M.K., & Kintsch, E. (2014). Teaching struggling middle school readers to comprehend informational text. In J.L. Polman et al. (Eds.), Learning and Becoming in Practice: The International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2014, Volume 2 (pp. 1002-1006). Boulder, CO: International Society of the Learning Sciences.
