Alexander Paulchell is a doctoral candidate in Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies at the University of Arizona, with a focus on science education. His dissertation examines how secondary science teachers frame families in the context of genetics, focusing on how teachers integrate biological and sociocultural concepts, including hidden norms embedded in genetics curricula. Aside from his work on inclusive genetics instruction, Alex’s research agenda more broadly considers the sociocultural nature of scientific knowledge production and communication. Notable presentations and writings foreground the value diverse epistemologies bring to science education, particularly queer ways of knowing which center desire, embodiment, and resistance as challenges to the normative assumptions about whose knowledge counts as scientific. 

At the University of Arizona, Alex has taught courses on social justice, environmental science, and science teaching methods for preservice teachers. He has supervised preservice teachers in their student teaching and served as a mentor to first-year teachers through the Arizona Teachers Association. He has also participated as a research assistant in projects that support learning progressions within three-dimensional science learning (per NGSS) as well as the mechanistic reasoning practices of preservice teachers. Alex regularly presents his work at NARST, a global organization for improving science teaching and learning, where he also serves on the Professional Learning and Institutes Committee to support professional learning opportunities for early-career science education researchers. 

Prior to his time at the University of Arizona, Alex earned a Bachelor’s degree in molecular genetics from The Ohio State University and a Master’s degree in Education from John Carroll University, where he received the Wertheim Educational Leadership Award for his work with queer students while student teaching at a Catholic high school. He then taught science for eight years at Beachwood High School and served on the board of STEMteachersCLE, organizing professional development for educators. 

Alex is the recipient of the Holden Memorial Scholarship, recognizing academic excellence in the College of Education. After graduation, he plans to pursue his scholarship at a research-focused institution while preparing future educators to teach science authentically through research-backed pedagogies.