Professor, Paleoceanography & Geoscience Education
Year Started at JMU: 2005
stjohnke@jmu.edu
Contact Info
Website: http://bit.ly/stjohn_cv
Research Description
My research primarily focuses on deciphering marine records of iceberg and sea ice-rafted sediments. I'm an active researcher in the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP): I was a marine sedimentologist for several expeditions, and worked with undergraduate students on samples from the Arctic, North Atlantic, and North Pacific. In 2022, I'll serve as the co-chief scientist for IODP Exp. 377, Arctic Ocean Paleoceanography. In addition, I conduct geoscience education research (GER). Much of it involves translating marine geology (e.g., paleoclimatology, paleoceanography) research into effective learning materials for education at the college and secondary levels. I also work to help shape the future of GER by creating and leading community-building efforts.
Courses
- GEOL 110: Physical Geology
- GEOL 115: Earth Systems and Climate Change
- GEOL 291: Writing and Communicating in the Geosciences
- GEOL 301: Earth Science for Teachers
- GEOL 398: Oceanography for Teachers
- GEOL 406: Paleoclimatology and Paleoceanography
Education
- PhD in Marine Sedimentology/Paleoceanography/ Paleoclimatology, 1998, Ohio State University
- MS in Sedimentology, 1992, Ohio State University
- BS in Geology, 1992, Furman University, Greenville, SC
Select Publications
- St. John, K., (2008). Cenozoic History of Ice-Rafting in the Central Arctic: Terrigenous Sands on the Lomonosov Ridge, Paleoceanography, 23, PA1S05, DOI: 10.1029/2007PA001483
- St. John, K., Passchier, S., Tantillo, B., Darby, D., and Kearns, L., (2015). Microfeatures of Modern Sea Ice-Rafted Sediment and Implications for Paleo-Sea Ice Reconstruction, Annals of Glaciology, v. 56, n. 69, DOI: 10.3189/2015AoG69A586
- St. John, K., and McNeal, K., (2017). The Strength of Evidence Pyramid: One Approach for Characterizing the Strength of Evidence of Geoscience Education Research (GER) Community Claims. Journal of Geoscience Education, Vol. 65, No. 4, pp. 363-372, DOI: 10.5408/17-264.1