Rate My Professor Moses Ochanji

Moses Ochanji serves as the Director of the School of Education and Professor of Science Education at California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM), within the College of Education, Health and Human Services. He holds an undergraduate degree in Physics and Education, a master's degree in Science Education from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, and a Ph.D. in Science Education from Syracuse University in New York. Before entering higher education, Ochanji taught high school physics and mathematics in both Kenya and New York State, accumulating substantial classroom teaching experience. He also served as a visiting lecturer at Kenyatta University's Department of Educational Communication and Technology during sabbatical, where he taught and collaborated on research projects related to quality teacher preparation and teaching in large classes.

Ochanji joined CSUSM in 2003 and has been a faculty member for over two decades. He teaches science methods courses for prospective teachers, science education, and general education courses in the teacher credential and Master of Arts in Education programs. His research interests center on the multiple phases of inquiry in science classrooms and challenges in science teacher education. In leadership roles, he has been Associate Director of the School of Education for four years under two directors, Chair of the Human Development Department, and was appointed Director of the School of Education on August 1, 2024, for a two-year term. Ochanji serves as co-principal investigator on key grants, including the California State University Mathematics and Science Teacher Initiative (MSTI) to recruit math and science teachers, and the National Science Foundation's Noyce Teacher Scholars program to encourage STEM professionals into teaching. He contributed to Project SUPPORT, a $2.7 million U.S. Department of Education grant enhancing bilingual teacher candidates. In 2014, Ochanji was selected as a Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow, enabling him to develop online curriculum and materials for Kenyatta University's Teacher Professional Development Program in 2015. Over the years, he has frequently returned to Kenya to collaborate with Kenyatta University faculty on teacher education curricula and professional development initiatives.