Appendix A

Biosketches

COMMITTEE BIOS

CHRISTINE M. MASSEY (Chair) is a senior researcher in the Psychology Department at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she specializes in linking research in cognitive science to learning in public schools, higher education, and informal education. She has led multiple collaborative projects combining research investigating students’ learning and conceptual development in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) with the development of new curricula, adaptive learning technologies, and educational programs for students and teachers. Prior projects included the development of science curricula and teacher professional development for Pre-K–grade 1 and robotics programs for girls. Massey’s current projects involve basic and applied research using principles of perceptual and adaptive learning to create learning software with applications in STEM and medical education. She was formerly the director of research and education at the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Research in Cognitive Science and was a member of the national Institute of Education Science’s Research and Development Center for Cognition and Science Instruction. Massey is an Eisenhower fellow and was a fellow in the Spencer Foundation/National Academy of Education’s postdoctoral fellowship program. She received her B.A. from Wellesley College and her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Massey has participated in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s study committees on Defining Deeper Learning and 21st Century Skills and Designing Citizen Science to Support Science Learning.

HYMAN BASS is the Samuel Eilenberg Distinguished University Professor of Mathematics and Mathematics Education at the University of Michigan. He previously was at Columbia University and has held many visiting appointments extensively in India and in France. Bass’ mathematical work is in algebra, with connections to algebraic geometry, number theory, topology, and geometric group theory. His educational interests include mathematical knowledge for teaching, task design, mathematical practices, and the “mathematical horizons” of school mathematics. Bass is currently experimenting with instructional designs to help cultivate “connection oriented mathematical thinking.” This involves an in-depth study of mathematical structure, and concept formation. He is also developing an undergraduate course on mathematics and social justice. Bass is past president of the American Mathematical Society and of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction, and he has received the U.S. National Medal of Science. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Third World Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Education.

JASON BLACK is associate professor in Business Information Systems at Florida A&M University (FAMU). He is also the campus director of the Blackstone LaunchPad @ FAMU (an Entrepreneurship Network sponsored by the Blackstone Charitable Foundation designed to foster and support entrepreneurship efforts at FAMU and in the community at-large), the co-director of the Program of Excellence in STEM (a multi-million dollar funded academic and research-centered grant focusing on increasing participation and advancement of underrepresented students in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics), executive director of the HBCU Data Science Consortium, and director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Creativity and Innovation (FAMU’s entrepreneurship hub). Black holds a B.S. degree in computer information systems from FAMU, an M.S. degree in computer science from Georgia Tech, and a Ph.D. in computer science from Florida State University.

TINA CHEUK is an assistant professor of elementary science education at the California Polytechnic State University–San Luis Obispo. Her research centers on the development of culturally and linguistically diverse learners in science learning settings. Cheuk has previously served as a committee member in the development of California’s Science Curriculum Framework and State Literacy Plan, and the revision of California’s Bilingual Authorization Program Standards. Most recently, she is a panel member of the 2028 National Assessment of Educational Progress Science Assessment Framework Update Steering and Development Committees. Cheuk is a co-primary investigator of a 5-year U.S. Department of Education

Teacher Quality Partnership grant, creating a teacher residency program that expands pathways into special education and bilingual education in partnership with school districts in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County. She began her career in education as a fifth-grade science teacher in the South Bronx, followed by service as a secondary science teacher as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana, West Africa. Cheuk holds a B.S. in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Chicago, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in education policy from Stanford University.

CHRISTINE M. CUNNINGHAM is the senior vice president of STEM Learning at the Museum of Science in Boston. She aims to make engineering, science, and computational thinking education more equitable and accessible, especially for populations that are underserved and underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Cunningham’s research focuses on articulating frameworks for precollege engineering education and exploring affordances of engineering for learners. She is the founding director of Youth Engineering Solutions and Engineering is Elementary, which develop equity-oriented, research-based, field-tested STEM curricula and professional learning resources for Pre-K–8 youth and their educators. Under her leadership, these resources have reached more than 20 million youth and 200,000 educators. Previously, Cunningham was a Professor of Practice in Education and Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. She serves on a number of advisory boards that currently include the National Assessment Governing Board. Cunningham is a fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education and has received numerous awards including the American Society of Engineering Education K–12 and Pre-College Division Lifetime Achievement Award, the Institute of Electric and Electronics Engineers Pre-University Educator Award, and the International Society for Design and Development in Education Prize, and her work was recognized with the prestigious Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education. She holds joint B.A. and M.A. degrees in biology from Yale University and a Ph.D. in education from Cornell University. Cunningham has previously been a committee member of five National Academy Committees, most recently chairing the Inclusive, Diverse, Equitable Engineering for All Committee.

XIMENA DOMINGUEZ is the executive director of learning sciences and early learning research at Digital Promise. Across research and development efforts, she and her team aim to make early learning experiences more accessible and equitable for historically excluded young learners by centering families’ funds of knowledge. More specifically, Dominguez’s work involves co-designing and evaluating early science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) innovations in partnership with families from diverse

cultural and linguistic backgrounds, educators in public early childhood programs, curriculum developers, and educational media designers. In addition to studying how young children’s interests, community assets, and everyday experiences can be leveraged to meaningfully promote STEM learning across home and school, she and her partners explore when and how STEM domains can be feasibly and meaningfully integrated with each other and with other learning disciplines to promote learning broadly. Across these efforts, Dominguez explores the affordances of technology and media for supporting early STEM teaching and learning—documenting how digital tools can be designed to strengthen (not replace) the hands-on, socially rich, and collaborative learning that is key early in childhood. In addition to leading grants from federal agencies and philanthropic organizations, she currently leads Digital Promise’s strategic effort on multilingual learners. She earned an M.S. in education from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in applied developmental psychology from the University of Miami. Dominguez also serves as ad hoc reviewer for multiple early childhood journals and recently served as a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s consensus study, Science and Engineering in Preschool Through Elementary Grades: The Brilliance of Children and the Strengths of Educators.

KARA JACKSON is a professor of mathematics education at the University of Washington, Seattle. Her research focuses on (a) elaborating critical distinctions in secondary mathematics teachers’ perspectives and practices that matter for advancing equity and (b) investigating and supporting schools and districts to design and implement coherent systems of support that enable teachers to develop ambitious and equitable teaching. Jackson taught secondary mathematics in Vanuatu as a Peace Corps volunteer and was a mathematics specialist, supporting both youth and their families, for the Say Yes to Education Foundation in Philadelphia. Jackson’s scholarship and practice is grounded in long-term partnerships with teachers, coaches, and leaders in schools and districts. Jackson’s research has been supported by a National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Spencer Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. She completed her bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Bates College and her doctorate in education, culture, and society with an emphasis in mathematics education at the University of Pennsylvania.

AMERY MARTINEZ works in the Department of Career and College Success supporting and expanding Career and Technical Education career pathways for Denver Public Schools (DPS). He has held various positions within education and industry during his career, including working as a design and architecture professional, licensed bilingual educator, instructional

technology coach, and district innovation coordinator. Additionally, Martinez served as the K–8 computer science specialist for the New Mexico Public Education Department where he worked on the creation of the state computer science endorsement and competencies. He managed the K–8 computer science grant program based on the New Mexico computer science strategic plan, which was designed to support school districts across the state with providing equitable access to computer science education. Martinez is the lead for the DPS CSforAll Accelerator program, a strategic initiative focused on accelerating high-need communities in their progress toward fundamental standards-aligned computer science education and increased access to interest-driven computer science learning opportunities. In addition to his professional expertise, his personal experience as a first-generation college graduate contributes to his equity driven mindset relatable to colleagues and students. He holds a master’s degree in architecture and urban design from University of California, Los Angeles, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico

KRISTEN D. MCKINNEY currently serves as an educator in the Sedalia 200 school district where she focuses on innovation through assessment at the high school level. Prior to this role, she worked at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MO DESE) where she focused on implementation of Framework-adapted, three-dimensional learning standards and oversaw the development of the science assessments within the Missouri Assessment Program. McKinney also served as co-chair of the Assessing Student Learning Ad Hoc Committee for the Council of State Science Supervisors, the Missouri state lead for the Advancing Coherent and Equitable Systems of Science Education (ACESSE) work, and a member of the Short Performance Assessment Learning Community. Since taking the position in the Sedalia200 school district, she has transitioned to an associate role with the Council of State Science Supervisors. As the director of science for MO DESE, McKinney received recognition for the Conservation Intersection Award and the Presidential Citation Award. She holds a B.S. in biology with a minor in chemistry from Missouri Valley College, M.A. in teaching from the University of Central Missouri, M.Ed. in K–12 building leadership from Northwest Missouri State University, and an Ed.S. degree in educational technology and curriculum from the University of Central Missouri.

MEIXI is a Hokchiu assistant professor in Comparative Education and International Development at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities and former middle school mathematics teacher. Over the past decade she has collaboratively designed schools and learning systems to restore school-land-community-family relationships and advance collective Indigenous futures in the United States, Thailand, and Mexico. Meixi interweaves comparative

Indigenous education with the learning sciences and community-engaged design research to support the creation of land- and water-based curriculum and school assessments with families’ stories, technologies, and place-based knowledge systems. Broadly, she studies (a) children’s ethical development within micro-moments of interaction in STEM education in relation to sociopolitica/ecological phenomena and (b) the possibilities of innovating schools to become sites of healing, wellbeing, and regeneration for Indigenous young people, families, and their lands. Meixi was named a National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow and Presidential Postdoc in American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota. She earned her B.S. in education and social policy at Northwestern University and Ph.D. in learning sciences and human development from the University of Washington.

THOMAS T. PETERS serves as executive director of South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science, a science, technology, engineering, and medicine (STEM) Learning Ecosystem Community of Practice that has been in continuous service to the state for 30 years. His professional expertise includes curriculum design and implementation, teacher professional development, and systemic approaches to educational innovation in STEM. Peters is a recipient of the Outstanding Leader in Science Education Award from the National Science Education Leadership Association and the Richard C. Riley Award from the South Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics. He holds B.S. degrees in both teaching biology and ecology/ethology/evolution, as well as an M.S. and Ph.D. in science education, all awarded from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

ANTHONY J. PETROSINO serves as the associate dean for research and outreach in Southern Methodist University’s Simmons School and professor of the learning sciences in the Simmons Department of Teaching and Learning. He is also emeritus from The University of Texas at Austin where he was an Elizabeth G. Gibb Endowed Fellow. Petrosino has received research grants from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education, and the McDonnel Foundation for Cognitive Studies. His research interests include students understanding of experimentation, teacher education in STEM, and the development of expertise in STEM disciplines. Petrosino is co-founder of the nationally recognized UTeach Natural Sciences Program. He has been a NASA Space Grant Fellow as well as a McDonnell Post-Doctoral Fellow funded through the Cognitive Studies in Educational Practice Program by McDonnell Douglas. Petrosino’s articles have appeared in the Journal of Science Education and Technology, The Journal of the Learning Sciences, Mathematical Thinking and Learning, Educational Computing Research, The Journal of Engineering Education, and The American Educational Research Journal. He received his M.Ed. from Teachers College, Columbia University in educational administration and

his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University where he was a member of the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt.

ROBERT J. SEMPER currently serves as the chief learning officer for the Exploratorium, providing strategy and oversight to the science and education work of the institution and representing the Exploratorium to the broader world of science, science centers and science, technology, engineering, and medicine (STEM) education. Over the years he has had a career developing exhibits and exhibitions onsite and worldwide, creating teacher education programs, producing publications, films, online media and communication programs, expanding the informal science education field and leading major initiatives including the recent relocation of the institution to Pier 15/17. Before joining the Exploratorium, Semper taught physics at St. Olaf College and conducted solid state, elementary particle and nuclear physics research at Johns Hopkins University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and University of California, San Francisco. He is the author of many journal articles and invited papers and conference talks, and he has been principal investigator on over 50 federally and privately funded projects that include developing new online and media resources, experiments using technology to enhance the museum visitor experience, and programs for teachers and museum educators. Semper was selected as a member of the Federal STEM Education Advisory Panel, which evaluated and offered guidance on the federal government’s Strategic Plan for STEM education. He was also a Schumann fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and director of the creative collaboration between Apple Computer and Lucasfilm Ltd. formed to develop interactive multimedia education projects. Semper’s awards include American Physical Society Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow, and the National Science Teaching Association Faraday Science Communicator Award. He received his Ph.D. in solid-state physics from The Johns Hopkins University.

MIRAY TEKKUMRU-KISA is a senior policy researcher at RAND. Two interrelated foci of Tekkumru-Kisa’s research are (a) understanding and supporting professional learning and (b) measuring and improving instructional quality for ambitious and equitable science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teaching. Her research efforts center around the design and study of responsive STEM and professional learning environments and involve working in partnership with educators across layers of the education system (e.g., schools, districts, and states) and building the capacity for continuous improvement. Tekkumru-Kisa has led and contributed to federally funded projects involving careful design of educational interventions that address problems of practice and challenges of policy implementation and help to extend theories of teaching and learning. Prior to joining RAND, she worked as an associate professor of science education

at Florida State University. She earned her B.S. and M.S. in science and mathematics education from Bogazici University in Turkey, and her Ph.D. in learning sciences and policy from University of Pittsburgh. Before moving to the United States for her Ph.D., Tekkumru-Kisa was involved in national and international education improvement projects in Turkey.

MARCELO WORSLEY is an associate professor of computer science and learning sciences at Northwestern University. His research integrates artificial intelligence and data mining with multimodal interfaces to study and support human learning. Worsley directs the technological innovations for inclusive learning and teaching lab, which works with community and industry partners around the world to empower people and organizations through the design and use of equity focused learning tools. These tools include both pedagogical and technological solutions for in-school and out-of-school learning. His research has been selected for best paper awards at multiple interdisciplinary research venues. Worsley’s work has also been recognized through a National Science Foundation CAREER award on bridging sports and computer science. He has a B.S. in chemical engineering, a B.A. in Spanish and Portuguese, an M.S. in computer science, and a Ph.D. in learning sciences and technology design all from Stanford University. Worsley also completed post-doctoral training at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies.

STAFF BIOS

AMY STEPHENS (Study Director) is the associate board director for the Board on Science Education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She has served as study director for several consensus studies on a variety of topics to include English learners in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects, preschool through elementary science and engineering education, the teacher workforce, and how STEM opportunities can cultivate interest and the development of competencies for computing. She is currently directing the study on Developing Competencies for the Future of Data and Computing: The Role of K–12. Prior to joining the National Academies, Stephens was a postdoctoral fellow for the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth and prior to that worked at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. She received her Ph.D. in psychological and brain sciences from Johns Hopkins University with an emphasis in cognitive neuroscience.

SAMUEL CRAWFORD is a research associate for the Board on Science Education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Before joining the Board on Science Education, he was a senior program assistant for the Food and Nutrition Board at the Academies. He is currently

supporting the Consensus Study for Thriving in a Changing Climate and the Standing Committee for Advancing Science Communication. Before joining the National Academies, Crawford was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Panama and a high school chemistry teacher in Maryland. He received his master’s degree in EU Trade and Climate Policy from the LUISS Guido Carli University and Centre International de Formation Européenne.

BRITTANI SHORTER is a senior program assistant for the Board on Science Education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. As a member of the board staff, she has supported studies focusing on science education, science communication, and STEM education in rural areas.

HEIDI SCHWEINGRUBER (Board Director) is the director for the Board on Science Education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. In this role, she oversees a portfolio of work that includes K–12 science education, informal science education, and higher education. Schweingruber joined the National Academies starting as a senior program officer for the Board of Science Education. In this role, she directed or co-directed numerous projects including the study that resulted in the report A Framework for K–12 Science Education (2011), which served as the blueprint for the Next Generation Science Standards. Most recently, she co-directed the study that produced the report Call to Action for Science Education: Building Opportunity for the Future (2021). Schweingruber is a nationally recognized leader in leveraging research findings to support improving science and science, technology, engineering, and medicine education policy and practice. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology and anthropology, and a certificate in culture and cognition from the University of Michigan.

AUDREY WEBB is a program officer with the Board on Science Education (BOSE). Since she joined the BOSE staff in April 2023, she has supported two congressionally mandated consensus studies and the Collaborative on Advancing Science Teaching and Learning in K–12 (CASTL-K12). Before joining the BOSE team, she served as the K–12 science supervisor for the Nebraska Department of Education. In this position, she supported district selection and implementation of instructional materials for science, provided professional learning opportunities across the state, and supported the development of the statewide phenomenon-based performance assessment system, including large-scale, interim, and classroom formative assessments and implementation toolkits. Previously, Webb designed and implemented project-based curricula for secondary biology, physiology, and physical science in the San Francisco Unified School District. She holds a master of arts in education from Stanford University and a bachelor of arts in both biology and sociology/anthropology from St. Olaf College.

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