Rate My Professor Nancy Songer

Nancy Songer, PhD, served as Dean and Distinguished University Professor in Drexel University’s School of Education from 2014 to 2018 and continued as Distinguished University Professor until 2020. She earned her Ph.D. in Science Education and Learning Technologies from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989, an M.S. in Molecular and Developmental Biology from Tufts University in 1985, and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Davis in 1981. Prior to joining Drexel, Songer held the position of Professor of Science Education and Learning Technologies at the University of Michigan from 2004 to 2014, where she also directed the Center for Essential Science, chaired the Department of Educational Studies, and led the Educational Technology Program. Earlier in her career, she was an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder from 1991 to 1996.

Songer’s research centers on science education, learning technologies, inquiry-based learning, and the assessment of complex scientific reasoning among K-12 students, with particular emphasis on urban STEM education, biodiversity, and ecological impacts of climate change. During her tenure at Drexel, she advanced initiatives such as the Kids as Urban Scientists project, which engaged West Philadelphia students in mapping biodiversity in the Philadelphia Promise Zone. Her influential scholarship includes highly cited works like “Are good texts always better? Interactions of text coherence, background knowledge, and levels of understanding in learning from text” (1996), “How do students’ views of science influence knowledge integration?” (1991), “Technology-rich inquiry science in urban classrooms” (2002), and the co-edited National Academies report “Science and Engineering for Grades 6-12: Investigations and Design at the Center” (2019). Songer has garnered major awards, including the National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellowship (1995), election as an AAAS Fellow (2006), and a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award (2019-2020). She chaired the National Academies committee on science education for grades 6-12 (2017-2019), served on panels assessing Next Generation Science Standards, and contributed editorially as Senior Associate Editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (2010-2014). Songer has delivered invited lectures at AERA, NARST, and international conferences on STEM reform.