LS Faculty

LS Faculty

Megan Bang

Bang, Megan

Professor of Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • Political Science with Political Theory concentration, Williams College, 1997
  • PhD, Learning Sciences, Northwestern University, 2009

Research Interests

Dynamics of culture, learning, and development broadly with a specific focus on the complexities of navigating multiple meaning systems in creating and implementing more effective and just learning environments in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics education; reasoning and decision-making about complex socio-ecological systems in ways that intersect with culture, power, and historicity.

Cynthia Coburn

Coburn, Cynthia

Professor, Human Development and Social Policy

Professor, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • PhD, Education, Stanford University, 2001
  • MA, Sociology, Stanford University, 1997
  • BA, Philosophy, Oberlin College, 1989

Research Interests

Relationship between instructional policy and teachers' classroom practices in urban schools , Relationship between research and policy

Allan Collins

Collins, Allan

Professor Emeritus, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • PhD, Cognitive Psychology, University of Michigan, 1970
  • MA, Communication Sciences, University of Michigan, 1961

Research Interests

Technology and education, teaching and learning, scientific inquiry.

Jeannette Colyvas

Colyvas, Jeannette

Associate Professor, Human Development and Social Policy

Associate Professor, Learning Sciences

Associate Professor and Executive Board Member, Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)

Associate Professor (by courtesy), Department of Sociology

Associate Professor (by courtesy), MORS, Kellogg School of Management

Faculty Affiliate, Institute for Policy Research

Director of Undergraduate Programs, School of Education and Social Policy


Degrees

  • PhD, Stanford University, 2007
  • MA, Sociology, MA, East Asian Studies, Stanford University

Research Interests

Organizations and entrepreneurship; institutions and networks; comparing public, private, and non-profit forms of organizing; university-industry interfaces; public and private science.

Solomon Cytrynbaum

Cytrynbaum, Solomon

Professor Emeritus, Education

Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Associate Director for Education, The Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies, Psychology Graduate Program


Degrees

  • PhD, Psychology, University of Michigan, 1971
  • MA, Child Development and Family Relations, Cornell University, 1962
  • BA, Arts and Sciences, McGill University, 1959

Research Interests

Group dynamics, organizational assessment and change, family systems, gender and authority in group and organizational life, organizational consultation, evaluation of school reform and school academic/technology systems, research methods, application of group and systems theory and research to school change.

Matthew Easterday

Easterday, Matthew

Associate Professor, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • PhD, Human-Computer Interaction, Carnegie Mellon University, 2010
  • MS, Human-Computer Interaction, Carnegie Mellon University, 2004
  • BA, Psychology and Mathematics, Reed College, 1999

Research Interests

Technology for the new civics – producing scientifically supported educational technology to create informed and engaged citizens who can solve the serious policy problems facing society such as poverty, global warming and militarism. Training such citizens requires us to understand how competent citizens analyze policy, communicate issues, and organize to make change. It also requires us to design more effective educational technology that can teach the knowledge, skills and dispositions citizens need.

Kenneth Forbus

Forbus, Kenneth

Professor, Education

Professor, Computer Science


Degrees

  • PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1984

Research Interests

Artificial intelligence, specifically qualitative reasoning, spatial reasoning, analogical reasoning and learning, and inference engine design; in cognitive science, understanding how analogy and similarity work; in education, using AI techniques to create educational software and activities; in human-computer interaction, the use of sketching as an interface modality; the role of AI in computer game design. 

Karen Fuson

Fuson, Karen

Professor Emerita, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • PhD, Mathematics and learning; cognitive development, University of Chicago, 1972
  • MAT, Mathematics, University of Chicago, 1967
  • BA, Mathematics, Oberlin College, 1965

Research Interests

Mathematics teaching and learning; cognitive development; design of teaching/learning activities.

Wendi Gardner

Gardner, Wendi

Associate Professor, Social Psychology

Associate Professor, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • PhD, Ohio State University, 1996

Research Interests

The centrality of social inclusion to the self.

Dedre Gentner

Gentner, Dedre

Professor, Learning Sciences

Professor, Psychology


Degrees

  • PhD, University of California, San Diego, 1974

Research Interests

Learning, reasoning, and conceptual change in adults and children, especially processes of similarity; metaphor, and analogy; mental models; acquisition of meaning.

Elizabeth Gerber

Gerber, Elizabeth

Associate Professor, Learning Sciences

Associate Professor, Design


Degrees

  • PhD, Stanford University, 2007
  • MS, Stanford University, 2003
  • BA, Dartmouth College, 1998

Research Interests

Design and innovation work practices.

Sophie Haroutunian-Gordon

Haroutunian-Gordon, Sophie

Professor Emeritus, Education and Social Policy


Degrees

  • PhD, Philosophy of Education, University of Chicago, 1976
  • MA, Curriculum and Instruction, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1966
  • BA, Music, Religion/Philosophy, Cornell College, 1965

Research Interests

Philosophy of education, teacher education, interpretive discussion, philosophy of psychology.

Susan Hespos

Hespos, Susan

Associate Professor, Psychology

Associate Professor, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • PhD, Developmental Psychology, Emory University, 1996
  • MA, Cognitive Psychology, Emory University, 1993
  • BA, Psychology, Reed College, 1990

Research Interests

Object representation, number and spatial relationships.

Michael Horn

Horn, Michael

Associate Professor and Program Coordinator, Learning Sciences

Associate Professor, Computer Science


Degrees

  • PhD, Computer Science, Tufts University, 2009
  • MS, Computer Science, Tufts University, 2006
  • ScB, Computer Science, Brown University, 1997

Research Interests

Design of educational technology, learning in museums, computer programming, tangible interaction.

Eva Lam

Lam, Eva

Associate Professor, Learning Sciences, Asian American Studies


Degrees

  • PhD, Education in Language, Literacy, and Culture, University of California, Berkeley, 2003

Research Interests

Multilingualism and cultural diversity in education, digital literacy and learning in new media environments, multilingual and multimodal literacy, language and identity, language socialization, learning in transnational contexts of migration.

Carol Lee

Lee, Carol

Professor Emeritus, Learning Sciences

Edwina S. Tarry Professor of Education and Social Policy

Professor, African American Studies


Degrees

  • PhD, Education (Curriculum and Instruction), University of Chicago, 1991
  • MA, English, University of Chicago, 1969
  • BA, The Teaching of Secondary School English, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, 1966

Research Interests

Cultural contexts affecting learning broadly and literacy specifically; teacher preparation and development; classroom discourse; urban education.

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Lewis, Daniel Rees

Research Assistant Professor, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • PhD Learning Sciences, Northwestern University
  • MA Learning Sciences, Northwestern University
Jolie Matthews

Matthews, Jolie

Assistant Professor, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • BA, Concentration in Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, New York University
  • PhD, Learning Sciences and Technology Design, Stanford University
  • Master of Professional Writing, University of Southern California

Research Interests

Learning and behavior norms in online communities, social media production and consumption practices, sources and credibility, historical consciousness, fandom, digital technologies and the creative process, inquiry in digital spaces.

Douglas Medin

Medin, Douglas

Professor Emeritus, Education

Professor Emeritus, Psychology


Degrees

  • PhD, University of South Dakota, 1968

Research Interests

Learning, reasoning, and conceptual change in adults and children, mental models; acquisition of meaning, culture and education.

Jen Munson

Munson, Jen

Assistant Professor, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • PhD, Teacher Education, Stanford University, 2018
  • BS, Elementary Education, University of Maine, 2000

Research Interests

Mathematics teaching and learning; coaching and professional development; teacher education

Michael Novak

Novak, Michael

Adjunct Faculty, Learning Sciences and MSEd Programs

Researcher, Center For Connected Learning


Degrees

  • MS, Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1994
  • BS, Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1992

Research Interests

Instructional materials design, professional development of teachers, professional learning communities, scientific modeling, and agent-based modeling.

Eleanor O'Rourke

O'Rourke, Eleanor

Assistant Professor, Learning Sciences

Assistant Professor, Computer Science


Degrees

  • PhD, Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington, 2016
  • MS, Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington, 2012
  • BA, Computer Science and Spanish, Colby College, 2007

Research Interests

Design of technology-enabled learning experiences, educational games and playful learning, growth mindset interventions, connected classroom ecosystems.

Andrew Ortony

Ortony, Andrew

Professor Emeritus, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • PhD, Computer Science, University of London, 1972
  • MA, Philosophy, University of Edinburgh, 1966

Research Interests

Emotion and cognition; knowledge representation and figurative language comprehension; human-computer interaction and interface design.

Penelope Peterson

Peterson, Penelope

Professor Emeritus, School of Education and Social Policy

Eleanor R. Baldwin Professor, Education

Former Dean, School of Education and Social Policy

Former Professor, Human Development and Social Policy

Former Professor, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • MA, Psychological Studies in Education, Stanford University, 1976
  • PhD, Psychological Studies in Education, Stanford University, 1976
  • BS, Psychology and Philosophy, Iowa State University, 1971

Research Interests

Learning and teaching in schools and classrooms, particularly in literacy and mathematics; student and teacher learning in reform contexts; relations among educational research, policy and practice.

Nichole Pinkard

Pinkard, Nichole

Associate Professor, Learning Sciences

Faculty Director of the Office of Community Education Partnerships


Degrees

  • PhD, Learning Sciences, Northwestern University, 1998
David Rapp

Rapp, David


Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence

Professor, Learning Sciences

Professor, Department of Psychology


Degrees

  • PhD, Experimental Psychology, State University of New York, Stony Brook, 2000
  • MA, General Psychology, New York University, 1996
  • BA, Psychology, State University of New York, Albany, 1994

Research Interests

Reading comprehension; memory following learning experiences; updating prior knowledge; the acquisition of accurate and inaccurate information; translation of cognitive science research to educational settings; multimedia learning; visualizations as learning tools.

Brian Reiser

Reiser, Brian

Professor, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • PhD, Cognitive Science, Yale University, 1983
  • MA, Psychology, New York University, 1979
  • BA, Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 1977

Research Interests

The design of learning environments and curriculum materials for science that support authentic practices including explanation, argumentation, and designing investigations. His research examines the cognitive and social interaction aspects of scientific inquiry, principles for scaffolding practices in software and curriculum materials, teaching practices, and curriculum design frameworks.

Jennifer Richards

Richards , Jennifer

Research Assistant Professor


Degrees

  • PhD, Science Education, University of Maryland, 2013
  • MEd, Secondary Science Education, University of Maryland, 2008
  • BA, Biology, Political Science, University of Delaware, 2006

Research Interests

 Teacher learning and professional development design; responsiveness to students' and educators' thinking and practices

Christopher Riesbeck

Riesbeck, Christopher

Associate Professor, Learning Sciences

Associate Professor, Computer Science


Degrees

  • PhD, Stanford University, 1974

Research Interests

Natural-language understanding, case-based reasoning, authorable learning-by-doing environments, critiquing tools for education.

Bruce Sherin

Sherin, Bruce

Professor, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • PhD, Science and Mathematics Education, University of California, Berkeley, 1996
  • MA, Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 1989
  • BA, Physics, Princeton University, 1985

Research Interests

Conceptual change in science; computational linguistics applied to natural language data; programming environments for learning; external representations in science and mathematics.

Miriam Sherin

Sherin, Miriam

Professor, Learning Sciences

Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education


Degrees

  • PhD, Science and Mathematics Education, University of California, Berkeley, 1996
  • MA, Mathematics, University of California, San Diego, 1987
  • BA, Mathematics, University of Chicago, 1985

Research Interests

Mathematics teaching and learning; teacher cognition and teacher education.

James Spillane

Spillane, James

Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Professor in Learning and Organizational Change

Professor, Human Development and Social Policy

Professor, Learning Sciences

Faculty Associate, Institute for Policy Research


Degrees

  • PhD, Curriculum, Teaching and Education Policy, Michigan State University, 1993
  • BA, Education and Geography, St. Patrick's College, National University of Ireland, 1984

Research Interests

Policy implementation; educational policy; organizational change; school leadership; relations between policy and teachers' and administrators' practice.

Reed Stevens

Stevens, Reed

Professor, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • PhD, Cognitive Studies in Education , University of California at Berkeley, 1999

Research Interests

Learning and activity in a wide range of places and situations; design of learning tools curriculum, activities, and technologies.

David Uttal

Uttal, David

Professor, Education

Professor, Psychology


Degrees

  • PhD, University of Michigan, 1989

Research Interests

Mental representation, cognitive development, spatial cognition, early symbolization.

Sepehr Vakil

Vakil, Sepehr

Affiliated Faculty member, Cognitive Science Program

Assistant Professor, Learning Sciences

Affiliated Faculty member, Science in Human Cultures Program


Degrees

  • PhD, Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology, University of California Berkeley, 2016
  • M.S, Electrical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, 2007
  • B.S, Electrical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, 2006

Research Interests

intersections of technology, race, ethics, and learning; STEM education; participatory design and community-engaged research methodologies; historical and sociopolitical analyses of engineering and computer science education across global contexts; philosophy and history of education

Shirin Vossoughi

Vossoughi, Shirin

Associate Professor, Learning Sciences


Degrees

  • Post-doctoral Fellowship, Stanford University & Exploratorium, 2014
  • PhD, Education, University of California, Los Angeles, 2011
  • EdM, Education , University of California, Los Angeles, 2006
  • BA, History and International Development, University of California, Los Angeles, 2002

Research Interests

Ethnographic study of teaching, learning and educational equity; social, cultural, historical and political dimensions of human development.

Sandra Waxman

Waxman, Sandra

Professor, Learning Sciences

Professor, Psychology


Degrees

  • PhD, University of Pennsylvania, 1985
  • MA, Johns Hopkins University, 1981
  • BS, University of Pennsylvania, 1976

Research Interests

Language and conceptual development, early cognitive development, language and thought.

Uri Wilensky

Wilensky, Uri


Lorraine Morton Professor of Learning Sciences and Computer Science

Professor, Learning Sciences

Professor, Computer Science

Affiliated Faculty member, Buffett Center for Global Studies

Director, Center for Connected Learning & Computer-Based Modeling

Executive Board Member, Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)

Professor (by courtesy), Department of Philosophy

Faculty member, program in Cognitive Science

Faculty member, program in Technology and Social Behavior

Faculty member, Segal Design Center Research Council

Faculty member, Center for Prevention Implementation Methodology for Drug Abuse/HIV

Affiliated Faculty member, Center for Interdisciplinary Astrophysics


Degrees

  • PhD, Media Arts and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1993
  • MA, Mathematics, Harvard University, 1980
  • BA, Mathematics and Philosophy, Brandeis University, 1977
  • MA, Mathematics and Philosophy, Brandeis University, 1977

Research Interests

Mathematics and science education in the context of computation, connected learning, constructionism, computer-based modeling, agent-based modeling and complex systems and education.

Michael Wolf

Wolf, Michael

Professor, Medicine and Learning Sciences, Associate Division Chief - Research , Division of General Internal Medicine Feinberg School of Medicine


Degrees

  • MPH, Public Health, Northwestern University , 2002
  • PhD, Social Policy, University of Illinois, 2000
  • BS, Psychology/English , Valparaiso University, 1993
  • MA, Learning Sciences, Northwestern University, 2006

Research Interests

Health literacy, risk communication, medication safety and adherence

Marcelo Worsley

Worsley, Marcelo

Assistant Professor, Learning Sciences

Assistant Professor, Computer Science


Degrees

  • MS, Computer Science, Stanford University, 2014
  • PhD, Learning Sciences and Technology Design, Stanford University, 2014
  • BA, Spanish and Portuguese, Stanford University, 2007
  • BS, Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 2007

Contact Us

Learning Sciences Program School of Education and Social Policy

2120 Campus Drive
Evanston, IL 60208
Northwestern University

Phone: 847/491-4329

Email:
allison.manley@northwestern.edu