Dr. Rebecca Sansom

Biography

Rebecca Sansom is an Assistant Professor of Science Education at Texas A&M University. Her primary focus is on empowering rural science teachers through innovative approaches to professional development, particularly technology-mediated lesson study. Sansom utilizes social network analysis to examine the evolving professional communities among rural science educators and engage them in collaborative professional learning. A significant aspect of her research investigates how secondary science teachers learn and implement three-dimensional (3D) science teaching, which integrates science and engineering practices into their classrooms. Alongside her work in teacher professional development, she has a keen research interest in chemistry education, emphasizing laboratory learning and the adoption of evidence-based instructional practices to enhance student success in general chemistry. Prior to her academic career, she taught high school chemistry and biology for eight years and served as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow at the National Science Foundation. She is dedicated to designing equitable and sustainable models for improving science education and invites collaboration with fellow educators and researchers.

Research Interests