Ryan Summers

Ryan Summers is an Associate Professor of Science Education in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of North Dakota. His research examines ideas about nature of science (NOS) held by students, advanced by teachers, and promoted in K-12 schools. This includes ideas about the characteristics of scientific knowledge as well as how scientific knowledge is generated, refined by the scientific community, and shaped by the cultural context in which it was created. Summers has contributed to analytical frameworks and tools that help researchers evaluate how NOS ideas are described and presented. He has analyzed science standards and instructional materials using these approaches and has published findings in outlets such as the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Science & Education, and Research in Science Education. Since 2022, Summers has been the principal investigator of a $2.9 million Discovery Research K-12 program funded by the National Science Foundation. This project, STEM STRONG (Supporting Teachers in Rural communities for the Next Generation), created online professional learning communities with elementary teachers in rural areas across multiple states. Among the supports offered to teachers, the project team provided guidance as teachers engaged learners through scientific practices. Active in professional communities, Summers has a long service record with NARST (a global organization for improving science education through research) and the Association for Science Teacher Education.