Dr. Rebecca Sansom is an Assistant Professor of Science Education at Texas A&M University. Her research centers on supporting rural science teachers’ professional growth, with a particular focus on technology-mediated lesson study as an innovative approach for teacher development across geographically dispersed schools and districts. Dr. Sansom uses social network analysis to examine the evolving professional communities among rural science educators as they engage in collaborative professional learning. A significant part of her work investigates how secondary science teachers learn, adopt, and implement three-dimensional (3D) science teaching—which incorporates science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas—into their classrooms. In addition to her work in teacher professional development, she maintains an active research interest in chemistry education, focusing on laboratory learning, adoption of evidence-based instructional practices, and student success in general chemistry.

Prior to her academic career, Dr. Sansom 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 committed to designing and studying equitable, sustainable models for improving science education and welcomes collaboration with fellow educators and researchers working to strengthen rural STEM teaching and learning.