Disciplinary Core Ideas

Ravit Golan Duncan is an associate professor of science education with a joint appointment in the Graduate School of Education and the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University. She received her PhD in learning sciences from Northwestern University. She currently has two main research strands: (1) the design and study of inquiry based learning environments in life sciences that engage students with modeling and argumentation and (2) the study of learning progressions in science education, specifically in genetics. She is the recipient of three early career awards from the National Academy of Education/ Spencer Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation. In addition, Duncan also coordinates and teaches in the Certification Program in Life Sciences at Rutgers University and has studied the development of preservice teachers’ knowledge and beliefs. Duncan is the recipient of several federal grants that involve the design of instructional materials that support student (and teacher) engagement with scientific inquiry. She has published in both education research journals such as the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Science Education, and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) practitioner journals The Science Teacher, Science Scope, and Science and Children. Duncan was also one of the reviewers of A Framework for K–12 Science Education and has facilitated several NSTA professional development workshops and webinars about the Next Generation Science Standards disciplinary core ideas and science practices over the past few years.