Professional Biography

Susan Yoon specializes in using complex systems approaches in teaching and learning with both students and teachers. A learning scientist who focuses on science and technology education, Dr. Yoon researches learning and interaction in designed interventions. Her research aims to develop and implement educational theories, methodologies, and tools that identify and reveal patterns of information that may not be accessible or understood through traditional means. 

Research Interests and Current Projects

Dr. Yoon’s research in the Learning Sciences uses multiple theoretical lenses to study learning and interaction in designed interventions. In one line of research she studies how student and teacher populations can improve understanding and instruction about complex systems in middle and high school science courses. Using varying learning tools such as mobile technologies and multi-agent computational models, she investigates how abilities in important scientific practices, such as theory building, evidence-based decision-making and argumentation, can increase. This work also assesses how understanding of complex systems processes and states change through participation in curricula and activities that integrate these learning tools in classrooms. Furthermore, she examines educational system affordances and constraints (e.g., teacher learning trajectories, professional development, school-level contextual factors) that enable or impede adoption of progressive learning tools and approaches.

In another line of research, Dr. Yoon studies how conceptual knowledge and cognitive understanding of science and engineering content can be supported in informal learning environments. In the past she has worked with after-school venues (in the School District of Philadelphia) and informal science organizations (e.g., Philadelphia Zoo) to increase student interest and achievement in and access to science. In partnership with the Franklin Institute Science Museum, currently she researches how augmented reality (AR) technology can enhance visitors’ learning experiences. Building on research on visualization tools and the use of scaffolds, she and her team have designed experiences that promote learning through AR interactions, peer-to-peer collaboration, and deep engagement with science topics. A central focus of her informal science learning research is the goal of understanding and preserving the unique characteristics of informal participation that make learning in these environments so engaging such as self-direction, experimentation, and play.

Other areas of research include investigating how theoretical and practical frames and outputs of social networks can improve student and teacher learning in complex learning environments, design considerations for professional development in reform-oriented projects, and developing curricular and instructional approaches that incorporate cutting edge science (e.g., nanotechnology and imaging) and cognitively-rich pedagogies (e.g., problem-based learning). Collectively, Dr. Yoon’s research aims to develop and implement educational theories, methodologies, and tools that identify and reveal patterns of information that may not be accessible or understood through traditional means.

Dr. Yoon received the 2009 Jan Hawkins Award for Early Career Contributions to Humanistic Research and Scholarship in Learning Technologies from Division C of the American Educational Research Association. She served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Learning Sciences (JLS) for the period 2017–2020, and currently sits on the Editorial Boards of Educational Researcher (ER) and the American Educational Research Journal (AERJ). She was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Society for the Learning Sciences (ISLS) for the period 2013–2019, co-chairs the ISLS Membership Committee, and has been an integral contributor to the development of the ISLS initiative, Network of Academic Programs in the Learning Sciences (NAPLES).

Currently funded research includes:

  • BioGraph 2.0–Professional Development for High School Biology Teachers for Teaching and Learning About Complex Systems — building online PD with a goal to scale high quality activities for access at low to no-cost (NSF-DRK12, 2017–2021).
  • Professional Development Supports for Teaching Bioinformatics through Mobile Learning — A public health and engagement project promoting computational and scientific action in local urban communities through the collection and analysis of bioinformatics data (NSF-DRK12, 2018–2022).
  • Developing Teachers’ Epistemic Cognition and Teaching (DeTECT) Practices for Supporting Students’ Epistemic Practices with Scientific Systems — supporting the development of teachers’ epistemic instructional repertoires to support growth in students’ epistemic knowledge and practices using models of complex systems (NSF-DRK12, 2020–2024)

Previously funded research includes:

App Inventor for Socioscientific Issues to Build Engagement in STEM, an in-school science project for middle school students (University Research Fund and the Milken Foundation, 2016–2017).

BioGraph: Graphical Programming for Constructing Complex Systems Understanding in Biology, an in-school project for high school biology students and teachers (NSF-DRK12, 2010–2015).

ARIEL — Augmented Reality for Interpretive and Experiential Learning, an informal science project to enhance museum visitor experiences (NSF-ISE, 2008–2014)

SPARK — Igniting Interest and Achievement in STEM through Engineering Design, an out-of-school time project for youth in grades 4-8 (NSF-AYS, 2006–2010).

Nanotechnology and Bioengineering in Philadelphia Public Schools, an in-school project for high school science students and teachers (NSF-ITEST, 2008–2012)

A Penn–West Philadelphia/Philadelphia Public School Partnership to Develop Innovative and Sustainable Ways for Technology to Positively Impact Learning (Lenovo Foundation, 2011–2012)

Headstart to High School Science in West Philadelphia Schools, a summer project focused on socioscientific issues for middle school students (Lindback Foundation, 2006–2008)

Selected Publications