Education & Professional History
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, BS, MS, PhD.
Susan Rundell Singer is Division Director in the Division of Undergraduate Education at NSF and Laurence McKinley Gould Professor, in the Biology and Cognitive Science Departments at Carleton. She is a nationally recognized leader in undergraduate education and plant biology. In addition to a PhD in biology from Rensselaer, she completed a teacher certification program in New York State. A developmental biologist who studies flowering in legumes and also does research on learning genomics, Susan is an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellow and received both the American Society of Plant Biology teaching award and Botanical Society of America Charles Bessey teaching award. She directed Carleton’s Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching, was a National Science Foundation (NSF) program officer in Biology, and is a co-author of the Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology report, as well as two introductory biology texts. She has served on numerous boards, including the NSF Education and Human Resources Federal Advisory Committee, Biological Sciences Curriculum Study Board, the American Society of Plant Biology Education Foundation, and the Botanical Society board of directors; was a member-at-large for the AAAS Education Section; participates in the Minnesota Next Generation Science Standards team; and was a member of the National Academies’ Board on Science Education. She has participated in six National Academies studies, including chairing the committees that authored America’s Lab Report, Promising Practices in STEM Undergraduate Education and Discipline-based Education Research: Understanding and Improving Learning in Undergraduate Science and Engineering. Currently she is improving undergraduate education through her leadership at NSF and across Federal agencies, implementing the undergraduate goals of the Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics 5-year Strategic Plan.
At Carleton since 2016.
Highlights & Recent Activity
Here are some recent publications. Please refer to my faculty website for more details.
Singer, S.R. (2015) Partnering to advance learning in a technology-enhanced world. EDCUASE Review. 50(2)
Singer, S.R. Learning in a world of convergence. In: Bainbridge, W.S and M.C. Roco (eds.) Handbook of Science and Technology Convergence, Springer, in press
Mason, K., G. Johnson, S. Singer, and J. Losos (2015) Understanding Biology, New York: McGraw-Hill
Mason, K., J. Losos, and S. Singer (2014) Biology 10th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill
Singer, S.R. and W.B. Bonvillian (2013) Two revolutions in learning. Science. 339: 1359
Bonvillian, W.B. and S.R. Singer (2013) The online challenge to higher education. Issues in Science and Technology
Singer, S.R., J.A. Schwarz, C.A. Manduca, S.P. Fox, E.R Iverson, B.J. Taylor, S.B. Cannon, G.D. May, S.L. Maki, A.D. Farmer, J.J. Doyle (2013) Keeping an eye on biology. Science 339: 408-409
Singer, S.R. (2013) Advancing research on undergraduate science learning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 50: 768-772
Bonvillian, W.B. and S.R. Singer (2013) The online challenge to higher education. Issues in Science and Technology. http://www.issues.org/29.4/index.html
Banta, L.M., E.J. Crespi, R.H. Nehm, J.A. Schwarz, S. Singer, C. Manduca, et al (2012) Integrating genomics research throughout the undergraduate curriculum: a collection of inquiry-based genomics lab modules. CBE-Life Science Education. 11: 203-208
Young, N.D. et al. (2011) The Medicago genome provides insight into the evolution of rhizobial symbioses. Nature: 480: 520-524
Video of Discipline-Based Education Research Report Release Event on 11/8/12
Susan was a guest on NPR’s Science Friday on 11/11/11
Singer, S.R., N. R. Nielsen, and H.A. Schweingruber (2012) Discipline-based Education Research: Understanding and Improving Learning in Undergraduate Science and Education. Washington, DC: National Academies Press
Moon, J. and S.R. Singer (2012) Bringing STEM into focus. Ed Week, January 30, 2012
Young, N.D. et al. (2011) The Medicago genome provides insight into the evolution of rhizobial symbioses. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature10625
Singer, S.R. (2011) STEM education: Time for integration. Peer Review 13 (3): 4-7.
National Research Council (2011) Promising Practices in Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education. Washington, DC: National Academies Press
Cannon. S.B., D. Illut, A.D, Farmer, S.L. Maki, G.D. May, S.R. Singer, J.J. Doyle (2010) Nodule evolution did not depend on early polyploidy in the legumes. PLoS ONE, 5(7): e11630. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0011630
Singer, S.R., S.L. Maki, A.D. Farmer, D. Ilut, G.D. May, S.B. Cannon, and J.J. Doyle (2009) Venturing beyond beans and peas – What can we learn from Chamaecrista? Plant Physiol. 151:1041-1047
Organizations & Scholarly Affiliations
American Society for Plant Biology
Botanical Society of America
Society for Developmental Biology
Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research
American Educational Research Association
