Katherine McNeill, professor and Bryk Faculty Fellow at the Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development, has been named a 2025 Fellow by the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST). This prestigious mid-career award recognizes accomplished scholars whose research, service, and leadership have significantly advanced the field of science education and strengthened the NARST community.
A member of NARST since 2002, McNeill has built an influential career dedicated to improving science education through a deep commitment to equity and collaboration. One of her pivotal contributions to the field was the development of the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) framework, a widely adopted approach to teaching that has transformed how K–12 students and teachers engage in science education.
“I am incredibly honored to be named a NARST Fellow. When the call for nominations came out, I had a couple of colleagues reach out to me and say they would like to nominate me for the award both because of my research, but also because of the support I have provided to the science education community over the years. Just that they wanted to nominate me was incredibly touching and felt like such a wonderful acknowledgement of my work.”
Katherine McNeill
As a principal investigator on several major grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), McNeill has led initiatives that advance equity-centered instruction. She played a key role in scaling OpenSciEd, a project dedicated to developing and distributing high-quality, open-source instructional materials. Through this work, McNeill helped expand access to science education, enabling schools across the country to implement research-based, inclusive curricula.
McNeill has made significant contributions to the NARST community through presentations, serving on committees, and in her role as Associate Editor for the Journal of Research in Science Teaching. She regularly mentors emerging scholars, many of whom are now leading their own justice-oriented science education programs.
“Mentoring is one of my favorite parts of my job as a professor. I absolutely love working with doctoral students and early career scholars.”
McNeill working with students
"First, I learn so much from working with them, and they have encouraged me to take my research in directions I never would on my own," said McNeill. "Second, my goal is to support them and help set them up for success so they are able to continue to advance the work around equity in science education in more incredible ways than I can envision."
As a 2025 NARST Fellow, McNeill joins a distinguished cohort of scholars recognized for their leadership, service, and sustained contributions to science education. NARST Fellows are selected not only for their individual accomplishments, but also for their commitment to advancing the mission of NARST—fostering a diverse global community dedicated to high-quality science education research and practice.
“Dr. McNeill’s research has fundamentally advanced our field’s understanding of how to support teachers and students in enacting equity-oriented science learning,” said Maria Gonzalez-Howard, Ph.D. ’17 (Curriculum and Instruction), McNeill’s former doctoral advisee and an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “She is an exceptional scholar, mentor, and leader who has consistently contributed to the advancement of the NARST community.”
McNeill’s recognition as a NARST Fellow underscores her profound and lasting impact on the field and her mentees, as well as her dedication to making science learning more accessible, equitable, and meaningful for all students.