Karen Lionberger is the Associate Director for Making Sense of SCIENCE and a Science Implementation Specialist in WestEd’s Science and Engineering content area. Lionberger’s areas of expertise include instructional design (including adult learners) and formative assessments that infuse more authentic data modeling in the classroom. More recently she has engaged in research on designing curriculum and assessments that engage and support multi-language learners.
Lionberger has been leading the Curriculum and Assessment team for a new equity-focused 6-11 curriculum program that scaled to over 1400 schools in 45 states and over 40 countries. This work has led her to form numerous state-level and district-level partnerships and establish a robust network of high school and college faculty educators and researchers.
Prior to joining WestEd, Lionberger led national STEM education reform efforts for The College Board for over 12 years, which included the development of learning frameworks that articulated unifying science practices for the first time. This work informed the development of the science practices in A Framework for K-12 Science Education.
Karen Lionberger has a deep passion and wealth of experience for developing equity-driven curriculum, professional learning, and assessments that promote deeper teacher and student engagement and self-confidence in STEM. At her core she still loves teaching, and therefore equally values the work she’s done to design and lead professional learning experiences for science educators. This passion is rooted in her experiences as a high school science teacher and coach for ten years in Atlanta, Georgia.
Karen earned her BS in marine biology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She earned both her MS in educational leadership and policy and PhD in science education from the University of Georgia.