Ann Rivet

Ann Rivet is an Associate Professor of Science Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and serves as the Associate Director of the Center for Sustainable Futures. She previously held the role of Program Officer in the Directorate for STEM Education at the National Science Foundation from 2016 to 2019. Her expertise lies in science education, particularly in Earth and environmental science, curriculum design, and urban school reform.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Science Education, University of Michigan
• M.S. in Science Education (Earth Science), University of Michigan
• Sc.B. in Physics, Brown University

Research Interests:

Dr. Rivet's research focuses on how students develop deep understandings of Earth and environmental science concepts. She examines the intersections of scientific reasoning, instructional design, and assessment, primarily at the middle and secondary school levels. Her current work investigates how crosscutting scientific concepts influence students’ understanding of core disciplinary ideas, and how phenomena-based instructional approaches can support learning about large-scale Earth systems. She is actively involved in supporting the adoption and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) through policy and practitioner-level initiatives, including the development of free, open-source curriculum materials for middle and high school science.

Publications & Trends:

Her work has been published in leading journals such as Science, the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and the American Educational Research Journal. Her publications span topics from learning progressions in science to contextualizing instruction for urban students, reflecting a deep commitment to both theoretical and applied aspects of science education.

Grants & Funding:

• Principal Investigator, NSF: "Collaborative Research: Bridging the Gap Between Tabletop Models and the Earth System" ($982,080)
• Science Team Member, GE Foundation: "Harlem Schools Partnership for Science and Math Education" ($5,000,000)
• Co-Principal Investigator, Carnegie Foundation: "Enhancing Teacher Preparation for Adolescent Literacy" ($100,000)
• Co-Principal Investigator, NSF: "GSE/RES Girls’ Science Practices in Urban High Poverty Communities" ($499,334)
• Principal Investigator, NSF (subaward): "Developing the Next Generation of Middle School Science Materials" ($137,198)

Leadership & Outreach:

Dr. Rivet has led multiple federally funded projects aimed at improving science education in urban schools. She has also contributed to national policy discussions through her role at the NSF and continues to shape science education standards and practices through her research and curriculum development efforts.