Abe Lo

Bio

Senior Science Educator

Abraham Lo, PhD is a Senior Science Educator at BSCS Science Learning, where he designs and studies the efficacy of research-driven instructional materials and professional development programs to promote meaningful science learning for all students.

Lo has over 20 years of experience as a researcher, professional learning designer & facilitator, university instructor, and K-12 teacher leader. He currently co-leads two NSF-funded projects to support teachers in adopting NRC Framework-aligned assessment and instruction practices that engage students’ interests and science-linked identities. In addition, he co-developed a community-driven model to enhance the coherence of preservice science teacher preparation programs.

Lo co-led the design of the OpenSciEd middle school professional learning program in partnership with colleagues at Boston College and Northwestern University. He currently helps districts and states develop customized OpenSciEd implementation plans, which include designing customized scope and sequences to align with state-specific standards, professional learning, the curriculum materials customization, and leadership development.

He is a teacher at heart and thrives when he has the opportunity to work alongside teachers and students. Prior to BSCS, he was a secondary science teacher and instructional coach. He earned his PhD at Northwestern University and earned his BA and MSEd at the University of Pennsylvania.

Selected Publications

Lo, A. S., & Cooper, S. L. (Eds.). (2024). 5D Assessment Development Tools and Processes. [Professional Learning Tools]. 5dassessment.org.

Penuel, W. R., O’Connor, K., Allen, A.-R., Jacobs, J. K., & Lo, A. S. (2024). Examining Science Teachers’ Conceptions of Student Interest as a Consideration in Designing Assessments. Journal of Science Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2024.2435747

Lo, A. S., Glidewell, L., Penuel, W. R., & Herrmann Abell, C. F. (2024, Sept 19). Leveraging the diversity of rural science teachers’ contexts to inform the design of assessment professional learning [Conference Paper]. National Council on Measurement in Education: 2024 Classroom Assessment Conference, Chicago, IL. 5dassessment.org/research

Lo, A. S., Glidewell, L., Herrmann-Abell, C., O’Connor, K., Allen, A.-R., Cooper, S. L., Jacobs, J. K., Cherbow, K., Penuel, W. R., Wingert, K., & Gardner, A. (2024, March 18). Building from Strengths and Attending to Context: Supporting Rural Science Teachers’ Learning [Related Paper Set]. NARST 2024 Annual International Conference, Denver, CO. 5dassessment.org/research

Lo, A. S., Bekins, A., Lindsay, W., Martin, A., Newberg, J., Smith, J., Gagnon, R., Knight, J., Knoblock, R., Larm, R., Scott, A., Strode, P., Stennett, B., & Cherbow, K. (2024, Jan 13). A practitioner’s perspective on engaging in cross-stakeholder collaborations to enhance secondary science preservice preparation programs [Themed Paper Set]. 2024 Association for Science Teacher Education International Conference, New Orleans, LA. bscs.org/STeLLACO2

Wingert, K., Jacobs, J. K., Lindsay, W., Lo, A. S., Herrmann Abell, C. F., & Penuel, W. R. (2022). Understanding the Priorities and Practices of Rural Science Teachers: Implications for Designing Professional Learning. The Rural Educator, 43(3), 26-40. https://doi.org/10.55533/2643-9662.1338

Lo, A. S., Glidewell, L. +, O’Connor, K. +, Allen, A.-R., Herrmann-Abell, C. F., Penuel, W. R., Wingert, K., & Lindsay, W. (2022). Promoting shifts in teachers’ understanding and use of phenomena in instruction and assessment. In C. Chinn, E. Tan, & Y. Kali (Eds.), Proceedings of the 16th International Conference of the Learning Sciences – ICLS 2022 (pp. 1145-1148). International Society of the Learning Sciences. https://doi.org/10.22318/icls2022.1145 + Co-equal authorship