Philip Bell

Philip Bell is a professor of the Learning Sciences & Human Development at the University of Washington College of Education, holding the Shauna C. Larson Endowed Chair in Learning Sciences. He is the executive director of the UW Institute for Science & Math Education, which focuses on equity-focused innovation in K-12 STEM education, and co-director of the Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Science of Learning Center. Bell earned his Ph.D. in Human Development & Cognition; Education in Math, Science & Technology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1998, an M.Ed. from the same program in 1996, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1989. His career at the University of Washington began in 1998 as an assistant professor, advancing to associate professor in 2004 and full professor.

Bell conducts a cognitive and cultural program of research examining how people learn in personally consequential ways across diverse settings. His work encompasses everyday expertise in science and health, design of learning technologies for science classrooms, youth argumentation, culturally expansive science instruction, and large-scale educational improvements. He has significantly influenced the field through service on the National Academy of Sciences Board on Science Education for eight years, co-chairing the National Research Council report "Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits" (2009), and contributing to the NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education (2012), which informed the Next Generation Science Standards. Currently, he edits the STEM Teaching Tools series to support equity-focused science education. Notable publications include "Infrastructuring Teacher Learning about Equitable Science Instruction" (Journal of Science Teacher Education, 2019), "Storywork in STEM-Art: Making, Materiality and Robotics within Everyday Acts of Indigenous Presence and Resurgence" (Cognition & Instruction, 2019), "Designing Learning Environments for Equitable Disciplinary Identification" (Journal of the Learning Sciences, 2017), "Internet Environments for Science Education" (2004, co-author), and "What Comes to Mind When You Think of Science? The Perfumery!": Documenting Science-Related Cultural Learning Pathways Across Contexts and Timescales (Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 2014). Bell's contributions bridge research and practice in STEM education.

Professional Email: pbell@uw.edu