Amber Adgerson, Ph.D.

Chicago Summit 2026 Paper Presentation Title

• Affirming What They Bring: Harnessing Middle Schoolers’ Real-World 21st Century Skills In the STEM Classroom

Biography

Dr. Amber Adgerson is an educator, researcher, and former P–12 teacher whose work focuses on expanding equitable access to STEM learning and strengthening students’ academic identities. Drawing on extensive classroom experience, her scholarship bridges the realities of K–12 practice with teacher preparation, exploring how instructional design, culturally responsive pedagogy, and asset-based perspectives can reshape STEM learning environments for diverse middle school learners.

Her research centers on how students develop STEM identities, particularly when their everyday experiences and competencies are recognized as valuable forms of knowledge. Dr. Adgerson examines the ways middle school students demonstrate critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving in informal spaces such as homes, neighborhoods, faith communities, and extracurricular activities, and how those experiences can be leveraged to strengthen engagement and confidence in formal STEM classrooms.

Committed to advancing equity in STEM education, she works closely with preservice teachers to help them design learning environments that affirm students’ strengths and lived experiences while building rigorous academic skills. Her work also highlights practical strategies educators can use to connect informal learning with classroom instruction, ensuring that students see themselves as capable participants in STEM pathways. Through teaching, research, and public scholarship, Dr. Adgerson advocates for learning environments that recognize what students already know and can do, and uses those assets as a foundation for deeper STEM learning and identity development.