Dr. Sungmin Moon
Dr. Sungmin Moon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Professional Development within the School of Education and Urban Studies, as well as the Assessment and Evaluation Specialist at the National Center for the Elimination of Educational Disparities (NCEED). He previously served as a Senior Research Fellow and Program Evaluator for the NIH-funded BUILD PODER program at California State University, Northridge, which aims to diversify the biomedical and STEM workforce. Additionally, he led an NSF grant-funded research project at the University of Washington, Seattle, focusing on advancing the implementation of evidence-based active learning practices in STEM courses.
Dr. Moon received his B.S. degree from Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea. He earned an M.A. in Instructional Leadership, along with Professional Clear Single Subject Teaching Credentials (Mathematics and Science–Physics), from Pepperdine University. He obtained his Ph.D. in STEM Education with a concentration in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences from the University of California Santa Barbara in 2018.
His research centers on social justice and eliminating disparities within communities. In his current role, he oversees the collection of course-level data for annual accreditation reports, monitors data gathering processes to support accreditation and program improvement, and assists faculty with assessment data collection.
Selected Publications:
Lin, J. C. P., Moon, S., Angie Guan, S. S., Kwan, P., Flores, G., & Chavira, G. (2024). Factors influencing science career intention: The power of counterspace. Innovative Higher Education.
Moon, S., Angie Guan, S. S., Vargas, J. H., Lin, J. C. P., Kwan, P., Saetermoe, C. L., Flores, G., & Chavira, G. (2024). Critical mentorship in undergraduate research experience builds science identity and self-efficacy. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-024-10476-0
Carpenter, S. L., Meier, V., Moon, S., Spina, A. D., & Bianchini, J. A., (2024). Preservice secondary science and mathematics teachers’ readiness to teach multilingual learners: An investigation across four teacher education programs. School Science and Mathematics, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.12690
Escobedo, P.; Moon, S.; Moreno, K.; Lin, J.C.P.; Kwan, P.P.; Flores, G.E.; Chavira, G. The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Sense of Belonging and Science Outcomes among Biomedical Science Students: A Longitudinal Study. Educ. Sci. 2023, 13, 579. https://doi.org/10.3390/ educsci13060579
Jackson, M., Moon, S., Doherty, J., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2022). Which evidence-based teaching practices change over time? Results from a university-wide STEM faculty development program. International Journal of STEM Education.
Moon, S., Jackson, M., Doherty, J., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2021). Evidence-based teaching practices correlate with increased exam performance in biology. PLOS ONE.
Moon, S., Carpenter, S. L., Hansen, A. K., Bushong, L., & Bianchini, J. A. (2021). Examining the effects of undergraduate STEM teacher recruitment and teacher education programs on preservice secondary science and mathematics teacher readiness and teacher performance assessment (edTPA) scores. School Science and Mathematics.
Meier, V., Aminger, W., McLean, M., Carpenter, S. L., Moon, S., Hough, S., & Bianchini, J. A. (2020). Preservice secondary science teachers’ understanding of academic language: Moving beyond “just the vocabulary”. Science Education.
Carpenter, S. L., Iveland, A., Moon, S., Hansen, A. K., Harlow, D. B., & Bianchini, J. A. (2019). Models are a “metaphor in your brain”: How potential and preservice teachers understand the science and engineering practice of modeling. School Science and Mathematics, 119(5), 275-286.
Moon, S. (2015). What Can We Learn from PISA 2012? (Peer Reviewed). Proceedings of the 2015 World Education Research Association (WERA). Focal Meeting. Budapest, Hungary: European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) 2015.
Moon, S. (2014). TIMSS 2011: What Is the Difference? (Peer Reviewed). Proceedings of the 2014 World Education Research Association (WERA) Focal Meeting. Edinburgh, Scotland: Scottish Education Research Association (SERA) 2014.
Moon, S. (2004). Share-your-tips: ICT for science teachers. Seoul, Korea: Institute of APEC Collaborative Education (IACE).
Moon, S. (1998). Science in Korean folk village: Exploration in the old village of land of morning calm. Seoul, Korea: 1998 APEC Youth Science Festival Secretariat.
Review in process
Moon, S., Angie Guan, S. S. Lin, J. C. P., Cabrera, J., Williams, L., Kwan, P., Khachikian, C., Flores, G., & Chavira, G. (2025). Longitudinal Effects of a Culturally Responsive Undergraduate Research Program on Science Identity and Self-Efficacy in STEM (under review). Discover Education.
Moon, S., Khachikian, C., Angie Guan, S. S., Lin, J. C. P., Vargas, J. H., Kwan, P., & Chavira, G. (2025). Longitudinal Trends in Science Self-Efficacy Among Undergraduate Students: Addressing Disparities in STEM Participation (under review). Research in Higher Education.
Jackson, M. A., Lin, H., Moon, S., Doherty, J. H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2025). Use of a specific set of learner-centered evidence-based teaching practices correlate with higher exam performance across seven STEM departments (under review). PLOS ONE.
