Dr. Rebekka Darner
Associate Professor
Mennonite College of Nursing
Office
EDW Edwards Hall 309
Office Phone
Email
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Research
Current Courses
BSC 499.005 Independent Research For The Master's Thesis
BSC 290.041 Research In Biological Sciences
BSC 599.005 Research In The Biological Sciences
BSC 499.005 Independent Research For The Master's Thesis
BSC 599.005 Research In The Biological Sciences
Research Interests & Areas
I am a science education researcher, and I conduct research with the overarching goal of fostering civic-minded scientific literacy through holistic learning experiences.
BSN Nursing
Illinois State University
Normal, IL
Ph D Mathematics and Science Education
University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University
MS Ecosystems Biology
Eastern Michigan University
BS Biology
Western Illinois University
Strand Diversity Award
Dean of Students
2017
Impact Award
Illinois State University
2017
Kenneth A. and Mary Ann Shaw Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching
College of Arts & Sciences, ISU
2015
Faculty Fellow
Center for Teaching, Learning, & Technology, ISU
2015
National Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences
National Research Council
2010
Conference Proceeding
Meixner, T., Soule, D., Darner, R., O'Reilly, C., Kelly, M., Meister, P., Garcia Silva, D., & Ciancarelli, B. STUDENTS WORKING WITH “BIG” DATA ENGAGES AND EMPOWERS THEM IN THEIR LEARNING: A PROJECT EDDIE DEMONSTRATION. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Geological Society of America (2022)
Meixner, T., Soule, D., Darner, R., & O'Reilly, C. CURRICULAR FLEXIBILITY AFFORDED BY PROJECT EDDIE MODULES FOSTERS QUANTITATIVE LITERACY AMONG A VARIETY OF STUDENTS. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Geological Society of America (2019)
Wright, A., Golecki, H., Henderson, J., Darner, R., Ibrahim, N., Wilson, B., Cozy, L., Bellott, B., Biswas, M., Lleras, A., Jaggi, N., Edgcomb Friday, M., Bishop, T., & Lipovsky, C. BOARD # 392: LSAMP: A roadmap for institution collaboration during Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Partnerships (LSAMP) program development. 2025 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings. ASEE Conferences
Journal Article
Korkor, E., & Darner, R. The CURE-Comm Framework: A Guide for Infusing CUREs with Science Communication. Journal of College Science Teaching 54.4 (2025): 319-327.
Waring-Sparks, A., Sparks, R., Darner, R., & Mortimer, N. Advanced biology students’ individual conceptions of scientific researchers after participating in biomedically relevant CRE. Liao, Min-Ken (EDs). Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education 25.3 (2024)
Jin, G., Darner, R., Wodika, A. Lai, J. W. (2023) Fostering Scientific Literacy with Problem Sets that Generate Cognitive Presence and Fulfill Basic Psychological Needs. Journal of College Science Teaching. Vol. 52, No. 7, 85-94.
Meixner, T., Ciancarelli, B., Farrell, E., Garc\'\ia, Silva D, Josek, T., Kelly, M., Meister, P., Soule, D., & Darner, R. Asynchronous student engagement in analysis of climate data achieves learning objectives related to climate change understanding, statistical competence, and climate anxiety. Journal of Geoscience Education (2023): 1--11.
Jayasinghe, I., & Darner, R. Do emotions, nature relatedness, and conservation concern influence students’ evaluations of arguments about biodiversity conservation?. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education 17.1 (2020): e2230.
Other
Golecki , H., Henderson, J., Darner, R., Ibrahim , N., Wilson, B., Cozy, L., Bellott, B., Biswas, M., Lleras , A., Jaggi, N., Friday, M., Bishop, T., & Lipovsky, C. LSAMP: A Roadmap of Institutional Collaboration During the Development of Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program. 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition (2025)
Presentations
"Science Literacy for General Education at ISU: A Pilot Study". Illinois State University Annual Teaching & Learning Symposium. (2020)
Jin. G, Wodika, A., Darner, R., Lai, J.W., Cihlar, J. & Moore, M. (2020) “Pedagogical Tools Developed to Foster Accuracy-Oriented Reasoning”, 20th SENCER (Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities) Conference (Virtual), July 30-August 2.
Design and Implementation of AI Learning Cycles for AI Education in K-12. AAAI 2019 FALL SYMPOSIUM SERIES. the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. (2019)
Prospective Noyce Teacher Candidates’ Pedagogical Orientations towards Inquiry Science Teaching. National Association of Researchers in Science Teaching. (2017)
How do science graduate students benefit from conducting educational research?. National Association of Research in Science Teaching. (2016)
Do Pre-Service Elementary Teachers Learn to Make Evidence-Based Claims When Doing Inquiry-based Labs?. National Association of Researchers in Science Teaching Annual Conference. (2015)
Does an in-class note-taker help freshman take better notes in a general education course?. 2015 University-wide Scholarship of Teaching & Learning Symposium. Illinois State University. (2015)
Environmental data-driven inquiry and exploration (Project EDDIE): Modules that engage students in quantitative reasoning and scientific discourse using large, high-frequency and sensor-based datasets. Geological Society of America annual meeting. (2015)
Environmental data-driven inquiry and exploration (Project EDDIE): a model to engage students in quantitative reasoning and scientific discourse.. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting. (2015)
The Hidden Curriculum behind Applying to Graduate School in the Sciences. Women in Science Seminar Series. Western Illinois University. (2015)
Grants & Contracts
Louis Stokes New STEM Pathways Implementation-Only Alliance: Southern Central Illinois Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (SCI-LSAMP). National Science Foundation. Federal. (2024)
A Technology-Enable Navigation Solution for Visually Impaired Pedestrians. Illinois State University. Illinois State University. (2023)
Repowering Schoools. U.S. Department of Energy. Federal. (2022)
An ethnographic investigation of future STEM teachers' development of disciplinary practices. Scholarship of Teaching & Learning University Research Grant. Illinois State University. (2018)
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Asynchronous Discussions to Engage Students in Scientific Argumentation. National Science Foundation. Federal. (2017)