Jennifer Childress Self

Overview

Jennifer Childress Self is a national leader in science education, working for the past 2 decades on systemic improvement of STEM education systems to support and inspire all students. As Science Review Lead for NextGenScience, Self has a particular focus on deepening understanding throughout the education field of the features of high-quality STEM instructional materials.

The work of NextGenScience, the former Achieve Science team, has resulted in increased supply and demand of high-quality instructional materials in the United States. The team has coordinated expert evaluations of hundreds of instructional units, providing formative feedback to over 150 different curriculum developers. This work has resulted in dozens of curated quality examples, freely available for the field on nextgenscience.org.

Immediately prior to joining WestEd, Self worked with several international organizations to promote research-based approaches to STEM education in developing countries. Previously, Self served as Director of Instructional Support for Science at Achieve, coordinating the development of the Next Generation Science Standards and facilitating state adoption and implementation processes. Self also led the development of the Smithsonian’s Center for Building Awareness of Science Education and served as its director for 4 years before joining Achieve.

Education

• PhD in biomedical science, University of Texas
• BS in biochemistry, University of Missouri

Select Publications

Council of Chief State School Officers. (in press). STEM education: Engaging families and communities.  

Boxerman, J., & Self, J. (2024). Is once a year enough? Lessons learned from program evaluation and classroom formative assessment. WestEd. 

NextGenScience. (2024). Transforming the instructional materials marketplace: A report on the impact of NextGenScience’s EQuIP reviews and peer review panel from 2016–2024. WestEd. 

Self, J. (2024). Curating curriculum: How can I find the NGSS lesson plans I need to use? WestEd. 

Self, J. (2024). Implementing new standards takes a long time! The power of perseverance. WestEd. 

NextGenScience. (2023). Science instructional materials selection and modification: A landscape analysis. WestEd. 

Self, J. (2023). Customizing cookie recipes: How can we help teachers modify instructional materials? WestEd. 

Kapor Center and NextGenScience. (2022). Curriculum developer culturally responsive-sustaining education self-assessment tool. Kapor Center. 

Self, J. (2022). Getting back to business: How do we equitably accelerate learning in science? WestEd. 

Self, J. (2022). Moving beyond scales: What is the difference between “using” and “developing” the three dimensions? WestEd. 

Self, J. (2022). Supporting student learning in the “forgotten” dimension: Do we have to assess CCCs? WestEd. 

EdReports.org & NextGenScience. (2021). Critical features of instructional materials design for today’s science standards.  

NextGenScience. (2021). Problems with problems: Improving the design of problem-driven science and engineering instruction. WestEd.  

NextGenScience. (2021). Toward NGSS design: EQuIP rubric for science detailed guidance. WestEd.  

Self, J. (2021). Are SEPs in the science instruction cake batter or just sprinkled on top? WestEd. 

Self, J. (2021). CCCs as power tools: Are we equitably equipping students to use them? WestEd. 

Self, J. (2021). Studying Nemo: Real-world phenomena and problems? WestEd. 

Self, J. (2021). Using science to bolster literacy skills in early elementary classrooms. Council of Chief State School Officers.  

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2020). Teaching K–12 science and engineering during a crisis. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25909  

Tytler, R., & Self, J. (2020). Designing a contemporary STEM curriculum. UNESCO In progress reflection. Vol. No. 39, pp. 1–23, Geneva, A6.  

Achieve. (2016). Example bundles. 

Achieve. (2016). NGSS Lesson Evaluation Screener. 

Achieve. (2016). Phenomena in the NGSS.  

Achieve. (2014). State Education Standards Comparison Tool.  

Childress, J., & Halder, G. (2008). Phenotypic markers in drosophila. In C. Dahmann (Ed.), Drosophila: Methods and protocols (pp. 425–428). Humana Press.  

Childress, J., Benson, J., Campbell, C., & Shuler, S. G. (2007). Changing the course of  

science education. American Physical Society Summer Newsletter.  

Childress, J., Acar, M., Tao, C., & Halder, G. (2006). Lethal giant discs, a novel C2-Domain protein, restricts notch activation during endocytosis. Current Biology,  

16(22), 2228–2233.  

Childress, J., Behringer, R., & Halder, G. (2005). Learning to fly: Phenotypic markers in drosophila. Genesis. 

Honors, Awards, and Affiliations

Board Member, Global STEM Alliance, 2014–2023

Invited Speaker, NSTA Virtual Conference, 2020

Advisor, U.S. Framework for K–12 Computer Science Education, 2015–2016

Advisor, CCSSO Science Collaborative, 2014–2016

Board Member, New York Academy of Sciences, 2012–2016

Collaborative for Teaching & Learning: Panel Discussion on Next Generation Science Standards, 2014

Invited Speaker and Panel Discussant on Implementable Standards, Hewlett Foundation, 2012

Recent Media Appearances

• How to weave real-world phenomena into science lessons: K–12 Dive, April 21, 2021.
• Common Core drives interest in open education resources: Education Week, October 15, 2012.