| Megan Bang | |
|---|---|
| Name | Megan Bang |
| Birth place | Chicago |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Academic; Educational psychology |
| Alma mater | University of Minnesota, Vanderbilt University |
| Known for | Indigenous knowledge integration, culturally responsive pedagogy, science education |
Megan Bang Megan Bang is an Indigenous scholar and academic known for work at the intersection of Indigenous peoples of the Americas knowledge systems, cognitive science, and science education. She holds leadership roles at multiple research centers and contributes to policy and practice through collaborations with tribal nations, federal agencies, and national research organizations. Her work bridges scholarly communities including psychology, education policy, anthropology, geoscience, and museum studies.
Bang grew up in the Midwestern United States and traces heritage to the Kaw Nation and Ojibwe communities, shaping her trajectory toward research that centers tribal knowledge and community frameworks. She completed undergraduate and graduate training at prominent institutions, earning degrees that combined studies at University of Minnesota and doctoral work at Vanderbilt University, where she engaged mentors and collaborators from programs in learning sciences, developmental psychology, and teacher education. During training she worked with interdisciplinary labs connected to National Science Foundation grants and partnered with tribal schools and community organizations in the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest regions.
Bang has held faculty and leadership appointments across major research universities and national centers. She has served in roles at the University of Washington including faculty positions in departments linked to education and psychology, contributing to interdisciplinary programs such as the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences and the College of Education. She co-directs and leads research centers affiliated with national initiatives, collaborating with organizations like the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the Smithsonian Institution on projects that integrate museum practice with community-engaged research. Bang’s career includes visiting scholar and postdoctoral affiliations with centers focused on cultural cognition, science communication, and partnerships with tribal colleges such as Bemidji State University-linked programs. She teaches and advises graduate students in programs that bridge teacher preparation and research-practice partnerships with districts such as Seattle Public Schools.
Bang’s research program addresses how children, families, and educators reason about natural phenomena when Indigenous ways of knowing intersect with Western scientific frameworks. Her empirical work draws on methods from developmental psychology, cognitive anthropology, and qualitative research to examine learning in contexts such as museums, classrooms, and community spaces. She has published studies on topics including concept development in ecology, place-based learning in earth science, and culturally responsive assessment aligned with tribal epistemologies. Collaborations with scholars from geoscience disciplines, museum anthropology, and instructional design have produced frameworks for integrating Indigenous knowledge systems into curriculum materials and informal learning environments.
Bang has contributed to theoretical advances by articulating models of relational learning that foreground community histories, place attachments, and languages from Nations including Dakota, Anishinaabe, and Lakota contexts. Her work examines how positionality and identity influence scientific reasoning among children and educators, engaging literatures from social psychology, sociology of education, and human geography. She has led mixed-methods projects funded by agencies such as the National Science Foundation, collaborating with partners from tribal nations, school districts, and national cultural institutions to co-design interventions that support culturally sustaining pedagogy. Her publications appear in journals spanning developmental science, science education, and education research, and she contributes chapters in edited volumes on Indigenous methodologies and collaborative scholarship.
Bang’s scholarship has been recognized by awards and fellowships from academic and civic institutions. She has received honors from university research offices, national funding bodies including the National Science Foundation, and recognition from organizations that promote Indigenous scholarship and leadership. Her contributions to interdisciplinary science education have been highlighted by invitations to speak at major venues including meetings of the American Educational Research Association, the Society for Research in Child Development, and convenings organized by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Bang has also been named to advisory panels and working groups for federal agencies and foundations focused on improving STEM learning and broadening participation in science.
Bang engages extensively with community partners, tribal governments, and public institutions to translate research into practice. She has worked with museums like the Seattle Art Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian on exhibit and education initiatives that foreground tribal narratives and stewardship practices. Her service includes participation on advisory committees for the Smithsonian Institution, collaborations with the Bureau of Indian Education, and consulting roles for state and municipal education agencies to support culturally responsive curricula in public schools. She contributes to public scholarship through lectures, workshops, and media appearances, partnering with organizations such as the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the American Museum Association. Bang mentors Indigenous scholars and students and supports networks that connect tribal educators with researchers across institutions like Harvard University, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley.
Category:Living people Category:Indigenous scholars Category:American women academics