ÌÇÐÄvlogÊÓƵ

Dr. Anthony J. Petrosino is Professor of Teaching and Learning in the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University (ÌÇÐÄvlogÊÓƵ) and Professor Emeritus at The University of Texas at Austin. A nationally recognized scholar in the Learning Sciences and STEM Education, Dr. Petrosino’s research examines how people learn in authentic, problem-rich environments—classrooms, communities, and immersive digital spaces—and how those insights can inform equitable and effective educational practice at scale.

Dr. Petrosino holds degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University and Vanderbilt University, where he completed his Ph.D. in Education and Human Development with a focus on cognitive science and learning theory. He also completed a prestigious postdoctoral appointment at the University of Wisconsin–Madison at the Wisconsin Center for Educational Research (WCER), where he continued his research on inquiry learning and experimental design. These formative experiences shaped his interdisciplinary approach to studying learning in real-world settings and bridging research and practice.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Petrosino has served as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on more than $25 million in externally funded research, supported by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Bush Institute, among others. His projects—such as Mathfinder; The National STEM Teacher Corps Pilot; and UTeach Engineering—advance innovation in project-based learning, place-based mathematics, and teacher professional development. As co-founder of the nationally acclaimed UTeach program, he helped pioneer a model of STEM teacher preparation that has been replicated at more than 50 universities across the United States.

Nationally, Dr. Petrosino was an invited member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s consensus report, Scaling and Sustaining Pre-K–12 STEM Education Innovations: Systemic Challenges, Systemic Responses (2025). His inclusion on this panel reflects his leadership in bridging research, policy, and practice to advance systemicimprovement in STEM education. He has authored or co-authored multiple dozens of peer-reviewed publications and over a hundred conference presentations. 

At ÌÇÐÄvlogÊÓƵ, Dr. Petrosino has played a pivotal role in elevating the university’s research profile and mentoring culture. As former Associate Dean for Research and Outreach and former Department Chair of Teaching and Learning, he has helped expand Simmons’ capacity for externally funded research and fostered interdisciplinary collaborations— contributing directly to ÌÇÐÄvlogÊÓƵ’s momentum toward Carnegie R1 status.

A first-generation college graduate and former Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Petrosino combines scholarly excellence with a lifelong commitment to educational opportunity and innovation. His career reflects a rare balance of research distinction, institutional leadership, and service to community—grounded in the belief that education can transform both individuals and the systems in which they learn.

Service

Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Science Education and Technology
Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Pre-College Engineering
Member, Graduate Studies Committee, STEM program, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Member, American Educational Research Association
Member, Society of the Learning Sciences
Member, National Research in Science Teaching Association

Recent Grants

Co-Principal Investigator on an NSF Division of Undergraduate Education grant titled National STEM Teacher Corps Pilot Program: Elevating K-8 Science and Engineering Teaching in Texas (Award #2500229, $4,999,858 to ÌÇÐÄvlogÊÓƵ, 2025-2030).

Co-Principal Investigator on an NSF Division of Research on Learning grant titled Seeing the World through a Mathematical Lens: A Place-Based Mobile App for Creating Math Walks (Award # 2115393, $2,448,189 to ÌÇÐÄvlogÊÓƵ, 2021-2026).

Principal Investigator of Natural Science Foundation grant titledUTeach and NYC: A Design Research Partnership to Expand and Improve High School Computer Science Education for Underrepresented Urban Youth (CNS 1837687) with Carol Ramsey (UT-Austin) and Kimberly Hughes (UT-Ausitn). October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2021. ($999,953). 

Selected Publications

ORCID:

Petrosino, A. J., Sager, M. T., & Sherard, M. K. (2025). Exploring the Dynamics of Personalized Instruction within Project-Based Instruction Environments. In M. Bernacki & C. Walkington (Eds.). Handbook of Personalized Learning. Routledge. 

Sager, M.T. & Petrosino, A.J. (2025). From soil to sustainability: Developing collaborative research practice partnerships with urban farms. Discover Cities, 2,97.

Petrosino, A., Walkington, C. A., Ekberg, D. (2024). In Chrystalla Mouza, University of Illinois; Nancy C. Lavigne, University of Delaware. (Ed.), Frameworks for Integrated Project-Based Instruction in STEM Disciplines. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Petrosino, A. J., & Shekhar, P. (2018). Expert blind spot among preservice and inservice teachers: Beliefs about algebraic reasoning and potential impact on engineering education. International Journal of Engineering Education, 34(1), 97-105.

Lucero, M. M., Petrosino, A. J.,& Delgado, C.(2017).Exploring the relationship between secondary science teachers’ subject matter knowledge and knowledge of student conceptions while teaching evolution by natural selection. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 54, 219-246. doi:10.1002/tea.21344 

Walkington, C., Petrosino, A. J., & Sherman, M. (2013). Supporting algebraic reasoning through personalized story scenarios: How situational understanding mediates performance and strategies. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 15,89-120.

Nathan, M. J., & Petrosino, A. J. (2003). Expert blind spot among preservice teachers. American Educational Research Journal, 40(4), 905-928.

Petrosino, A. J., Lehrer, R., & Schauble, L. (2002). Structuring error and experimental variation as distribution in the fourth grade. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 5(2/3), 131-156.

Barron, B. J., Schwartz, D. L., Vye, N. J., Moore, A., Petrosino, A. J., Zech, L., Bransford, J. D., & the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. (1998). Doing with understanding: Lessons from research on problem- and project-based learning. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 7(3/4), 271-311.