Heidi Cian, Ph.D.

Hometown

Andrews, SC

Education

PhD in Science Curriculum & Instruction at Clemson University

Publications

Cian, H., Dou, R., & Irwin, C. (2025). Embedding historical and contextual sensitivity in QuantCrit approaches to STEM identity research: Implications for data collection and analysis techniques. Current Opinions in Behavioral Sciences, 64:101530.

Cian, H. & Kastelein, K. (2025). How can educators exchange high-quality feedback with various forms of evidence of practice?: An analysis of afterschool educator professional growth through noticing. Journal of Science Teacher Education.

Cian, H. & Brasili, A. (2025). Rural elementary teachers’ computational thinking self-efficacy through community citizen science. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 36(1), 95-117.

Cian, H. & Dou, R. (2024). Masculinized discourses of STEM interest, performance, and competence that shape university STEM students’ recognition of a “STEM person”. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 61(1), 1062-1092. doi: 10.1002/tea.21937

Dou, R. & Cian, H. (2022). Constructing “STEM identity”: Test of an expanded identity model. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 59(3), 458-490. doi: 10.1002/tea.21734

Cian, H. (2021). Sashaying across party lines: evidence of and arguments for the use of validity evidence in qualitative education research. Review of Research in Education, 45(1), 253-290.

When did you start working at MMSA?

November 1, 2022

Something you’re proud of at MMSA

I'm inspired to be part of a culture where we are always trying to improve what we do in our work and in our interactions with one another, leveraging this commitment to leave a conscious and purposeful mark on the field and practices of STEM education.

What is your teaching/learning philosophy?

All learning is identity work. As such, learning is meaningful when it is considered as relational rather than individual, and identity development happens through the development of the identity of the social group.

What is your STEM passion area?

Anatomy and physiology. I love the empowerment that can come from knowing and understanding the human body, and I am especially excited about how family and cultural knowledge aligns with Western scientific understandings of how the body operates.

What did you do before you worked at MMSA?

Postdoctoral Research Associate at Florida International University

What do you like to do in your free time?

Hiking in the mountains, playing with my cat

Contact

Email: hcian@mmsa.org

Pronouns: she, her, hers

MMSA Staff