Biography

Jason Crean has been a high school biology educator for more than 25 years and has spent the last 10 years also teaching in the Department of Biological Sciences at Saint Xavier University, Chicago. Jason's enthusiasm for teaching biology goes far beyond the classroom, as he has been active in conservation education through his work with zoos and other informal education institutions. His leadership among colleagues has resulted in the Illinois Biology Storyline Curriculum, which has now been implemented by teachers across the US as well as in other countries. Jason works to integrate authentic data into every lesson possible as engaging students in real-world phenomena is key to student learning. Through Jason’s mantra of “figuring out over learning about,” students have countless opportunities to make sense of the natural world instead of just being told about science facts. Jason has also acted as consultant and has facilitated professional learning for thousands of teachers to date. Immersing teachers in this storyline work so they can experience it as students has been a successful endeavor and increased teacher understanding of implementing the Next Generation Science Standards. Jason has served as President of his state’s science teacher organizations as well as the organization for PAEMST science awardees. He also serves in leadership roles for other education organizations. Jason earned a B.S. in biology with a minor in secondary education, an M.A. in education, an M.S. in biology, and an Ed.D. in teacher leadership. He is a certified middle/high school teacher and provides professional development for K-12 and beyond.