EDUCATION
| Degree | Area of Study | University |
|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | Science Education; Education Data Science; Learning Sciences and Technology Design | Stanford University |
| M.Ed. | Secondary Science Education | Boston College |
| B.S. | Biology, Music minor | Boston College |
Graduate Certificates
| Certificate Name | University |
|---|---|
| Graduate Certificate, Science, Technology, and Society (STS) | Stanford University |
| Advanced Certification, Special Education | Relay Graduate School of Education |
AWARDS & HONORS
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Research Worth Reading Award for Learning to evaluate sources of science (mis) information on the internet: Assessing students’ scientific online reasoning, National Science Teaching Association and National Association for Research in Science Teaching |
| 2025 | Outstanding Doctoral Research Award, National Association for Research in Science Teaching |
| 2023 | Best Paper in Strand 8: Scientific Literacy and Socio-scientific Issues, European Science Education Research Association Conference |
| 2023 | Doctoral Student Award: Research and Academic Excellence, Stanford Graduate School of Education |
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Science media literacy
Digital & AI literacy
Socioscientific issues
Nature of science
Epistemic cognition
Civic science literacy
GRANT & RESEARCH PROJECTS
- Using the Publication Facts Label as an Educational Tool with High School Students and their Communities
- Using Classroom Cases to Develop Professional Learning Resources for Evaluating Science in the News Instructional Materials
- How Students Evaluate Science on the Internet: Understanding the Role of Nature of Science, Intellectual Humility, and Evaluation Strategies
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Pimentel, D.R., & Osborne, J. (2026). Intellectual humility — an important content-transcendent goal for science education. International Journal of Science Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2026.2641158
- Pimentel, D.R., Moriarty, T.W., & Carlson, J.C. (2025). Developing science teachers’ vision of developmental coherence using vertical professional learning communities. School Science and Mathematics. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.18382
- Pimentel, D.R. (2025). Learning to evaluate science (mis)information on the internet: Assessing students’ scientific online reasoning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 62(3), 684-720. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21974
- Willinsky, J. & Pimentel, D.R. (2024). The publication facts label: A public and professional guide for research articles. Learned Publishing, 37(2), 139-146. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1599
- Osborne, J., & Pimentel, D.R. (2023). Science education in an age of misinformation. Science Education, 107(3), 553-571. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21790
- Osborne, J., & Pimentel, D.R. (2022). Science, misinformation, and the role of education. Science, 378(6617), 246-248. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abq8093
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
- Section Co-Chair; Division C – Learning and Instruction, Section 3: Science
- Editorial Board Member, Journal of Research in Science Teaching
- Committee Member, National Academics Workshop on Media Literacy Education
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Daniel Pimentel‘s research focuses on how science teaching and learning can prepare students to find and use science information effectively in everyday life, especially when making decisions about health, the environment, and other issues that matter to them. He is particularly interested in how young people reason about science-related information they encounter online, in the media, and through AI tools. He studies how students learn to obtain, evaluate, and communicate science information and how teachers learn to integrate media, information, and digital literacies into science instruction.
Dr. Pimentel earned his PhD in the Science Education and Learning Sciences & Technology Design (LSTD) programs at Stanford University, along with a Graduate Certificate in Science, Technology & Society (STS) with a specialization in Data & Society. He holds a B.S. in Biology and an M.Ed. in Secondary Education from Boston College, as well as an Advanced Certificate in Special Education from the Relay Graduate School of Education. He was previously a middle and high school science teacher in Brooklyn, NY.