Marc Sager

Marc Sager is the Assistant Director of Research for The Budd Center, a research center within Simmons School of Education and Human Development, where he leads community-based and participatory research initiatives. He previously supported research for the Dr. Elba and Domingo Garcia West Dallas STEM School, a research practice partnership with Southern Methodist University, Dallas ISD, Toyota, and the West Dallas Community. His research focuses on data science education, informal learning, and research-practice partnerships, aiming to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Dr. Sager has a background in food production and experience teaching secondary agricultural sciences in both formal and informal settings. His work uniquely intersects the realms of community-based research and the learning sciences. He earned his Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in Learning Sciences from Southern Methodist University.

Service

Organizer and Lead, Data Science 4 Texas (DS4TX) Task Force

Themes and Strands Committee Co-Chair, Data Science Education K-12 (DSE-K12) Bi-Annual Conference

Policy and Outreach Co-Chair, AERA Division H

Select Publications

Sager, M.T. (2026). Making data work: Using conversation and interaction analysis to study data science education. Teaching Statistics. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1002/test.70039

Sager, M.T., Milton, S., & Walkington, C. (2026). "It's a lot more to it than just research". Integrating critical data literacy and reasoning with data into informal learning environments. Information and Learning Sciences, 127(5-6), 315-344. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-07-2025-0102

Sager, M.T., Miller, S., & Drozda, Z (2026). Data Science Education in U.S. Informal Learning Environments: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/26939169.2026.2618201

Sager, M.T., Sherard, M.K., Petrosino, A.J. (2025). Farming with data: Tracing critical tensions using data science for food justice. Journal of Computing in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-025-09466-0

Sager, M.T., Pierce, K., & Murillo, J. (2025). Enhancing inquiry-based science instruction: The role of professional learning communities and instructional coaching for elementary science teachers. Journal of Education and Learning, 14(5). https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v14n5p26

Wieselmann, J.R., Sager, M.T., Scott, C., & Brown, S. (2025). STEM, sports, and service-learning: Exploring undergraduates’ experiential learning and social consciousness as summer program volunteers. Journal of Experiential Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/10538259251331584

Sager, M.T., Sherard, M. K., Walkington, C., Petrosino, A. J., & Milton, S. (2024). Seeing mathematics together: A stance analysis of student and chaperone efforts to see mathematics and ask mathematical questions at the zoo. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 75, 101171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmathb.2024.101171

Sager, M.T. & Wieselmann, J. R. (2023). Analyzing epistemic frames during STEM instructional coaching meetings: A quantitative ethnography approach. International Journal of Coaching and Mentoring in Education, 13(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMCE-01-2023-0012