Dr. Megan (Smith) Sumeracki (she/her) is an Associate Professor at Rhode Island College in Providence, Rhode Island. She specializes in research on elaborative encoding, neuromyths, and guided retrieval practice for elementary school. She earned her Ph.D. from Purdue University in 2014.

Dr. Sumeracki’s area of expertise is in human learning and memory, and applying the science of learning in educational contexts. Her research program focuses on retrieval-based learning strategies, and the way activities promoting retrieval can improve meaningful learning in the classroom. Her Sumeracki’s work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition and Applied Cognitive Psychology.

Sumeracki has given talks at regional, national, and international conferences, including the keynote address at ResearchED in Rugby, England. She is also passionate about bridging the gap between research and practice in education. She is the author of two books, Understanding How We Learn: A Visual Guide and Ace That Test: A Student’s Guide to Learning Better. In an effort to promote more conversations between researchers and practitioners, she co-founded The Learning Scientists.

Recommended research publication: Karpicke, J. D., Blunt, J. R., Smith, M. A., & Karpicke, S. S. (2014). Retrieval-based learning: The need for guided retrieval in elementary school children. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 3(3), 198-206.