Megan Byers shapes the future of STEM education

Megan Byers ’23 (MA), a mechanical engineer-turned-educational technologist, never imagined her passion for teaching would lead her to develop InstructSTEM. Launched in early 2025, the online platform aims to support high school and college-level science, technology, engineering and math education through practical tools, adaptive resources and teacher-to-teacher collaboration.

Through a series of instructional modules, science and mathematics educators explore how people learn and how to design and deliver effective instruction. The program is complemented by a community of practice where educators can discuss STEM education, exchange feedback and learn from one another and experts across various fields.

The idea for InstructSTEM took shape through a series of course assignments, research opportunities and faculty mentorship at Carolina, said Byers, a 2023 graduate of the UNC School of Education’s Master of Arts in educational innovation, technology and entrepreneurship program. In addition to developing InstructSTEM, Byers is also a senior content specialist at Kaplan Inc.

Byers came to Carolina after earning her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, then working in tech for two years. As an undergraduate and graduate student, Byers also taught, coached, tutored and led supplemental instruction sessions — opportunities that revealed the rewards and challenges of teaching.

In her MetaMetrics Inc. internship, she conducted a comprehensive user research study to understand educators’ needs, motivations and challenges. These insights helped her design training and marketing materials to drive the adoption of MetaMetrics’ professional development materials for educators.

“I wanted to help bridge the gap between researchers, instructors and students — to create something that supports all three,” Byers said. “Studying mechanical engineering while taking on teaching roles gave me a unique perspective on both sides of the learning experience.”

From pilot project to impact

Across her MEITE experience, Byers developed InstructSTEM over time, continuously iterating and refining her ideas through class projects. From modeling adaptive features in a course with Matt Bernacki, Kinnard White Faculty Scholar of Education and her thesis adviser, to building an early business model in a seminar led by Todd Cherner, MEITE program director, each experience provided new perspectives on how to create a novel platform that supports both educators and learners.

“If you had asked me before the MEITE program whether I’d ever start a business, I would’ve said no,” Byers said. “I didn’t think I had creative enough ideas or even the business knowledge to do so. But from the very first week of the program, we were encouraged to explore our interests and turn them into real projects. That push made all the difference.”

Byers led a pilot study of InstructSTEM in collaboration with UNC’s Future Science Educators program, facilitated through the UNC Training Initiatives in Biomedical and Biological Sciences. The pilot provided insight into how doctoral students and postdocs used the platform in real time.

Today, InstructSTEM is not just a course — it’s a growing community. Byers said she envisions it as a central hub where educators can access practical tools, stay up to date with research and tailor evidence-based strategies to their classrooms.

“InstructSTEM focuses its users and community members on the three most important questions we try to answer in educational research: what works, for whom and under what conditions,” Bernacki said. “Megan’s work in InstructSTEM is everything I hope MEITE graduates will bring to their innovations and products.”

Byers continues to explore ways to expand the platform’s offerings and build tools that further reduce the gap between teaching and learning in STEM fields.

“More than anything, MEITE helped me believe in my ability to turn ideas into solutions,” Byers said.