2014 AERA Fellows
2014 AERA Fellows
 
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Click the name to jump to each fellow's citation of accomplishment and introductory video.

Sasha Barab, Arizona State University

Dr. Sasha Barab is an internationally recognized learning scientist at the forefront of studying the challenges and opportunities of using games for impact.  His work focuses on the design and research of game-infused learning environments to support a more knowledgeable, compassionate, and committed citizenship. The intent of his research is to develop rigorous claims about how people learn that have significant practical, pedagogical, and theoretical implications. Valued as an original thinker, Dr. Barab is at the forefront of new movements in K–12 curriculum, producing products that have already influenced more than 100,000 middle-school students and teachers worldwide.

 

Miriam Ben-Peretz, University of Haifa, Israel

Dr. Miriam Ben-Peretz is widely recognized as a pioneering scholar in teacher education, curriculum issues, and international education. Her innovative research has had a major impact on our understanding of teaching and teacher education. Starting her career as a high school biology teacher, she has focused her research on teacher involvement in curriculum development and implementation, teacher professionalization, and education policy making. She spearheaded the creation of a clearinghouse for educational professional development in Israel that serves as an international model. With a distinguished career spanning six decades, Dr. Ben-Peretz has mentored countless colleagues and scholars, and improved the fields of teaching and teacher education.

 

Mark Berends, University of Notre Dame

Dr. Mark Berends is a prolific scholar who brings an incisive sociological lens to the study of school organization in relation to student achievement. His research has advanced understanding of how changing family demographics and economic conditions affect achievement gaps between Black, Latino, and White students. With a focus on disadvantaged students, he is well known for his work on school reform. He led a major multi-year research effort on New American Schools, designing and assessing comprehensive school reform models. Also, his work on school choice and charter schools has importantly contributed to unraveling the complex relationship between different types of schools, the instruction that students receive, and student persistence and achievement.

 

Prudence L. Carter, Stanford University

Dr. Prudence L. Carter uses a sociological perspective to study the intersection of academic achievement and cultural identity of ethnic minority students. Her work has challenged established paradigms about minority achievement and broadened knowledge around support for identity development and school success. Her groundbreaking comparison of school’s role in creating educational opportunity in the United States and South Africa has become an influential study of the teaching of ethnic groups across nations. Dr. Carter has significantly contributed to our understanding of how schools can be reformed to serve underachieving students more effectively.

 

Henry T. Frierson, University of Florida

Dr. Henry T. Frierson is a distinguished scholar well known for his research on mentoring and diversity, Black American males in higher education, and culturally responsive evaluation. Equally as impressive is Dr. Frierson’s impact on the development of education research and the quality of his mentoring of both academics and students. As an academic leader, his deep appreciation of the value of higher education and the selflessness he brings to issues of access and opportunity have led to his being highly sought as confident, collaborator, counselor, and consultant. He is highly regarded for mentoring the next generation of scholars and for his passion for connecting senior and junior academics of color.   

 

James Paul Gee, Arizona State University

Dr. James Paul Gee is a prolific and pioneering scholar whose work in three distinct disciplines of education is foundational. His groundbreaking research addresses discourse analysis, educational linguistics in sociological context, and new literacy studies. He has recently directed his studies to the emerging field of games as contexts for learning—such as iCivics, which uses a gaming environment to teach youth about civic participation. Dr. Gee is known for his skilled public discourse and is regularly sought to address leading academic institutions and national and international conferences and to advise private foundations on key initiatives.

 

Kit-tai Hau, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Dr. Kit-tai Hau is one of the leading educational psychology researchers in Hong Kong and China, focusing on issues of self-concept, motivation, methodology, and instrument construction and translation. For the past twenty years, he has also promoted the use of advanced statistical analysis and empirical research in the social sciences in China. His structural equation modeling textbook has become a definitive source for Chinese
researchers, and he helped establish China’s first Ph.D./masters program in educational measurement and statistics. Dr. Hau has impacted the primary and secondary school systems throughout Hong Kong and China by establishing standards of achievement in all main academic subjects.

 

Brian William Junker, Carnegie Mellon University

Dr. Brian William Junker is one of the nation’s premier 
psychometricians and educational statisticians, helping researchers and practitioners draw correct inferences in educational measurements. He has devoted most of his career to the study of the statistical problems, models, and methods that are used to address important issues in testing and education. He is one of a few psychometricians engaged in developing innovative models to explain elusive concepts such as “aptitude” and “intelligence.” As a member and now chair of the Design and Analysis Committee of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, he has guided the research underlying this important assessment. 

 

Gregory J. Kelly, Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Gregory J. Kelly is an internationally recognized scholar whose work in science education has laid the foundations for current research and reform initiatives. His work has focused on discourse analysis, sociocultural practices in science education, and epistemology in education research. He has introduced new directions in the study of epistemic learning, the research of cutting-edge science, and the use of argumentation in instructional settings from the primary level to higher education. His influential thought leadership also includes positions as editor-in-chief of Science Education, and co-editor of Review of Research in Education.

 

Ernest Morrell, Columbia University

Dr. Ernest Morrell is well known for his scholarship on critical pedagogy, adolescent literacy practices in non-school settings, and urban teacher development.  His original research describes how the lived experience of minority youth shapes the development of critical literacy and pedagogy. This work importantly addresses the intersections between indigenous urban adolescent literacies and the “sanctioned” literacies of dominant institutions such as schools. In addition, he has brought his research into the realm of practice, most evident in his work directing the Institute for Urban and Minority Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. 

 

Chandra Muller, Population Research Center, University of Texas, Austin

Dr. Chandra Muller is a leading sociologist of education with distinctive contributions in the study of education policy and the enhancement of data and research infrastructure. Her early research on the ways that parental encouragement boosted achievement for girls as compared with boys remains some of the most important work on gender differences. Her research has also substantially advanced knowledge on such issues as state testing and high school completion, pathways to STEM education, and workforce participation in diverse populations. In addition, Dr. Muller has led efforts to design and implement essential follow-up work to some of our most important national longitudinal studies.   

 

Susan B. Neuman, New York University

Dr. Susan B. Neuman is a highly prolific and accomplished scholar whose body of work has focused on providing young children with equitable access to resources for literacy development. Her studies have identified tremendous disparities in resources for children in concentrated poverty, which she finds are not readily addressed through existing interventions. Dr. Neuman’s passion for children has led her to a commitment to solve the problems she identifies and bring visibility to them. She is one of the nation’s most influential leaders in education policy and practice contexts, taking on important professional and public service positions, including as U.S. Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.

 

William R. Penuel, University of Colorado, Boulder

Dr. William R. Penuel is shaping the research and development of large-scale instructional improvement, particularly in the field of scientific education. His highly regarded work influenced how identity formation is understood, and currently encompasses organizational contexts, new media, and teacher learning and changes in practice. He is a leader in the design-based implementation research movement. Currently, he is developing and testing models of teacher professional development related to the Next Generation Science Standards. Dr. Penuel’s research has influenced a broad range of areas in the study of science, from technology-supported formative assessment to professional development and curriculum design and evaluation.  

 

Laura W. Perna, University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Laura W. Perna uses economic and sociological frameworks to explore higher education attainment for vulnerable populations and across racial and ethnic groups. Her influential scholarship explores how social structures, educational practices, and public policies affect college access and success. She is a nationally recognized expert on the effects of tuition and financial aid on degree attainment, particularly for low-income, first-generation students. Dr. Perna is also a prolific and respected contributor to the top journals in higher education, and the president-elect of the Association for the Study of Higher Education.

 

Thomas S. Popkewitz, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Dr. Thomas S. Popkewitz has spent four decades studying and questioning the underlying assumptions that inform past and current work in education disciplines. He is highly regarded for examining the social, cultural, and historical factors that have shaped education systems in the U.S. and internationally. He has mentored a generation of scholars and served as a scientific advisor to numerous national and international boards, commissions, and ministries of education. Dr. Popkewitz’s influential body of scholarly work—including 30 books and 200 articles and chapters—has had such far-reaching impact on the field of education research that it inspired what is known as the Popkewitz School.

 

Graham Hingangaroa Smith, Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi

Dr. Graham Hingangaroa Smith is one of the most widely recognized figures in research, policy, and practice on indigenous education throughout the world. He is the leading force behind the development of the first Maori university in New Zealand and the development of principles for an educational system that serves both the country and the Maori people. His leadership and organization skills have assisted a whole generation of aboriginal scholars in navigating the structures of higher education, as well as bringing new theory and practices to the field. Dr. Smith’s groundbreaking work has succeeded in advancing indigenous people’s rights in higher education and promoting an educational understanding that is more inclusive, global, and open.

 

Linda T. Smith, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

Dr. Linda T. Smith is a world-renowned indigenous scholar and a leading expert on indigenous education. Her groundbreaking book, Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples, is the most often quoted scholarship in indigenous research, advocating culturally appropriate research protocols and methodologies. She has advanced educational knowledge and research infrastructure as the director of three research institutes in New Zealand, and through two terms as president of the New Zealand Association for Research in Education. Dr. Smith is known for her research collaboration and commitment to community service, working across the fields of education, health, and policy development to improve indigenous peoples’ well-being.

 

Daniel G. Solorzano, University of California, Los Angeles

Dr. Daniel G. Solorzano is one of the nation’s leading and most prolific scholars in Critical Race Theory and race and racism in higher education. While his work centers on Chicano and Latino experiences, he explores intersections with African American and feminist perspectives in educational access, equity, and diversity. His concept of micro-aggressions in higher education has had substantial influence in the field and is widely studied and cited. Dr. Solorzano is particularly known for his teaching and mentorship of students, and for training the next generation of Critical Race scholars in education and ethnic and gender studies.

 

Mary Kay Stein, University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Mary Kay Stein’s innovative work has furthered understanding of teaching practices, system support, and professional development needs for improving mathematics education. She has been at the forefront of identifying teaching practices that promote strong and deep student learning in mathematics. Her groundbreaking work with the Tennessee Department of Education is creating indicators to monitor improvements in instructional quality and student achievement across the state. Dr. Stein has also identified how schools and districts can support teachers’ ongoing improvement of their instructional practices, which has implications for improving the quality of classroom instruction on a large scale.

 

David B. Swanson, National Board of Medical Examiners

Dr. David B. Swanson is a groundbreaking scholar who has been involved in almost every major innovation in the measurement of medical education. His early research was at the cutting edge of computer simulation, clinical decision-making, and clinical support systems. His work also resulted in a manual that is considered a definitive source for test construction in medical education. His influence has a broad reach, from technical contributions to breakthroughs in testing approaches, fundamental contributions to measurement theory, and advancement in use of emerging technology in the measurement process. Over the past forty years, his enormous body of publications and related work has been instrumental in changing how assessment is done in medical education.

 

Wen-chung Wang, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Dr. Wen-chung Wang has made exceptional contributions to educational measurement research in both English and Chinese-speaking spheres. He has fostered a new generation of Chinese and Taiwanese education scholars and has made important linkages between China and the international educational measurement community. His work has included development of advanced testing measurement models, groundbreaking new techniques in differential item functioning, and new algorithms for computerized adaptive testing and computerized classification testing. With extensive publications in English and Chinese journals, Dr. Wang has advanced new measurement models that span disciplines from education and psychology to public health and medicine.

 

Mark Warschauer, University of California, Irvine

Dr. Mark Warschauer is one of the most influential researchers worldwide on digital media, literacy, and learning. His in-depth investigations of technology use by diverse learners have shaped understanding of the nature of literacy in the digital era, the relationship of technology access to social and educational equity, and approaches to technology reform in technology-intensive schools. His work points to how sociocultural context and teacher belief affect use of the Internet in instruction. His international case studies have also shown that disparities in use of digital media are not just a function of hardware diffusion. Dr. Warschauer is also the founding editor of Language Learning & Technology, one of the first and most successful open access journals.