MARK ST. JOHN

Dr. Mark St. John, founder and president of Inverness Research Associates, has a background in evaluation, policy analysis, and science and mathematics education at all levels.  He was trained in aeronautical engineering at Princeton, served as a high school physics teacher at Phillips Academy and then was a graduate student in physics at the University of New Mexico.  This led to a doctoral degree and subsequent faculty position at UC Berkeley in an interdisciplinary math and science education program.  Dr. St. John has hybrid expertise that combines a knowledge of science, deep experience in the teaching and learning of the science disciplines, and a broad understanding of educational reform efforts.  For over 15 years, he has been involved in the evaluation and study of public and private initiatives aimed at improving science and mathematics education.

For nearly two decades Dr. St. John and his colleagues at Inverness Research Associates have been involved in studies and evaluations of reform initiatives in education – ranging from the evaluations of large-scale national initiatives undertaken by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education, to the study of the impact of National Standards, to the evaluation of individual science museum exhibits.  They have been involved in studying professional development efforts, curriculum design projects, state systemic reform efforts, and informal science education efforts.  Most recently, Dr. St. John and his group have assisted foundations and state agencies in planning and refining the design of their reform initiatives, as well as helping them to think about the overall evaluation designs most appropriate to their goals and needs.

Under the leadership of Dr. St. John, Inverness Research brings a multi-faceted approach to evaluation.  The work of Inverness Research will, according to the need:  1) document the nature and the extent of the activities of the reform initiative under study; 2) compare initiative design to field realities, and provide critical feedback to initiative leaders; 3) facilitate reflection and help to shape overall initiative design and activities; 4) document the contributions made by initiatives and projects; and 5) conduct research that can help to disseminate the broader and more general lessons learned from the particular project under study. 

GRANT WIGGINS

Grant Wiggins, Ed.D., is the President and Director of Programs for Relearning by Design, a not-for-profit educational organization in Pennington, NJ. He earned his Ed.D. from Harvard University and his B.A. from St. John's College in Annapolis. Relearning by Design consults with schools, districts, and state education departments on a variety of reform matters; organizes national conferences and workshops; and develops video, software, and print materials on assessment and curricular change. 

 Relearning by Design has consulted to some of the most influential assessment-reform initiatives in the country (including Kentucky's performance-based and Vermont's portfolio system), established two statewide consortia devoted to assessment reform, and designed a performance-based and teacher-run portfolio assessment prototype for the state of North Carolina. 

 Grant is the author of Educative Assessment, and Assessing Student Performance, both published by Jossey-Bass. He and Jay McTighe are co-authors of Understanding by Design, published by ASCD. Relearning by Design has also received a two-year grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts to develop a "Curriculum Reform Toolkit" built around Understanding by Design. The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation has also provided support for Relearning by Design research as well as for the New Jersey Consortium on Assessment. Grant's many articles have appeared in such journals as Educational Leadership and Phi Delta Kappan. His work is grounded in 14 years of secondary school teaching and coaching. He is married to Holly Houston; they have three children: Justin, Ian, and Priscilla.

JAMES PELLEGRINO

James W. Pellegrino is Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  He also serves as co-director of a new interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Learning, Instruction, and Teacher Development. He received his B.A. from Colgate University with a major in psychology, and his M.A. and Ph. D. in experimental and cognitive psychology from the University of Colorado.  From 1973-1979 he was Professor of Psychology and a Research Associate of the University of Pittsburgh's Learning Research and Development Center.  From 1979-1989 he was Professor of Education and Psychology at the University of California at Santa Barbara where he also served as Chair of the Department of Education from 1987-1989.  From 1989-2001 he was the Frank W. Mayborn Professor of Cognitive Studies at Vanderbilt University where he also served as co-director of the Learning Technology Center from 1989-1991 and as Dean of Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development from 1992-1998.

Dr. Pellegrino's research and development interests focus on children's and adult's thinking and learning and the implications of cognitive research and theory for assessment and instructional practice. He has pursued several important and thematically connected lines of research on these topics for over twenty five years. His initial work focused on the assessment of aptitude and intelligence and the application of cognitive theory to the analysis, redesign and utilization of standardized test instruments.  He is especially well known for his research on inductive reasoning and spatial ability. His research has also focused on cognitive analyses of specific instructional content domains and skills.  While at Vanderbilt he engaged in numerous collaborative projects focusing on the uses of technology and media in creating meaningful learning and instructional environments. Much of this work emphasized issues in the design of authentic problem solving situations for mathematics and science learning, the analysis of what children learn in such environments, and alternative methods for assessment. 

As part of the work that Dr. Pellegrino and his colleagues pursued at Vanderbilt over the last decade he has become centrally concerned with issues of technology integration in educational settings and the role of technology in the design of learning environments for K-12 students, practicing K-12 teachers, preservice teachers in training, and in higher education more generally.  Much of his current work is focused on analyses of complex learning and instructional environments, including those incorporating powerful information technology tools, with the goal of better understanding the nature of student learning and the conditions that enhance deep understanding.  A special concern of his research is the incorporation of effective formative assessment practices, assisted by technology, to maximize student learning and understanding. Increasingly his research and writing has focused on the role of cognitive theory and technology in educational reform and translating results from the educational and psychological research arenas into implications for practicioners and policy makers.

Dr. Pellegrino's unique blend of expertise which combines knowledge of cognitive science, psychometrics, educational technology, instructional practice, and educational policy has led to appointment as head of several National Academy of Science/National Research Council study committees.  He chaired the NAS/NRC Study Committee for the Evaluation of the National and State Assessments of Educational Progress. In 1999 they produced the highly regarded report entitled "Grading the Nation's Report Card: Evaluating NAEP and Transforming the Assessment of Educational Progress."  He also served as co-chair of the NRC/NAS Study Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice which produced another well regarded report in 1999 entitled "How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice."  Recently he completed service as co-chair of the NAS/NRC Study Committee on the Cognitive Science Foundations for Assessment which issued the report “Knowing What Students Know: The Science and Design of Educational Assessment.”  He is a member of the NRC/NAS/NAE Study Committee on Improving Learning with Information Technology and chairs the NRC/NAS Panel on Strategic Educational Research on Learning and Instruction.  He was recently appointed as a lifetime National Associate of the National Academy of Sciences and as a member of the Board on Testing and Assessment of the National Research Council.

During his career, Dr. Pellegrino has supervised several large-scale research and development projects funded by agencies such as NSF, ONR, AFOSR, NIH, and private foundations.  He has authored or co-authored over 200 books, chapters and journal articles in the areas of cognition, instruction and assessment and has made numerous invited presentations at local, state, national and international meetings and at universities throughout the world.  Professor Pellegrino has served on several journal editorial boards and federal proposal review panels. He is knowledgeable about the range of issues and diversity of perspectives represented by the psychological and educational research, policy and practice communities having served on various regional and national boards, committees of the American Psychological Association, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, the American Educational Research Association, and as an elected member of AERA’s Governing Council.

MARY BOUCK

Began educational career as a middle grades mathematics teacher. For 17 years taught middle school and high school mathematics. During that time participated in the piloting of the Middle Grades Mathematics Project curriculum materials and the Teacher Coaching Project out of Michigan State University. Also served on the Michigan Educational Assessment Programs (MEAP) curriculum and test development teams. 

In the 90’s worked on two National Science Foundation Projects: The Connected Mathematics Project, a middle grades curriculum development project and The Balanced Assessment Program, an assessment project that involved designing performance assessment tasks for grades 4, 8, 10, and 12.

Other professional experiences include working as the Mathematic and Science Coordinator and moving to the position of Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Staff Development for a small urban school. During this time period Mary also serviced on the writing team for the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. 

Most recently she has become the Superintendent of Farwell Area Schools, a small rural district in central Michigan.

Kay Coleman currently serves as assistant superintendent for Cartwright Elementary School District, an urban district in Phoenix, Arizona.  She has been an educator for the past 25 years in the role of teacher, principal, and curriculum director and for the past 8 years as an assistant superintendent.  Kay was the Principal Investigator of a Local Systemic Change Project funded by the National Science Foundation in the Madison Elementary School District in Phoenix.  The project focused on developing teachers and administrators as reflective practitioners in the implementation of reform mathematics curricula in all district classrooms.  The professional development model included the development of Mathematics Teacher Leaders at each site and focused clearly on developing principals as instructional leaders. Kay's work continues in the Cartwright Elementary School District as they are in the early stages of implementation of TERC Investigations and the Connected Mathematics Project.

Gary Money is currently the Director or the Grand Traverse Regional Math, Science and Technology Center. He has been the director since the Center’s inception in 1995.  Gary has twenty years of teaching experience in northern Michigan’s rural schools ranging from third grade through adult education.  He has a degree in science education and is currently a Regional Director for the Michigan Science Teachers Association.

 Dennis Schatz is Associate Director of the Pacific Science Center.  A research solar astronomer prior to his career in science education, Mr. Schatz is recognized nationally for his expertise in developing innovative science museum programs, including program and curriculum development, teacher professional development and exhibit design.  Prior to coming to the Pacific Science Center, he worked at the Lawrence Hall of Science.

He provides leadership to Pacific Science Center's science education programs, which includes a broad range of programs serving teachers, students, community-based organizations and families across Washington State. He has been involved in the Washington State Systemic Change movement since its inception, and now co-directs Washington State LASER (Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform), a program to implement a quality K-8 science program in all 296 school districts in Washington State. He served as Principal Investigator for a National Science Foundation (NSF) Local Systemic Change Initiative and directs the Science Center’s innovative
Community Leadership project, a NSF funded program to develop science advocates in community-based organizations, which now has funding from the Murdock Charitable Trust, the American Honda Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).  He is also Principle Investigator of the NSF funded project to develop a nationally touring exhibit, Aliens: Worlds of Possibilities, which explores the nature of the solar system and the search for extraterrestrial life in the galaxy.

He is the author of ten science activity books for children and co-author of Astro-Adventures, an astronomy curriculum for grades 4 and up.  He is active in the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), being a past member of its Program Committee, past chair of its Education Committee, and is presently on the Professional Development Committee.  He received the 1996 Distinguished Informal Science Educator Award from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and was recently elected to the Board of Trustees of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

SHELLEY GOLDMAN

Shelley Goldman is an associate professor (teaching) at the Stanford University School of Education. She is concerned with how to design learning environments that maximize in-depth learning. She has been an elementary and middle school teacher, developed alternative and model schools, and has spent the last sixteen years at the Bank Street College, the Institute for Research on Learning, and Stanford developing and assessing the contributions that computer-based technologies make in learning mathematics and science.

Goldman is Principal Investigator and Director of the NSF Primes project, which is designing materials for parents to support their children’s mathematics success. She was Principal Investigator on the NSF VITAL project which developed CD-ROM and web-based multi-media professional development resources. She was a co-PI and Director of the NSF Middle-school Mathematics through Applications Project. Goldman served on the Apple Education Grants Advisory Board, the PBS Mathline board, MathLab board and the Yupik math project and the Learning to Teach with Technology Studio projects. Titles include: Thinking Practices in Science and Mathematics Learning (with J. Greeno), Mediating Micro-Worlds: Collaboration on High School Science Activities, and  Electronic interactions: How teachers and students organize schooling over the wires. Goldman has a doctorate in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Dr. Sprague currently serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services for Fairfax County Public Schools in Fairfax, Virginia.  Fairfax County is the twelfth largest school system in the United States with a student population of over 160,000.  Her department oversees the curriculum development, instructional technology, adult and community education, and staff development for the school system.  Dr. Sprague received her B.A. in political science, her M.A. in public administration, and Ph.D. in social science education from the University of Michigan.  She is a life long educator, spending over 30 years in the profession.  She began her career as a classroom teacher and, over the years, assumed the role of an assistant principal, a principal, and a director of instruction.  Dr. Sprague has also served as an adjunct professor for a number of colleges and universities.  In addition to her strong commitment to education, Dr. Sprague is a leading parishioner at her church, a sports aficionado with a passion for golf, and an avid gardener.  She enjoys traveling with her husband and visiting with family and friends.

CLIFF KONOLD

Cliff Konold is Associate Research Professor in the Scientific Reasoning Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. For the past twenty years he has been researching how people understanding and reason about chance and data and using that research as a basis for software and curriculum development.  Recently he has been focusing on how elementary and middle-school students learn to organize and interpret data, and as part of that research has investigated data use within
various "network science" projects.  Currently he is directing the NSF-funded Tinkerplots project, which is developing data-analysis software for middle school students.

 Bob Tinker has, for thirty years, pioneered innovative approaches to education that exploit the power of technology.  He originated the idea of using probes, including the ultrasonic motion detector, for student learning based on real-time measurements.  He was the first to use electronic networking to permit students to collaborate on dispersed environment investigations.  The initial result of this work was the NGS Kids Network, the first curriculum making extensive use of student collaboration and data sharing.

In 1994 Bob started the nonprofit Concord Consortium to concentrate on innovative applications of technology in education.  The Consortium specializes in online learning, the use of sophisticated simulations in science, probeware and handhelds, and applications of these technologies to pressing educational issues.  A common thread of technology, innovation, social need, and potential impact runs through all his work.  Bob earned his PhD in experimental low temperature physics from MIT and has taught college physics for ten years.