Prestigious academic honors were recently awarded to Learning Sciences PhD student Leema Kuhn and SESP alumni Iris Tabak (PhD99) and Kevin Roy (PhD99).
Leema Kuhn
Doctoral student Leema Kuhn won the award for the best conference paper of 2005 from National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST). Her paper focused on her research conducted in Chicago classrooms on middle school students' scientific argumentation, which is a complex practice essential to scientific inquiry. "This paper motivated my current focus on creating an intrinsic need for students to argue: how can we help transform classroom practices such that it makes sense for students to engage in scientific argumentation?" comments Kuhn.The NARST Outstanding Paper Award is given annually for the paper presented at the Annual Meeting of NARST that is judged to have the greatest significance and potential in the field of science education. The award winning paper, presented in 2005, is entitled "Students Constructing and Defending Evidence-based Explanations" by Leema Kuhn and Brian J. Reiser. This work is part of IQWST (Investigating and Questioning Our World Through Science and Technology), which is exploring how to support middle school students in scientific practices. Kuhn is a doctoral fellow in the National Science Foundation center for learning and teaching, Center for Curriculum Materials in Science.
Kevin Roy
The William T. Grant Foundation announced the appointment of Kevin Roy (PhD99), an alumnus of the Human Development and Social Policy program, as one of five William T. Grant Scholars. Roy, an assistant professor of family studies at the University of Maryland, will conduct research on "Intergenerational Influences on Men's Transitions to Adulthood." Each William T. Grant Scholar receives funding over five years to support research in the social and behavioral sciences. "The goal of this program is to identify exceptional early career scholars and give them the financing, mentorship, and interdisciplinary experiences to make them even better," says Dr. Robert C. Granger, President of the William T. Grant Foundation.
Iris Tabak
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Learning Sciences alumna Iris Tabak (PhD99) won the 2006 Jan Hawkins Award of the American Education Research Association (AERA). Tabak, an assistant professor in the education department at Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, researches cognitive and sociocultural theory, and she also draws on this theory to design advanced tools for learning. Tabak's award was announced on April 4.The Jan Hawkins Award is presented for "early career contributions to humanistic research and scholarship in learning technologies," according to AERA. It recognizes an individual or small collaborative team that is engaged in research that combines practice and advocacy. The award carries a stipend and the opportunity to present a talk at the award session at the AERA annual conference the following year.
Last Modified: 8/14/09