Chi named fellow of century-old education research society

Professor Michelene Chi of Arizona State University has been named one of 23 scholars selected as 2013 American Educational Research Association (AERA) fellows, according to the 97-year-old research society based in Washington, D.C. Chi recently was named director of ASU’s Learning Sciences Institute effective July 1.

For Chi, a cognitive learning scientist and Foundation Professor in ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, the recognition from AERA underscores a career spent in interdisciplinary research environments focused on learning and education. Chi’s research is well known in the learning sciences community, with her publications cited more than 23,000 times in other scientific papers.

For ASU, Chi’s selection brings to 16 the total number of AERA fellows inducted from the Tempe, Ariz.-based university.

“Professor Chi’s prowess as an education scientist is amplified by her commitment to research projects that are both collaborative and interdisciplinary,” said Mari Koerner, dean of Teachers College. “Her work serves to expand our legacy of education research at ASU. But more than that, where we truly excel is marrying that research to real-world school settings in order to maximize its impact on learning.”

According to the AERA, fellows are honored for their exceptional scientific or scholarly contributions to education research or significant contributions to the field through the development of research opportunities and settings. The new fellows were nominated by their peers, selected by the Fellows Program Committee and approved by the AERA Council. The new AERA fellows will be inducted April 28 in San Francisco, joining 534 current fellows.

Of the 15 ASU scholars previously named AERA fellows, those at the university today include the following: Alfredo J. Artiles, Dale Rose Baker, David C. Berliner, Stephen N. Elliott, Gene V. Glass, Steve Graham, Karen R. Harris, Sharon Robinson Kurplus, Joseph M. Ryan, Patrick W. Thompson, John W. Tippeconnic, Terence J.G. Tracey and Herbert Zimiles.

ASU’s two-year-old LSI is a “creation place” where researchers, scholars, and practitioners from a variety of disciplines work together, sharing knowledge and solutions that improve learning and quality of life for people of all ages. As LSI director, Chi will be assisted by Associate Director Elisabeth Hayes, Delbert and Jewell Lewis Chair in Reading and Literacy and professor in Teachers College.