Professor Norman Lederman To Receive Honorary Doctorate from Stockholm University

For his essential contributions to science education, Dr. Norman Lederman will receive an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Science at Stockholm University on September 26, 2008, in a ceremony at Stockholm City Hall. Lederman is chair and professor of the Mathematics and Science Education Department. Stockholm University is one of Sweden's largest and most prestigious, with a focus on research in humanities, law, and natural and social sciences. It has 40,000 students on four campuses.

"This is a wonderful award and attests to Dr. Lederman's leadership in his field globally," said Buck McMorris, Dean of the College of Science and Letters. "Not only is Stockholm University well regarded internationally, but it also is so rare for a science educator to receive this type of award. Dr. Lederman is a tireless, passionate researcher, teacher, innovator and advocate who has helped teachers and students all over the world. We are extremely proud of him."

Lederman came to IIT in 2001 to establish the MSED. Since then, it has become a force locally, nationally and internationally for discipline-based mathematics and science education, with an emphasis on how scientific inquiry/direct instruction can improve learning. The department has more graduate students and more per capita research funding of any IIT department and is active in research with partners nationally and internationally.

Dr. Lederman has taught a full range of graduate (Masters and Doctoral) courses in secondary science education and supervised teaching interns. He received his Ph.D. in Science Education from Syracuse University (1983); M.S. in Secondary Education from Bradley University (1977); M.S. in Biology from New York University (1973); B.S. in Biology from Bradley University (1971).

Before arriving at his present position, he was Professor of Science and Mathematics Education at Oregon State University since1985, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education, SUNY/Albany (1984-85) and Assistant Professor of Science Teaching, Syracuse University (1983-84). Dr. Lederman taught high school Biology at Eureka (IL) High School (1974-79) as well as college-level biology at Onondaga Community College (1979-82) and Illinois Central College (1976-79). He has received the Illinois Outstanding Biology Teacher Award (1979), a Presidential Citation for Distinguished Service from the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science (AETS, 1986), the Burlington Resources Foundation Faculty Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research (1992), the AETS Outstanding Mentor Award (2000), and the National Association for Research in Science Teaching Award for Outstanding JRST Paper (2001).

Dr. Lederman is internationally known for his research and scholarship on the development of students' and teachers' conceptions of nature of science and scientific inquiry. He has also studied preservice and inservice teachers' knowledge structures of subject matter and pedagogy, pedagogical content knowledge, and teachers' concerns and beliefs. Dr. Lederman has been author or editor of 10 books, including an elementary science teaching methods textbook. He is editor of the recently published Handbook for Research on Science Education. He has written 15 book chapters and published over 200 articles in professional refereed journals. In addition, Dr. Lederman has made over 500 presentations at professional conferences and meetings around the world.

Dr. Lederman has served as President of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science (AETS), and the Oregon Educational Research Association. He has also served as Director of Teacher Education for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), Director of the Northwest Region of AETS, North American Director of the International Council of Associations for Science Education and served on the Board of Directors of NSTA, AETS, NARST, and the School Science and Mathematics Association. Dr. Lederman served as the Editor of the journal School Science and Mathematics for 10 years and serves, or has served, on the Editorial Boards of the American Educational Research Journal, Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education, International Journal of Science Education, International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Journal of Elementary Science Education, Journal of Science Teacher Education, Science and Education, and Science Education.