In Honor Of…Susan R. Goldman, PhD
Honoring scientists who have made important and lasting contributions to the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior.
Susan R. Goldman, PhD
LAS Distinguished Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago
Dr. Susan R. Goldman began her distinguished career by obtaining her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1978 after earning a BA from Barnard College of Columbia University. Since earning her Ph.D., she has taught at Emory University, University of California, Santa Barbara, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) where she is a Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor. From 2001 to 2007 she served as Co-Director of UIC’s Center for the Study of Learning, Instruction and Teacher Development and from 2007 to the present she has served as Co-Director of UIC’s Learning Sciences Research Institute.
Her body of work has focused on helping educators and education researchers understand and improve the learning process. In doing so, her work has included the creation of curriculum, teaching, and technological innovations that foster improved learning for children and adults. From algebra to literacy, Susan’s research seeks to build high-quality strategies that prepare students to meet challenges in college, the workplace, and life. Much of her work also centers on creating professional development resources for teachers. Most recently, her research has focused on instruction and classroom discussion that promote critical inquiry, deep reading and reasoning on the part of students in science, mathematics, history, and literature/literary reading. Central to this research is creating opportunities for teachers to learn what they need to know and be able to do to successfully support students in developing these 21st century competencies in a range of academic disciplines. She routinely collaborates with teachers and other educational practitioners to bridge research and practice.
Susan has published more than 200 journal articles and book chapters and has been the PI or Co-PI on many federally-funded grants. One recent example is her leadership of Project READI, a multi-institution effort in the design, development, research and implementation of an instructional approach to reading for understanding in science, history, and literature. Backed by a $19.2 million Department of Education grant, the work of Project READI impacted students in middle school and high school as well as their teachers. This research focused on understanding the literacy demands in different disciplinary contexts and the implications of these demands for supporting learning. Specifically, she researched the processes, instructional practices, and materials needed to support evidence-based argumentation from multiple sources in literature, history, and science across grades 6 to 12.
Susan has served the profession in multiple ways that include associate editor or editorial board member of several leading journals in education and the learning sciences. She is a past president of both the International Society of the Learning Sciences and the Society for Text and Discourse. She also served as a FABBS board member for several years. Among her academic honors, Susan is the inaugural recipient of the Distinguished Alumnae Award from the University of Pittsburgh’s Learning Research and Development Center. In 2017 Susan was presented with the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award by the Society for Text and Discourse, the highest honor the Society bestows. She has been elected to membership in both the National Academy of Education and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Susan embodies the heart and soul of FABBS – a tireless pursuit of truth combined with efforts towards enlightening and improving education by embracing an inter-disciplinary approach to research and development.
Individuals Honoring Susan Goldman:
Alyssa Blair, University of Illinois at Chicago
David Bloome, The Ohio State University
Catherine Bohn-Gettler, College of Saint Benedict – St. John’s University
Candice Burkett
Donna Caccamise, University of Colorado, Institute of Cognitive Science
Richard Catrambone, Georgia Institute of Technology
Nathalie Cote, Belmont Abbey College
Andrew Elfenbein, University of Minnesota
MariAnne George, University of Illinois at Chicago
Darren Gergle, Northwestern University
Morton Ann Gernsbacher
Arthur Glenberg, Arizona State University
Seth and Amy Goldman
Kimberley and Louis Gomez, UCLA
Arthur Graesser
*Allison Hall, University of Illinois at Chicago
Cindy Hmelo-Silver, Indiana University
William Horton, Northwestern University
Katherine James, Northwestern University
Panayiota Kendeou, University of Minnesota
Walter Kintsch, University of Colorado
Celia Klin, Binghamton University
Mo-Lin Monica Ko, University of Illinois at Chicago
Beata Latawiec, Wichita State University
Brooke Lea, Macalester College
Carol D Lee, Northwestern University
Sarah Levine, Stanford University
Alexandra List, Society for Text and Discourse
Kathryn McCarthy, Georgia State University
Danielle McNamara, Arizona State University
Mike Mensink, University of Wisconsin-Stout
*Keith Millis, Northern Illinois University
Edward O’Brien, University of New Hampshire
James Pellegrino, University of Illinois at Chicago
Bill Penuel
Howard Phillips
Jacquelynn Popp, Lake Forest College
Gary Raney, University of Illinois at Chicago
David Rapp, Northwestern University
Michael Schober, New School for Social Research
Andreas Schramm, Hamline University
Gale Sinatra, University of Southern California
Katja Wiemer, Northern Illinois University
Michael Wolfe, Grand Valley State University
Masha (Mariya) Yukhymenko, California State University Fresno
* FABBS would like to thank Keith Millis and Allison Hall for nominating Dr. Goldman for this honor and for leading the effort.