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John
D. Bransford joined the University of
Washington in Seattle in 2003 where he
holds the title of the James W. Mifflin
University Professorship and Professor
of Education. Prior to this time he was
Centennial Professor of Psychology and
Education and Co-Director of the Learning
Technology Center at Vanderbilt University.
Early works by Bransford and his colleagues
in the 1970s included research in the
areas of human learning, memory and problem
solving, and helped shape the "cognitive revolution" in
Psychology. Author of seven books and
hundreds of articles and presentations,
Bransford is an internationally renowned
scholar in cognition and technology.
In 1984 Bransford was asked by the Dean
of Peabody College at Vanderbilt to help
begin a Learning Technology Center that
would focus on education. The Center
had grown from 7 people in 1984 to approximately
100 by 1999. During that time, Bransford
and his colleagues developed and tested
a number of innovative computer, videodisc,
CD Rom and Internet programs for mathematics,
science and literacy. Examples include
the Jasper Woodbury Problem Solving Series
in Mathematics, The Scientists in Action
Series, and the Little Planet Literacy
Series. Many of these programs are being
used in schools throughout the world.
Bransford and his colleagues have won
numerous awards. His Ph.D. dissertation
won honorable mention in the national "Creative
Talent Awards" Contest; several
of his published articles (co-authored
with colleagues) have won "article
of the year" awards in the areas
of science education, technology, design,
and theories of transfer. The Little
Planet Literacy Series, which Bransford
helped develop, has won major awards
including the 1996 Technology and Learning
Award and the 1997 Cody award for Best
Elementary Curriculum from the Software
Publishers Association. Bransford received
the Sutherland Prize for Research at
Vanderbilt, has been elected to the National
Academy of Education, and was awarded
the Thorndike award for 2001.
Bransford served as Co-Chair of several
National Academy of Science committees
that wrote How
People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience
and School (1999) and How
People Learn, Bridging Research and Practice (1999). He is currently serving as Co
Chair of another National Academy of
Science committee as well as a National
Academy of Education Committee. He is
on the International Board of Advisors
for Microsoft’s Technology and
Learning program, and has worked with
the Gates Foundation to develop technology-enhanced
workshops that link learning and leadership. Bransford joined the University of Washington
in September of 2003 where he holds the
title of the James W. Mifflin University
Professorship and Professor of Education
in the College of Education.
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