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Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy (2006)

Chapter: APPENDIX A Committee Biographies

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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
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APPENDIX A
Committee Biographies

ELSA GARMIRE, chair, the Sydney E. Junkins Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College, is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the NAE Council. Professor Garmire was a member of the NAE and National Research Council (NRC) committees that conducted a technical review of the K–12 education standards for technological literacy developed by the International Technology Education Association. She was also the National Academies report review monitor for the 2002 NAE/NRC report, Technically Speaking: Why All Americans Need to Know More About Technology. At Dartmouth, she supported the Project for Teaching Engineering Problem Solving, a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded summer institute to provide high school teachers with a framework for introducing engineering concepts into science, mathematics, and technology courses. Professor Garmire currently teaches two courses on technological literacy for non-engineers.


RODGER BYBEE, now executive director of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), is the former executive director of the National Research Council (NRC) Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education (CSMEE), where he was a major participant in the development of the National Science Education Standards. From 1986 to 1995, as associate director of BSCS, he was principal investigator for four new National Science Foundation (NSF) programs: an elementary school program, Science for Life and Living: Integrating Science, Technology, and Health; a middle school program, Middle School Science and Technology; a high school biology program, Biological Science: A Human Approach; and a college program, Biological Perspectives.

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
×

During his tenure at BSCS, he was also principal investigator for programs to develop curriculum frameworks for teaching the history and nature of science and technology in biology classes in high schools, community colleges, and four-year colleges and to develop curricular reforms based on national standards. Dr. Bybee, who has been active in education for more than 30 years, has taught science at the elementary, junior high school, senior high school, and college levels. He was a co-principal investigator of the joint National Academy of Engineering/NRC project that resulted in the 2002 publication of Technically Speaking: Why All Americans Need to Know More About Technology.


RODNEY L. CUSTER is chair of the Department of Technology, Illinois State University, and president of the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) Council on Technology Teacher Education (CTTE). He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE)/National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Technological Literacy and led the secondary standards development team for the ITEA Technology for All Americans (TFAA) Project, which produced the Standards for Technological Literacy. Dr. Custer is head of a team working on the development of assessment standards for phase three of the TFAA Project. He has been editor of the Journal of Industrial Teacher Education and a member of the editorial boards of several other professional journals. He is the author of numerous articles on technological problem solving and issues related to technology and society and coauthor with A. E. Weins of Technology and the Quality of Life (Glencoe/ McGraw-Hill, 1996). Dr. Custer has been a program officer at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a member of several NRC and NAE committees. He currently leads the technology teacher education component of the NSF-funded National Center for Engineering and Technology Education.


MARTHA N. CYR is director of K–12 outreach and an adjunct assistant professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. She is a member of the Massachusetts Science and Mathematics Advisory Council and was an active participant in the development of the newly adopted statewide engineering curriculum frameworks. As director of outreach, she works with programs to incorporate hands-on projects that introduce engineering principles to students to motivate them and their teachers to continue

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
×

studying mathematics and science in grades K–16. Dr. Cyr was a faculty advisor for the National Science Foundation model project for women and girls in which middle schools girls designed and built museum-quality, hands-on exhibits. She also coordinated a partnership with Prentice Hall for the revision of middle school science textbooks and is a member of a team that provides professional development in engineering design for K–12 teachers. Dr. Cyr received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of New Hampshire in 1982 and an M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1987 and 1997, respectively.


MARC J. DE VRIES is an assistant professor of philosophy and methodology of technology, Eindhoven University of Technology, and an affiliate professor of reformational philosophy, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. Previously, he taught at a teacher training college for technology education and vocational technical education in Eindhoven. Dr. de Vries has published and made presentations in several countries on technology education, student assessment, and the philosophy of technology. He developed a 100-question survey, Pupils’ Attitudes Toward Technology (PATT), which has been used in about 30 countries to measure student understanding of technological ideas. Since 1999, Dr. de Vries has been editor-in-chief of the International Journal for Technology Education and Design. He was co-organizer of 15 international PATT conferences and an advisor on technology education development and assessment for UNESCO and OECD. Dr. de Vries has worked with Dutch educational television to produce programs on technology and is coauthor of a number of textbooks for grades 7–9. He is also cofounder of the Dutch technology teachers association. His current research is focused on the nature of technological knowledge.


WILLIAM E. DUGGER JR. is director of the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) Technology for All Americans Project, which published Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology (2000/2002) and Advancing Excellence in Technological Literacy: Student Assessment, Professional Development, and Program Standards (2003). A Professor Emeritus at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Dr. Dugger was professor of education and program area leader for technology education in the College of Education from 1972 to 1994. From 1984 to 1985, he was president of ITEA, and from 1992

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
×

to 1998, he was a member of the Board of Directors of Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) and PDK District VIII representative. Dr. Dugger is also coauthor (with Allen Bame and Marc de Vries) of Pupils’ Attitudes Toward Technology—PATT-USA (1989), the results of a survey of 10,000 U.S. middle and high school students. He is a past member of the National Research Council Committee on K–12 Science Education.


ARTHUR EISENKRAFT, Distinguished Professor of Science Education at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, taught high school science for 28 years. Dr. Eisenkraft is a recent past president of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and has chaired a number of NSTA-sponsored competitions: Toshiba/NSTA Exploravision Awards (1991 to date); the Toyota TAPESTRY Grants (1990 to date); the Duracell/NSTA Scholarship Competitions (1984 to 2000); and the NYNEX Awards Program (1993 to 1995). From 1989 to 2000, he was a columnist and member of the advisory board of Quantum, a magazine for science and math students published by NSTA as a joint venture between the United States and Russia. Dr. Eisenkraft is director of Active Physics, a program to introduce physics instruction to all students. From 1986 to 1992, he was academic director of the U.S. team in the International Physics Olympiad, and in 1993, he was executive director of the event. He was a member of the curriculum working group that helped develop the National Science Education Standards and has been a member of several National Academies committees, including the Committee on Learning, Research, and Educational Practice. Dr. Eisenkraft is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching (1986) and the Disney Science Teacher of the Year Award (1991). He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and holds a patent for a laser vision-testing system based on Fourier optics.


J.D. FLETCHER is a member of the senior research staff at the Institute for Defense Analyses, where he specializes in personnel assessment, education, training, and human performance. A psychologist by training, Dr. Fletcher is a leading authority on technology-based instruction and performance assistance. He has held various university positions in psychology, computer science, and systems engineering and government positions in Navy and Army laboratories, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he helped develop national programs and policies for

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
×

education and training. He has served on many science and technology panels for the Defense Science Board, Army Science Board, Naval Studies Board, Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, National Research Council, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He is the author of many articles, chapters, and technical reports on military and industrial training, personnel readiness and productivity, applications of technology in education and training, modeling and simulation, and human factors in computation. His research has led to the development of “intelligent” tutoring systems, networked desktop simulations, wearable voice-interactive performance aids, analyses of cognition in skill acquisition and maintenance, and analyses of the cost-effectiveness of instructional technology. He is the technical task leader for the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative, which has produced globally adopted specifications for the development and management of sharable instructional objects.


ALAN J. FRIEDMAN has been the director and CEO of the New York Hall of Science since 1984. During his tenure, the Hall of Science has become a leading science-technology center recognized for its encouragement of new technologies, new models for teacher training, and the evaluation of informal science learning. The New York Hall of Science is also known for its commitment to providing services to the diverse population of the New York City area. In 1996, in recognition of Dr. Friedman’s contributions, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) awarded him the AAAS Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology. In 2004, he received the Andrew W. Gemant Award from the American Institute of Physics for his contributions to the cultural, artistic, and humanistic dimensions of physics. Dr. Friedman is a AAAS Fellow and a New York Academy of Sciences Fellow. Before coming to New York, he was conseiller scientifique et muséologique for the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, Paris, and director of astronomy and physics at the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley, for 12 years. Dr. Friedman is coauthor of Einstein as Myth and Muse (Cambridge University Press, 1985) and the author or coauthor of 64 other publications.


RICHARD KIMBELL has taught design and technology and has been director of undergraduate and postgraduate programs of teacher education. Between 1985 and 1991, he directed the U.K. government-funded Assessment of Performance Unit Research Project in Design and

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
×

Technology. In 1990, he founded the Technology Education Research Unit (TERU) at Goldsmiths College, London, which runs a wide variety of externally funded research projects in design and technology and information technology, particularly as related to teaching, learning, and assessment. Dr. Kimbell is the author of three books, numerous contributions to edited collections, and reports commissioned by U.K. government departments, the U.S. Congress, UNESCO, and NATO. He has also written and presented television programs for the BBC and independent television stations, and he regularly lectures internationally. Dr. Kimbell was editor in chief of DATA from 1995 to 2005, and his latest book, Assessing Technology: International Trends in Curriculum and Assessment, was named outstanding publication of the year by the Council for Technology Teacher Education of the International Technology Education Association. He has been visiting professor at many international universities and is currently teaching at the Institute of Education in Stockholm.


JOSÉ P. MESTRE is professor of physics and educational psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His research interests include cognitive studies of problem solving in physics with a focus on the acquisition and use of knowledge by experts and novices. His recent work has been focused on the transfer of learning in science problem solving; the application of research findings to the design of instructional strategies that promote active learning in large physics classes; and the development of physics curricula that promote conceptual development through problem solving. He has been a member of the National Research Council Mathematical Sciences Education Board and Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning; the College Board Sciences Advisory Committee, SAT Committee, and Council on Academic Affairs; the Educational Testing Service Visiting Committee and Graduate Research Examination Technical Advisory Committee; the American Association of Physics Teachers Research in Physics Education Committee and the editorial board of The Physics Teacher; and the Expert Panel of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering and Technology. Dr. Mestre has published numerous research and review articles on science learning and teaching and is coauthor or coeditor of 15 books.


JON D. MILLER is director of the Center for Biomedical Communication, a professor in the Feinberg School of Medicine, and a professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University.

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
×

Trained as a political scientist, he brings his skills in survey research and quantitative analysis to the study of the public understanding of science and technology. For two decades, he has designed and conducted biennial national studies, Science and Engineering Indicators, of the public understanding of science and technology for the National Science Board. His framework for measuring scientific literacy and attitudes has been replicated in more than 40 countries. Professor Miller is also director of the Longitudinal Study of American Youth and director of the International Center for the Advancement of Scientific Literacy, both located at Northwestern University. He is the author of four books and more than 50 refereed articles and chapters in collected volumes. He is a member of the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science and Technology of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the editorial board of Public Understanding of Science.


SUSANNA HORNIG PRIEST, associate professor and research director in the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies, University of South Carolina (USC), Columbia, has degrees in linguistic anthropology and sociology, as well as a doctorate in communications. She is pursuing research on risk perception and social values related to public responses to emerging technologies (including biotechnology and nanotechnology) internationally in cooperation with Canadian, European, and other international colleagues. Dr. Priest has published more than 40 articles, books, and book chapters, primarily in these areas. She is also currently affiliated with the USC Nanotechnology Center, where she is working on public understanding and other social dimensions of emerging nanotechnologies. She teaches research methods and media theory at the doctoral level and a course on propaganda and public opinion for graduate and undergraduate students. Prior to joining the USC faculty, she was, for 15 years, a member of the faculty in the Department of Journalism at Texas A&M University, where she was director of the Science and Technology Policy and Ethics Center and the Science Journalism Master of Science Program.


SHARIF SHAKRANI, co-director of the Education Policy Research Center and professor of measurement and quantitative methods at Michigan State University, conducts research on educational policy and accountability focused on teaching and learning. He works with K–12 educators, researchers, and policy makers at the state and national levels

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
×

on issues related to mathematics and science curriculum, assessment, and educational reform. He has a Ph.D. in educational research and measurement from Michigan State University and extensive knowledge and experience in testing, assessment, and psychometric issues at the national, state, and district levels. Dr. Shakrani was the deputy executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, where he was in charge of addressing technical and policy issues related to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). He has also been program director of design and analysis at the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education and director of K–12 curriculum and assessment programs for the Michigan Department of Education.


JOHN D. STUART is senior vice president of education and global partners at Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC), a company that develops, markets, and supports software solutions to help manufacturing companies design and manage the global product development process. The 69 partners in the PTC global partner program include enterprise consulting partners, system integrators, and computer platform partners. The education program includes the sale of PTC’s University Plus engineering design and PLM enterprise software to more than 1,250 colleges and universities worldwide and the marketing and distribution of PTC’s Design and Technology Program for middle schools and high schools worldwide. More than 15,000,000 students and 45,000 teachers currently participate in the program. In Mr. Stuart’s 13 years with PTC, he has held several positions in sales and marketing management. Prior to joining PTC, he was assistant vice president of sales at Centel Information Systems (an IBM business partner) for 11 years and a sales manager for Texas Instruments Digital Systems Group. He is currently a member of the board of directors of the Greater Boston Aid to the Blind, University of Massachusetts Industry Advisory Board, and K–12 Advisory Board of the American Society of Engineering Education. He earned a degree in finance from the University of Illinois.


MARY E. YAKIMOWSKI-SREBNICK was director of assessment at the Council of Chief State School Officers and chief of educational accountability for the Division of Research, Evaluation, and Accountability for the Baltimore City Public School System, where she was responsible for student assessment, program evaluation, institutional research, and shared planning and accountability functions. She also facilitated the

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
×

implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. During Dr. Yakimowski-Srebnick’s 20 years of experience in educational research and assessment, she has been director of the Department of Assessment and Instructional Support for the Hampton City School System in Virginia and president of the National Association of Test Directors, Directors of Research and Evaluation, and Connecticut Testing Network. She is currently vice president for Division H and past secretary of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and has received numerous AERA Division H Outstanding Publication Competition Awards in district assessment reporting, institutional research, policy and planning, management studies, and training materials. She is cochair and committee member for many doctoral students, many from the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
×

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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
×
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
×
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
×
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX A Committee Biographies." National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. 2006. Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11691.
×
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Next: APPENDIX B Technology-Related Standards and Benchmarks in the National Science Education Standards, Benchmarks for Science Literacy, and Standards for Technological Literacy »
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In a broad sense, technology is any modification of the natural world made to fulfill human needs or desires. Although people tend to focus on the most recent technological inventions, technology includes a myriad of devices and systems that profoundly affect everyone in modern society. Technology is pervasive; an informed citizenship needs to know what technology is, how it works, how it is created, how it shapes our society, and how society influences technological development. This understanding depends in large part on an individual level of technological literacy.

Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy determines the most viable approaches to assessing technological literacy for students, teachers, and out-of-school adults. The book examines opportunities and obstacles to developing scientifically valid and broadly applicable assessment instruments for technological literacy in the three target populations. The book offers findings and 12 related recommendations that address five critical areas: instrument development; research on learning; computer-based assessment methods, framework development, and public perceptions of technology.

This book will be of special interest to individuals and groups promoting technological literacy in the United States, education and government policy makers in federal and state agencies, as well as the education research community.

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