Learning Institute
Biographical Information
James W. Pellegrino is Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also serves as co-director of UIC's new interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Learning, Instruction, and Teacher Development.
From 1973-1979 he was Professor of Psychology and a Research Associate of the University of Pittsburgh's Learning Research and Development Center. From 1979-1989 he was Professor of Education and Psychology at the University of California at Santa Barbara where he also served as Chair of the Department of Education from 1987-1989. From 1989-2001 he was the Frank W. Mayborn Professor of Cognitive Studies at Vanderbilt University where he also served as co-director of the Learning Technology Center from 1989-1991 and as Dean of Vanderbilt's Peabody College of Education and Human Development from 1992-1998.
Dr. Pellegrino's research and development interests focus on children's and adult's thinking and learning and the implications of cognitive research and theory for assessment and instructional practice. Much of his current work is focused on analyses of complex learning and instructional environments, including those incorporating powerful information technology tools, with the goal of better understanding the nature of student learning and the conditions that enhance deep understanding. A special concern of his research is the incorporation of effective formative assessment practices, assisted by technology, to maximize student learning and understanding.
Dr. Pellegrino has served as head of several National Academy of Science/National Research Council study committees including the Committee on the Cognitive Science Foundations for Assessment which issued the recent report "Knowing What Students Know: The Science and Design of Educational Assessment." He is a member of the NRC/NAS/NAE Study Committee on Improving Learning with Information Technology and chairs the NRC/NAS Panel on Strategic Educational Research on Learning and Instruction. He is a lifetime National Associate of the National Academy of Sciences and a member of the Board on Testing and Assessment of the National Research Council.
Dr. Pellegrino has supervised several large-scale research and development projects funded by agencies such as NSF, ONR, AFOSR, NIH, and private foundations. He has authored or co-authored over 200 books, chapters and journal articles in the areas of cognition, instruction and assessment and has made numerous invited presentations at local, state, national and international meetings and at universities throughout the world.