Honorary Degree for Visionary Educator
Lee Shulman, Professor of Educational Psychology at Stanford University, to Be Granted Honorary Doctorate from Freie Universität Berlin on May 11
№ 101/2012 from Apr 27, 2012
A professor of educational psychology at Stanford University, Lee Shulman, will be granted an honorary doctorate from Freie Universität Berlin on May 11. With this degree, the Department of Education and Psychology is honoring Shulman’s life’s work in education research. According to a spokesperson for the department, Shulman’s academic brilliance provided important impetus for the development of teacher education in Germany. One example is Shulman’s conceptual conception of pedagogical content knowledge, which he developed in the 1980s. This conception had a great influence on teacher education in Germany and continues to shape it today. The ceremony is being organized in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Human Development. The tributary speech will be given by the educational researcher Professor Dr. Jürgen Baumert from MPI. The ceremony will be held in the auditorium of the Henry Ford Building. It is public, and admission is free.
There will be an opportunity for journalists to conduct interviews with Lee Shulman on May 10, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Due to the limited time frame for interviews, advance registration is requested: presse@fu-berlin.de
Interested persons are welcome to attend a panel discussion on May 10, 2012. Lee Shulman and other leading scholars from the United States and Germany will be discussing the professionalization of teacher education The other discussants will be Richard Shavelson, Professor of Education at Stanford University; David Berliner, Professor of Education at Arizona State University; Fritz Oser, Professor of Education at the University of Freiburg; and Jürgen Baumert, Professor of Education at MPI.
Lee Shulman is president emeritus of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching at the School of Education at Stanford University. He was born in 1938 in Chicago, the only son of Jewish immigrants. Shulman won a scholarship to the University of Chicago, where he studied philosophy and psychology and was particularly interested in the structure of different disciplines. Shulman's first academic job was at Michigan State University, beginning in 1963. In 1982 he moved to Stanford University, where he continues to work as a professor emeritus. During his long career, he has focused on the challenges of classroom teaching and on deciphering the intellectual demands that teaching makes on teachers and students.
Times and Locations
- Panel discussion on May 10, 1:30 p.m., Lecture Hall 1a, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem; subway station: Dahlem-Dorf or Thielplatz (U3)
- Ceremony to award an honorary doctorate: May 11, 10 a.m., Henry Ford Building, Garystraße 35, 14195 Berlin; subway station: Thielplatz (U3)
Further Information
Prof. Dr. Harm Kuper, Dean, Department of Education and Psychology, Tel.: +49 (0)30 / 838–52914 and -54653 (Sec.), Email: harm.kuper@fu-berlin.de