Recognition

Recipient of the Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education, for pioneering research in the learning sciences to promote active and engaged student learning.

The David E. Rumelhart Prize: Presented by the Cognitive Science Society for making a significant contemporary contribution to the theoretical foundations of human cognition, specifically for research that has “challenged basic assumptions about the mind and defined new approaches that have shaped a generation of cognitive and learning scientists”

• 2018

The Best Paper Published in JLS Award: Presented by the International Society of the Learning Sciences to recognize exceptional scholarship and contributions made to the field of the learning sciences via the Journal of the Learning Sciences

• 2016

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences

• 2016

Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award: Presented by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) for outstanding achievement and success in education research

• 2015

Thorndike Career Achievement Award: Presented by the American Psychological Association (APA) for lifetime contribution in research

• 2015

The Inaugural Dorothy Bray Endowed Professor of Science and Teaching for Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University

• 2014

Wickenden Award: Presented by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), for "the highest standards of scholarly research in engineering education published in the Journal of Engineering Education in 2013"

• 2013

Faculty Achievement Award for Best Professional Application: Arizona State University

• 2013

Faculty Achievement Award for Defining Edge Research and Creative Work: Professional Application, Arizona State University

• 2013

Sylvia Scribner Award: Presented by the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Learning and Instruction Division, for research that represents significant advancement in our understanding of learning and instruction

• 2010

Elected to the National Academy of Education

• 2006

Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award, Senior Category
For "innovative research of landmark impact in several research areas", University of Pittsburgh

• 2001

Cited in Carnegie-Mellon University's Centennial Magazine as one of its 87 most successful undergraduates

• 1982

Boyd R. McCandless Young Scientist Award
Presented by Division 7 of the American Psychological Association (APA), for distinguished theoretical contribution and programmatic research efforts in the field of developmental psychology

• 1977 - 1982

Spencer Fellowship
Awarded by the National Academy of Education, for promising research and professional development contributing to the theory and practice of education

Fellow

• 2016

• 2013

Fellow, American Educational Research Association

• 2002 - 2005

Resident Fellow, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh

• 2002

Fellow, One of seven inaugural fellows, Cognitive Science Society

• 1988

Fellow, Board of Ethnic Minority Affairs, American Psychological Association

• 1996 - 1997

Resident Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, CA

• 1992

Fellow, Association for Psychological Science

• 1986

Fellow, Division 7, American Psychological Association

Impact and Recognition of Scholarly Work

• 2017

Chi (2009) paper on ICAP was the No. 1 most downloaded paper from the publisher’s website (Wiley-Blackwell)

• 2016

Chi (2005) paper “Commonsense conceptions of emergent processes: Why some misconceptions are robust” was listed as one of the most cited papers on science education in the Web of Science database, first under the subcategory “Student’s Thinking about Science”.

• 2016

Cited as one of the top most influential scholars in education research in a Brookings Institution study.

• 2007

Noted by the journal Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, as one of its most frequently cited authors

• 2006

Two of my papers are among the top 10 most highly cited papers published in Cognitive Science: Chi, Feltovich & Glaser (1981), and Chi, Bassok, Lewis, Reimann, & Glaser (1989), are ranked 1st and 7th , respectively. (from Rob Goldstone's 2006 Editor's report).

• 2004

Chi (1978) was voted as the 7th "Most Fascinating Studies in Child Psychology", as surveyed by the Society for Research in Child Development, published in their Oct. newsletter.

• 2002

Highlighted in "Reach for the Stars," an American Educational Research Association basic research in reading and literacy poster session that showcased the research careers of distinguished scholars.

• 2000

Chi (1997), was noted in the editorial of the Journal of the Learning Sciences (Kolodner, 2000, p. 2), as one of its "most cited papers" on methodology.

• 1993

• Plenary speaker, “ICAP: How to promote deeper learning by engaging students cognitively” at the 42nd Annual National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology (NITOP) in St. Pete Beach, Florida, January, 2020.

2019

• Simon Initiative Distinguished LEcture, "ICAP: How to Promote Deeper Learning by Engaging Students Cognitively," Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, November.
• Keynote speaker, "ICAP: A Framework for Active Learning," presented at the curriculum retreat of the Penn State Medical School, Hershey, PA, October.
• Plenary speaker, "ICAP: How to promote Deeper Learning by Engaging Students Constructively and Co-constructively" at the Annual Conference of the International Association for Medical Education in Vienne, Austria, August.
• Rumelhart Prize Address, "Translating the ICAP Theory of Cognitive Engagement into Practice" at the 41sr Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society at Montreal, Canada, July.
• Plenary speaker, "ICAP: How to Promote Deeper Learning by Engaging Students Cognitively" at the Chicago Symposium Series on Excellence in Teaching Mathematics and Science at Northern Illinois University, Naperville, IL, Feb.

2018

• Colloquium: "ICAP: How to Promote Deeper Learning by Engaging Students Constructively." Talk presented to the Tsinghua Institute of Education at Tsinghua University.
• Colloquium: "Why is it Important for Students to be Constructive while Learning?" presented to the Graduate College, Central China Normal University in Wuhan, China.
• Keynote speaker, "How to Promote Deeper Learning by Engaging Students Cognitively" at the College of Development and Educational Psychology, Key Labratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education Shaanxi Normal University in China.
• Keynote speaker, "ICAP: How to Promote Deeper Learning by Engaging Students Cognitively," at the 6th Computational Behavior Science Summit--Behavioral Data Analysis and Application in Wuhan, China.
• Keynote speaker, "Translating the ICAP Theory of Cognitive Engagement into Practice", at the 11th Annual Subway Summit hosted by Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, June.
• Keynote speaker, "Conceptual change in understanding collective causality versus cumulative causality", at the 2nd Interdisciplinary REASON Spring School hosted by the Munich Center of the Learning Sciences, Munich, Germany, March.
• Workshop speaker, "Principles and methods of coding qualitative data", at the 2nd Interdisciplinary REASON Spring School hosted by the Munich Center of the Learning Sciences, Munich, Germany, March.
• Keynote speaker, “How to Promote Deeper Learning by Engaging Students Cognitively” at the College of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education Shaanxi Normal Univeristy in China.
• Keynote speaker, “ICAP: How to Promote Deeper Learning by Engaging Students Cognitively,” at the 6th Computational Behavior Science Summit—Behavioral Data Analysis and Application in Wuhan, China.
• Colloqium: “Why is it Important for Students tgo be Constructive While Learning?” presented to the Graduate College, Central China Normal Univeristy in Wuhan, China.

• Colloqium: “ICAP: How to Promote Deeper Learning by Engaging Students Constructively.” Talk presented to the Tsinghua Institute of Education at Tsinghua Univeristy

2017

• Presenter, “ICAP: A theoretical framework for how to engage students to promote deeper learning,” at the Strengthening Institutional Linkages Initiative Faculty Development Seminar, Arizona State University, Jan.
• Invited speaker, Brown Bag Lunch Series Talk: “Translating ICAP on Student Engagement into Practice,”Presented to the Graduate School of Education, Rutgers, Feb.
• Featured scholar presentation, “ICAP: A theoretical framework for how to engage students to promote deeper learning”, at the Wisconsin Ideas in Education Series (WIES) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Education Research.
• Invited speaker, Brown Bag Lunch Series presentation at the University of Pittsburgh’s Discipline-Based Science Education Research Center (dB-SERC) on: “ICAP titled:ICAP: A Theoretical Framework for Active Learning to Promote Deeper Understanding.” March.
• Plenary speaker, “Teaching Emergence: An Attempt at Differentiating Science Concepts of Processes” at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) conference for Challenges in Learning Science Concepts. April.
• Award address speaker, 2017 AERA Presidential Session on Acquired Wisdom: Lessons Learned by Distinguished Researchers titled, “Acquired Wisdom and Expertise at AERA” April.
• Award address speaker, at the Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award session: “Translating ICAP on Student Engagement Into Practice”, AERA, April.
• Plenary speaker, “ICAP: How to Promote Deeper Active Learning Engagement”, at the TRUSE conference on STEM education at St. Thomas Univeristy, July.
• Keynote speaker, "Implications of ICAP, a theory of student engagement for technology-enhanced practices", at the National Conference on Technology-Enhanced Learning hosted by the National University of Singapore, Nov.

2016

• Speaker, “ICAP: A theoretical framework for active learning.” Presented to the Education Development Center (EDC), Inc. New York, NY. Feb. 24.
• Presidential session speaker, “Challenging Common Sense Conceptions of Learning,” at the Public Scholarship Ed-Talk, Feb.
• Centennial Colloquium speaker, “ICAP: A theoretical framework for active learning,” at 100 th Anniversary Colloquium Series at Carnegie Mellon University Psychology Department. Pittsburgh, PA:April 19.
• Speaker, “Learning from Dialog versus Monolog Videos”. Presented at the EnFUSE Symposium hosted by the National Science Foundation’s division of undergraduate education, Washington D.C., April.
• Invited participant on an National Science Foundation-funded workshop to promote collaboration between cognitive science and discipline-based education research on STEM learning. Washington D.C. September, 2016.
• Keynote speaker, “Counter-intuitive Findings and Implications for Teaching from the Sciences of Learning. Snell Conference: Practicing the Art and Science of Teaching”, Center for the Art and Science of Teaching, Oct, 2016.

2015

• Featured speaker, “Modeling and correcting students’ misunderstanding for conceptual domains (especially in science)” at the Rice Workshop on Personalized Learning, Houston, TX: April 1.
• Colloquium speaker, “Differentiating four modes of engagement in active learning” at the Learning Sciences Research Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago Circle: April 3.
• Invited presentation on a panel on how fundamental principles of cognitive science, technology and data impact K-12 teaching and learning to the Carnegie Corporation of New York, NY: June 15.
• Award address speaker, E. L. Thorndike Career Achievement Award, American Psychological Association, in recognition for original, scientific, and empirically-based research that contributes significantly to knowledge, theory, or practice in educational psychology, July.
• One of 32 outstanding scholars of education selected to participate in the AERA Scholars Retreat and Forum Santa Fe, NM: October 1-4.
• Speaker, “Teaching the crosscutting concept of emergent cause-and- effect to overcome misconceptions.” Paper presented at the Conference on Complex Systems ’15. Tempe, AZ: September 29.
• Speaker, “Ways to enhance your understanding while you are learning.” Talk presented at Penn State University to their instructors and professors. State College, PA: Oct. 19.
• Plenary speaker, “Differentiating four modes of engagement for active learning: The ICAP framework.” A university-wide talk sponsored by the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence Penn State University, State College, PA: Oct. 20.
• Speaker, “Engaging students cognitively in active learning.” Talk presented at the AERA Coordinated Committee Meeting. Washington, DC: Oct. 23.
• Colloquium speaker, “Robust misconceptions: What are they and how to overcome them,” at the Human Development Department Colloquia at Columbia University. New York, NY: Nov. 3.

2014

• "Conceptual Change in Science,” on the plenary panel of the International Conference on Conceptual Change, University of Bologna, Italy
• Speaker, “ICAP: Differentiating four levels of engagement for active learning.” Presented at How to Actively Engage Your Students: A Workshop on Active Learning. Arizona State University: March.
• Award Address Speaker, “Differentiating 4 Modes of Engagement in Active Learning: From theory to practice.” Sylvia Scribner Award Address lecture, AERA, April.
• Plenary speaker, “Conceptual Change Across Domain: Science,” Conceptual Change Sig meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction, Bologna, Italy: Aug.
• Invited participant at IES annual meeting, Sept.

2013

• Speaker, “Overcoming misconceptions for conceptual understanding,” Paper presented at the Improving Middle School Science Instruction Using Cognitive Science, A National Conference, sponsored by IES’s National R & D Center for Cognition and Science Instruction Conference, Washington, DC: May 21-22.
• Speaker, “Using the ICAP hypothesis to Design Instruction and Student Assignments.” Talk presented at the 2013 Gordon Research Conference on Chemistry Education Research and Practice, Newport, RI, June.
• Speaker, “Why are dialogues better instructional materials than monologues?” Paper presented at the symposium Trends in Support for the Analysis of Collaborative Learning, Part 1: Support, organized by Nikol Rummel & Tamara Van Gog, Ruhr-Universitat Bochum: Aug.

2012

• Invited participant at a Gates Foundation M.I.T sponsored workshop on Quality Matters. Boston, MA: Jan. 24-25.
• Speaker, “ICAP: A Hypothesis Generated from a Framework for Differentiating Levels of Cognitive Engagement in Active Learning.” Invited talk for Pearson’s Mastering Leadership Conference, Scottsdale, AZ: March.
• Invited participant in a workshop on Optimal Teaching Workshop, UC San Diego, May.
• Presenter, “Two Approaches to Enhancing Learning: Dialogue Videos and Engagement Activities.” Talk presented at the 2012 University/Microsoft Research Summer Institute, titled Crowdsourcing Personalized Online Education, Suncadia, WA: July.
• Colloquium speaker, “Two Kinds and Four Sub-types of Misconceived Knowledge, Ways to Change it, and the Learning Outcomes.” Presented to the Mathematics and Science Education Ph.D. Program, UC San Diego: Oct.
• Colloquium speaker, “Two Kinds and Four Sub-types of Misconceived Knowledge, Ways to Change it, and the Learning Outcomes.” Presented to the joint Cognitive Science and the Learning Sciences program, Northwestern University, Nov.

2011

• Invited presenter, “Engaging Students with Differential Effectiveness: The ICAP (Interactive>Constructive>Active>Passive) Hypothesis.” Presentation at the Frontiers in Education Workshop, Pearson, Boston, Feb.
• Invited speaker, “Misconceived Causal Explanations for Emergent Science Processes.” Talk for the symposium New Approaches to the Problem of Conceptual Change in the Learning of Science and Math. Presented at the 33 rd Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Boston, July.
• Invited speaker, “Students’ Self-explanations.” Talk for the symposium Explanation-based
• mechanisms for learning: An interdisciplinary approach. Presented at the 33 rd Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Boston, July.
• Panel member to discuss explanations for the impact of dialog, in Socializing Intelligence Through Academic Talk and Dialogue, Talk titled: “What accounts for the benefits of dialoguing or learning collaboratively, for learning?” Pittsburgh, Sept.
• “Highlighted Session Speaker” at International Conference on Computers in Education, for the sub-conference track Computer-supported Collaborative Learning, Chiang-Mai, Thailand, Nov.

2010

• Plenary speaker for the Communication Analysis Workshop, Tempe, AZ.
• Presenter, “Using a Cognitive Framework of Differentiated Overt Learning Activities (DOLA) for Designing Effective Classroom Instruction in Materials Science and Nanotechnology,” poster presented at the National Science Foundation-sponsored Awardee Conference, Reston, Va. Jan.
• Presenter, “Dialogue Analyses for Learning.” Paper presented at the Communication Analyses Workshop, Tempe, AZ Feb.
• Discussant, for IES symposium Solving Problems in School: Concepts, Procedures, and Instruction to Support Learning, at the 2010 APS Annual Convention in Boston, May.
• Invited participant, “Intelligent Tutoring Systems and Games for STEM instruction.” At the ONR- sponsored workshop, UCLA CRESST, Nov.

2009

• Invited speaker, “What are misconceptions and how might they be overcome?” Brownbag presented to the Applied Psychology Program, Polytechnic Campus, ASU, Feb.
• Speaker, “Ways of optimizing student learning.” Talk presented at K-12, Hendon, VA, May 7.
• Speaker, “Expert learners.” Talk presented at the 36th Carnegie Cognition Symposium on Expertise June 2.
• Speaker, “Why are some processes so hard to understand? An instructional module targeted at misconceptions.” Talk presented at the Cognitive Science Symposium on Transfer of Learning.
• Colloquium speaker, “Ways to optimize student learning: A learner-centered approach.” Colloquium presented at the Cognitive Science Colloquium Series, Bloomington, Indiana, Oct.
• Speaker, “An instructional module targeted at misconceptions.” Talk presented at the symposium From Child to Scientist: Mechanisms of Learning and Development, Carnegie-Mellon University, Oct.

2008