Education expertise wins professor alumni award

Posted: March 07, 2011

ASU professor James Middleton

ASU professor James Middleton has been selected to receive the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Wisconsin School of Education.

The school’s educational psychology and curriculum and instruction programs consistently have been ranked No. 1 in the country by U.S. News and World Report. The alumni award recognizes Middleton’s career accomplishments in both areas.

Middleton earned his doctorate in educational psychology and mathematics education from the University of Wisconsin in 1992. He’s now a professor of engineering education in the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, one of ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.

He is a former chair of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Research Committee, and is currently director of ASU’s Center for Research on Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (CRESMET), which works to improve education in those subjects in K-12 schools.

“Jim Middleton is playing a leading role in our efforts to enhance engineering education,” says James Collofello, an associate dean who directs the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering’s Office of Academic and Student Affairs. “He’s helping incorporate instructional methods into our freshman engineering courses that research has proven to be the most effective in teaching students. And his work is pivotal to our goal of introducing more engineering education into K-12 schools.”

Middleton was awarded ASU’s College of Education Distinguished Research Award for the 1996-1997 academic year. He has garnered more than $20 million in external funding to support research and improvement of science, technology, engineering and math education, and has served on numerous local, state and national committees for the development of standards for improving STEM instruction.

He has written or co-written more than 50 articles based on his research, including a book that proposes changes in approaches to teaching mathematics. His most recent work is a book on motivation in mathematics to be published in the spring.

Middleton will be presented the alumni award at a special School of Education event during American Education Week in November. He will address the school’s faculty, students and staff on the topic of linking research and practical education reform.