Lauren B. Resnick is an educational psychologist who has made notable contributions to the cognitive science of learning and instruction. She is a professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, and was previously director of the University's Learning Research and Development Center. In 1986-1987, Resnick was the president of the American Educational Research Association. She received the 1998 E. L. Thorndike Award from the American Psychological Association. In her book "Education and Learning to Think" and the 1987 Presidential Address, she proposed that the concept of out of school learning is very beneficial for children and young adults. In her address she stated: "Because they are continuously engaged with objects and situations that make sense to them, people do not fall into the trap of forgetting what their calculation or their reasoning is about". Having discovered her passion for history and literature while pursuing her bachelor's degree at Radcliffe College, Resnick continued her studies earning both a master's degree in teaching and her doctorate from Harvard University before teaching abroad at the American School of Paris. In addition to working as a research associate for the Harvard University Committee on Programmed Instruction and Laboratory for Research in Instruction and then as a lecturer in the Office of Research and Evaluation in the Division of Teacher Education at City University of New York, Resnick also served as a Senior Scientist and Staff Consultant at Basic Systems, Inc. before accepting her first faculty position at the University of Pittsburgh. As a faculty member, educational researcher, and scholar, Resnick has dedicated more than 50 years to conducting pioneering research on learning and development, scientific understanding in children, and socially shared cognition. As past president of the American Educational Research Association and a member of both the National Academy of Education and International Academy of Education, she has served as an invited lecturer, visiting scholar, and keynote speaker at universities around the world. In recognition of her distinguished contributions to research, she has received numerous awards and honors including as a Fellow in the American Psychological Association and American Association for the Advancement of Science ; Lifetime National Associate of the National Academies of Sciences ; Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education ; Edward L. Thorndike Award for Distinguished Psychological Contributions to Education ; Oeuvre Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Science of Learning and Instruction ; Award for Distinguished Contributions of Applications of Psychology to Education and Training ; Wallace Foundation Distinguished Lecture Award ; and the FABBS Award. As of 2016, Resnick published more than 200 scholarly works that have been cited more than 25,000 times. Her recent authored and edited books include: Socializing Intelligence Through Academic Talk and Dialogue ; Reading and Writing with Understanding ; Reading and Writing Grade by Grade ; and Speaking and Listening for Preschool through Third Grade.
