Michael J. Padilla

Michael J. Padilla

Michael J. Padilla is Director of the Eugene T. Moore School of Education and Associate Dean of Educational Collaborations at Clemson University, since Spring 2007. Before then he was Aderhold Distinguished Professor of Science Education at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.[1]

Contents

Education and early career

Padilla received a B.S. in biology from the University of Detroit in 1967, an M.Ed. in science education from Wayne State University in 1972, and a Ph.D. in science education from Michigan State University in 1975.[2] He began his career as a middle and high school science teacher, and then taught at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. In 1978 he went to the University of Georgia, where he rose from assistant to full professor, to associate dean.

National Science Teachers Association

In 2005-2006 he was president of the National Science Teachers Association, from which he had received the NSTA Distinguished Service Award in 2003. Padilla is well known to the international science education community and engaged in a cooperative research project with Japanese scholars on Japanese education. The theme of his presidency was "Developing a World View for Science Education."[3] When President George W. Bush suggested teaching Intelligent design in classrooms, then NSTA president Padilla replied: "It is simply not fair to present pseudoscience to students in the science classroom," and that "Nonscientific viewpoints have little value in increasing students' knowledge of the natural world."[4] He is currently the chairman of the NSTA's International Advisory Board.[5] He helped develop the National Science Education Standards and has written extensively about science education, writing many articles, books and book chapters,[3] among them the Science Explorer series . Michael has inspired the team in developing a program that meets the needs of middle school students, promotes science inquiry.

Resources

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Administration - College of Health, Education and Human Development, Clemson University". http://www.hehd.clemson.edu/Pages/About/administration/index.php#. Retrieved 2008-06-04. 
  2. ^ "Eugene T. Moore School of Education -- Faculty Directory (by dept.)". http://www.hehd.clemson.edu/schoolofed/dir_fac_profile.php?uName=padilla. Retrieved 2008-06-04. 
  3. ^ a b "NSTA - NSTA Leadership". http://www3.nsta.org/nstaleadership. Retrieved 2008-06-04. 
  4. ^ "NSTA Disappointed About Intelligent Design Comments Made by President Bush". http://www3.nsta.org/main/news/stories/nsta_story.php?news_story_ID=50792. Retrieved 2008-06-04. 
  5. ^ "NSTA :: International Advisory Board". http://www.nsta.org/portals/international/advisoryboard.aspx. Retrieved 2008-06-04. 


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