KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

DAVID BERLINER is Regents’ Professor of Education at Arizona State University. He has taught at the University of Arizona, University of Massachusetts, Columbia Teachers College, Stanford University, as well as universities in Australia, The Netherlands, and Spain. Dr. Berliner is a member of the National Academy of Education, a Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and a past President of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Division of Educational Psychology of the American Psychological Association (APA). He is the recipient of awards for distinguished contributions from APA, AERA, and the National Education Association (NEA). He is co-author of the best seller, The Manufactured Crisis, co-author (with Ursula Casanova) of Putting Research to Work in Your School, and co-author (with N.L. Gage) of the textbook, Educational Psychology, 6th ed. He is Co-Editor of The Handbook of Educational Psychology and the books Talks to Teachers and Perspectives on Instructional Time. He has also authored more than 200 published articles, technical reports, and book chapters. His latest book is on the “corruption” of professional educators through high-stakes testing.

KIMBERLY OLIVER, a teacher at Broad Acres Elementary School in the Montgomery County School District, Silver Spring, Maryland, is the 56th National Teacher of the Year. She has helped improve student performance and helped this elementary school reform enough to prevent being taken over by that state. Broad Acres is challenged by the community’s high poverty and family motility rates, as well as issues of diversity in race and language. Ms. Oliver led Broad Acres Elementary School teachers in implementing programs to ensure consistency in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Since 2003, her efforts have helped Broad Acres Elementary School meet or exceed all requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and Broad Acres Elementary School has led the school system in percentage of increased test scores. Kimberly helped sponsor the school-wide event, “Books and supper Night,” four times a year. This school/community activity encourages families to check out books from the school library. Parents and guardians who attend the event read together, receive free books to facilitate home family reading, and enjoy a communal dinner with their neighbors. Ms. Oliver has also received grants to purchase electronic learning systems, tape players, and books in English and Spanish to send home with students.

ROBERT J. YINGER is Professor of Educational Studies and Teacher Education at the University of Cincinnati and Research Director for the Ohio Teacher Quality Partnership. From 1998 to 2005, he was Dean of the School of Education and Professor of Educational Psychology at Baylor University. Dr. Yinger has published extensively in the areas of professional knowledge, teacher cognition, teacher education, and professional standards. His current scholarship focuses on the relationship of the professions to democratic social institutions and to civil society. Dr. Yinger received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University and has held appointments as Visiting Professor at Stanford University, Distinguished Scholar at the University of Alberta, Noted Scholar at the University of British Columbia, Noted Scholar and External Examiner at the University of Hong Kong, and Visiting Scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the advancement of Teaching. Dr. Yinger is immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) and past President of the Holmes Partnership.

ARTHUR LEVINE is the sixth president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.  Before his appointment at Woodrow Wilson, he was president and professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He also previously served as chair of the higher education program, chair of the Institute for Educational Management, and senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr. Levine is the author of dozens of articles and reviews. His most recent work is the study Educating School Teachers, a project coordinated by the Education Schools Project, an independent initiative supported by the Annenberg, Ford, Ewing Marion Kauffman, and Wallace Foundations. He is also the author of When Hope and Fear Collide: A Portrait of Today’s College Student (with Jeanette S. Cureton), Beating the Odds: How the Poor Get to College (with Jana Nidiffer), Higher Learning in America; Shaping Higher Education’s Future, When Dreams and Heroes Died: A Portrait of Today’s College Students, and Handbook on Undergraduate Curriculum; Quest for Common Learning (with Ernest Boyer). Much of his research and writing in recent years has focused on increasing access to higher education and improving equity in the schools. Dr. Levine has received numerous honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Carnegie Fellowship, as well as the American Council on Education’s “Book of the Year” award (for Reform of Undergraduate Education), the Educational Press Association’s “Annual Award” for writing (three times), and 17 honorary degrees. He currently sits on the Boards of Blackboard, Inc., DePaul University, and All Kinds of Minds.  He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Levine was also previously President of Bradford College (1982-1989) and Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Foundation and Carnegie Council for Policy Studies in Higher Education (1975-1982).  He received his bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University and his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.