David Fortus
What was your M.A. and/or Ph.D. specialty at Michigan?
MSc in theoretical physics from Technion in Israel
PhD in Curriculum & Instruction in Science Education
from UM
What year did you graduate?
2003
What is your present position?
Senior Scientist at Weizmann Institute of Science in ISRAEL
& Assistant Professor in Teacher Education at Michigan State University
What is the title of your dissertation?
DESIGN-BASED SCIENCE AND THE TRANSFER OF SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE AND REAL-WORLD PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
Design-Based Science (DBS) is a new pedagogy that was developed as a response to the potential problem of transfer of knowledge from academic settings to extra-classroom environments. This dissertation describes DBS in detail and demonstrates that: (a) appropriate learning environments can foster transfer, (b) transfer performance can improve over time, and (c) that it may be necessary to rethink and redefine the procedures for identifying and assessing real-world transfer.
What did you learn in the program? Why was the program of value to you?
The program gave me an excellent background in learning theory and outstanding experience in curriculum development. It exposed me to a wide network of leaders in the field which has supported me ever since. But most important, it provided me with exceptional personal mentorship, the like which I have not seen elsewhere.
Prior to coming to the SOE what did you do?
Captain in the Air Force, Project manager in the hi-tech industry, and high school physics teacher.
