Joseph D. Novak
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Joseph Donald Novak (December 2, 1930 – September 22, 2023) was an American educator, and professor emeritus at the
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
, and senior research scientist at the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition. He is known for his development of
concept map A concept map or conceptual diagram is a diagram that depicts suggested relationships between concepts. Concept maps may be used by instructional designers, engineers, technical writers, and others to organize and structure knowledge. A conc ...
ping in the 1970s.


Biography

Joseph Novak received a B.S. in Science and Mathematics in 1952 from the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
, an M.S. in Science Education in 1954 from the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
, and completed his graduate studies in Science Education & Biology at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
in 1958. Novak started teaching biology at Kansas State Teachers College at Emporia from 1957 to 1959, and biology and teacher education courses at
Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
from 1959 to 1967. From 1967 to 1995, he was Professor of Education and Biological sciences at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
. His students at Cornell included Saundra McGuire. Since 1998 he has also been Visiting Senior Scientist, at the
University of West Florida The University of West Florida (West Florida or UWF) is a public university in Pensacola, Florida, United States. Established in 1963 as a member institution of the State University System of Florida, the University of West Florida is a comprehe ...
, Institute for Human & Machine Cognition. He has consulted with more than 400 schools, universities, and corporations, including recent work with
Procter and Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/cons ...
,
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
, the Department of the Navy, and EPRI.Joseph D. Novak
IHMC Senior Research Scientist, 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
Novak received a number of awards and honors including: a 1998 Honorary Doctorate from The University of Comahue, Neuquén, Argentina; a 2002 Honorary Doctorate from the Public University of Navarra,
Pamplona, Spain Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood plain of th ...
; a 2006 Honorary Doctorate from the
University of Urbino The University of Urbino Carlo Bo (, ''UniUrb'') is an Italian university located in Urbino, in the region of Marche, in north-eastern central Italy. The main campus occupies numerous buildings throughout the historic Urbino town center and the ...
; and the first award for contributions to science education from the Council of Scientific Society Presidents. Novak died on September 22, 2023, at the age of 92.


Work

Novak's research focused on human learning, educational studies, and
knowledge creation The knowledge economy, or knowledge-based economy, is an economic system in which the production of goods and services is based principally on knowledge-intensive activities that contribute to advancement in technical and scientific innovation. ...
and
representation Representation may refer to: Law and politics *Representation (politics), political activities undertaken by elected representatives, as well as other theories ** Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a ...
. He has developed a theory of education to guide research and instruction, first published in 1977 and updated in 1998. His latest research work includes studies on students' ideas on learning and epistemology, and methods of applying educational ideas and tools (such as concept mapping) in corporate settings and distance learning programs. Present work includes the development of "expert" concept maps to "scaffold" learning, using CMapping with Internet and other resources, providing A New Model for Education.


Concept mapping

Beginning in the 1970s, Novak and his research team at Cornell developed the technique of concept mapping as a means of representing the emerging science knowledge of students. It has subsequently been used as a tool to increase meaningful learning in the sciences and other subjects as well as to represent the expert knowledge of individuals and teams in education, government and business. Concept maps have their origin in the learning movement called
constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in the Soviet Union in t ...
. Educational constructivists hold that learners actively construct knowledge. In his book, ''Learning How to Learn'', Novak states that "meaningful learning involves the assimilation of new concepts and propositions into existing cognitive structures." In his research, Novak taught students as young as six years old to make concept maps to represent their response to focus questions such as "What is water?" and "What causes the seasons?" Novak's work is based on the assimilation theory of cognitivist
David Ausubel David Paul Ausubel (October 25, 1918 – July 9, 2008) was an American psychologist. His most significant contribution to the fields of educational psychology, cognitive science, and science education learning was on the development and researc ...
, who stressed the importance of prior knowledge in being able to learn new concepts. :"The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach accordingly."Ausubel, D. (1968) Educational Psychology: A Cognitive View. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York. In his work, Novak presents concept mapping as a valuable tool for educators in assessing the structure of student conceptions, both before and after an educational experience.


Publications

Novak is author or coauthor of 27 books and more than 130 book chapters and papers in professional books and journals, among them: * 1970. ''The improvement of biology teaching''. Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill. * 1973. ''A summary of research in science education for 1972''. Columbus : Ohio State University, ERIC Information Analysis Center for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education. * 1977. ''A theory of education''. Ithaca, N.Y. : Cornell University Press, 1977. * 1984. ''Learning How to Learn''. With D.B. Gowin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * 1988. ''Teaching Science for Understanding''. With J. Mintzes and J. Wandersee. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. * 1996. ''Aprendizaje Significativo: Técnicas y Aplicaciones''. With Fermin M. González. Serie: Educación y Futuro #18. Madrid (Spain): Ediciones Pedagógicas. * 1998. ''Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge: Concept maps as facilitative tools for schools and corporations''. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum & Assoc. * 2000. ''Assessing Science Understanding''. With J. Mintzes and J. Wandersee. San Diego, CA: Academic Press * 2001. ''Errores Conceptuales: Diagnosis, Tratamiento Y Reflexiones''. With Fermin González and Ciriaco Morón. Pamplona (Spain): Ediciones Eunate. * 2004. ''Concept Maps: Theory, Methodology, Technology, Proceedings of the First International Conference on Concept Mapping, Pamplona, Spain (September 14–17, 2004)''. With A.J. Cañas, and Fermin M. González (Eds.). Editorial Universidad Pública de Navarra.


References


External links


Joseph D. Novak
at Cornell University and University of West Florida, Institute for Human and Machine Cognition.
Joseph D. Novak
IHMC Senior Research Scientist, 2004.
Joseph D. Novak
autobiography, 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Novak, Joseph D. 1930 births 2023 deaths American educators Constructivism (psychological school) Data and information visualization experts University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development alumni Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition people Cornell University faculty