Michael J. Padilla is the former Director of the Eugene P. Moore School of Education and Associate Dean of EC at

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, from Spring 2007 until July 2012. Before then he was Aderhold Distinguished Professor of Science Education at the

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. Dr. Padilla was recognized wit
The Walter B. Hill Award for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service
at the University of Georgia and was presented with the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Distinguished Service award in 2003. In 2012 Padilla was awarded th
NSTA Robert H. Carleton award
for national leadership, the association's most prestigious award. The Carleton Award recognizes an NSTA member who has made outstanding contributions to and provided leadership in science education at the national level and to NSTA in particular; it is NSTA's highest award. He has extensive leadership experience, having served as PI on four

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and numerous US Department of Education grants for a total of over $36 million in funding. In recent years he has focused on the issue of English Language Learners through the Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education (CLASE) at UGA and the Clemson University Commission on Latino Affairs, both of which he directed.

Education and early career

Padilla received a B.S. in biology from the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catho ...

in 1967, an M.Ed. in science education from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

in 1972, and a Ph.D. in science education from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

in 1975. He began his career as a middle and high school science teacher, and then taught at the

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. In 1978 he went to the

, 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. 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." When President

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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." He remains active with NSTA through several international and national efforts.. He helped develop the National Science Education Standards, released in 1995, contributed to the review of the Next Generation Science Standards, released in 2013, and has written extensively about science education, including many articles, books and book chapters. With Pearson, Dr. Padilla has been a lead author on these titles:

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Science Explorer, has been the nation's leading middle school science program through 2011, and is still considered an exceptional fit for today's classroom. Lead author Michael Padilla weaves together content with hands-on science inquiry that's sure to reach every student. By making the program available in 16 small books or as the Life, Earth, and Physical series, teachers have found customization and curricular options to better match local standards, scope and sequence, and divergent teaching styles. Interactive Science is a comprehensive K-8 science program, that utilizes the practices in science instruction, featuring the Understanding by Design learning framework, the 5-E Instructional Model, and an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), as well as 21st Century skills. Written by an influential team of scientists and science educators, the Interactive Science program is based on research and effective pedagogy. This ground-breaking program: :* Employs a distinct and unique student experience - an interactive write in student text. This allows students a medium to process information while they are learning it, to focus on key reading, writing, and communication skills in perfect partnership with science content. :* Offers multiple pathways to learning that is also unprecedented with informal, formal, STEM, and activity-centric learning to ensure a key focus on inquiry at every stage of instruction. :* Ensures all students can learn with a robust digital component - the Digital Path - that both mirrors and extends the core instruction through interactive media, videos, virtual labs, and an online "kinesthetic" that requires students to be active, participatory learners and not simply "press play."

Resources

* Prentice Hall Science Explorer (books).
PHSchool Website

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Padilla, Michael J. American education writers University of Georgia faculty University of Detroit Mercy alumni Wayne State University alumni Michigan State University alumni Clemson University faculty Living people Year of birth missing (living people)