David Pearson & Rob Tierney
Dr. Robert Tierney is known for his work in the areas of reading and the reading-writing connection, theories of literacy instruction and research, and teaching, learning, and researching with digital literacies, and global developments in literacy. Rob has published numerous books and scholarly articles focused on literacy education, teacher development, cross-national educational research, educational assessment and equity. Rob is a recent Past-President of the Board of the International Literacy Association. He currently serves as the Lead Editor for the International Encyclopedia of Education and has served as editor of Reading Research Quarterly and an editorial board member to the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Researcher, the British Educational Research Journal, Journal of Literacy Research, and Reading Research Quarterly. Rob has worked in the United States, Canada, Australia, Africa, and China. He has received research funding for various US government and Canadian agencies. Rob has been engaged in projects for UNESCO in Africa, Children’s Television Workshop, Apple Computer, the World Bank, and various foundations and university consortium groups globally, across America, and the Asia-Pacific region. In Canada, Rob served as the President of the Association of Canadian Deans of Education where he guided the formulation of the General Accord, a National Accord on Teacher Education, and a National Accord on Education Research. In Australia, he has been actively involved in national, state and local teacher education, educational research and indigenous efforts including with the Association of Australia Council of Deans of Education and affiliates. During his time in the US, he was President of the Literacy Research Association and Chair of the National Assembly of Research for the National Council of Teachers of English. He has been the recipient of a number of international and national awards including the W. S. Gray Citation of Merit Award for contributions to literacy education, American Council of Teacher Education Award for contributions to Teacher Education, and Beijing Normal University Award for contributions to international research collaborations. In 2000, he was inducted in the Reading Hall of Fame. In Canada, he received an award and lifetime membership in the Association of Canadian Deans of Education for his work. He was a Professor and former Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia, an Honorary Professor and immediate Past Dean of the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney, a Visiting Distinguished Scholar at Beijing Normal University, and a conjoint Professor for the Wollotuka Centre at the University of Newcastle. Rob is Professor Emeritus and Dean Emeritus of the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia.
Dr. P. David Pearson is known for his work in the areas of literacy history, literacy policy, and literacy practice. He has authored more than 300 books, articles, and chapters with almost 300 co-authors. Notably, he has written and co-edited the Handbook of Reading Research, now in its fourth edition. He has served on the Boards for Reading Research Quarterly, Science, Journal of Literacy Research, Journal of Educational Psychology, Cognition and Instruction, Research in Teaching English, and Review of Educational Research. He has served multiple terms as editor of 3 major research publications-- Reading Research Quarterly, National Reading Conference Yearbook, and Review of Research in Education. David has received numerous awards throughout his career, including the 1989 Oscar Causey Award from the National Reading Conference (now the Literacy Research Association) for outstanding contributions to reading research and, in 1990, the William S.Gray Citation of Merit from the International Reading Association (now International Literacy Association) for his contributions to theory, research, and practice. In 1990, he was also inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame. He became a member of the National Academy of Education in 2003, and in 2004, he received the Alan Purves Award from National Council of Teachers of English for the Research in Teaching English article most likely to influence practice. In 2005, he received the Albert J. Harris Award from IRA for scholarship on reading difficulties. In 2006, the University of Minnesota honored him with the Alumni Outstanding Achievement Award, the highest non-academic award given at the University, for his contributions to educational research and practice. In 2009, he was elected to membership as a Fellow of the AERA. In 2010, he received the American Educational Research Association Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award. In 2012, the Literacy Research Association created the P. David Pearson Scholarly Influence Award to honor scholarship that impacts literacy practice. He has served as an advisor to the National Academy of Science, the Children's Television Workshop (now the Sesame Workshop), many school districts and state agencies, as well as educational public and private educational enterprises. He has been a reading program author for multiple publishers. David has enjoyed a long career in positions as faculty member, a Dean, and Center director at four universities, University of Minnesota Minneapolis, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Michigan State, and University of California Berkeley. Dr. Pearson is now emeritus faculty at the University of California, Berkeley.
You can connect with David at ppearson@berkeley.edu and on Facebook
You can reach Rob at rob.tierney@ubc.ca and learn more at literacyresearchcommons.org.
Persohn, L. (Host). (2024, August 13). A conversation with Robert J. Tierney and P. David Pearson (Season 5, No. 1) [Audio podcast episode]. In Classroom Caffeine Podcast series. https://www.classroomcaffeine.com/guests. DOI: 10.5240/1A29-D7AD-44C6-8249-6117-F