Richard Lesh
Encyclopedia
Richard Lesh is a professor of Learning Sciences
, Cognitive Science
, and Mathematics Education
at Indiana University
in Bloomington, Indiana
. He graduated from Indiana University
in 1971 with a Ph.D. in Mathematics
, Cognitive Psychology
, and Statistics for Research in the Social Sciences. He is also a graduate of Hanover College
where he received a B.A. in Mathematics
and Physics
.
Dick Lesh is the originator of the Models and Modeling Perspectives research area of Mathematics education
and as the creator of the model-eliciting activity, which is designed to help reveal thinking processes to students, teachers, and researchers.
In his work life, Dick Lesh has worked at a variety of career positions including as Principal Research Scientist at Educational Testing Services, where he tried to develop various alternative assessment
techniques that could be used to detect learning traditional assessment strategies did not. Yet despite these accomplishments, he is probably best noted and most impressionable for his teaching of countless students and for his hobbies which include playing the harmonica
and the didgeridoo
and for having started the blues band “Professing Bull.”
Learning sciences
The term Learning Sciences refers to an interdisciplinary field that works to further scientific understanding of learning as well as to engage in the design and implementation of learning innovations, and improvement of instructional methodologies...
, Cognitive Science
Cognitive science
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...
, and Mathematics Education
Mathematics education
In contemporary education, mathematics education is the practice of teaching and learning mathematics, along with the associated scholarly research....
at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
in Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
. He graduated from Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
in 1971 with a Ph.D. in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems.Cognitive psychology differs from previous psychological approaches in two key ways....
, and Statistics for Research in the Social Sciences. He is also a graduate of Hanover College
Hanover College
Hanover College is a private liberal arts college, located in Hanover, Indiana, near the banks of the Ohio River. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . The college was founded in 1827 by the Rev. John Finley Crowe, making it the oldest private college in Indiana. The Hanover...
where he received a B.A. in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
.
Dick Lesh is the originator of the Models and Modeling Perspectives research area of Mathematics education
Mathematics education
In contemporary education, mathematics education is the practice of teaching and learning mathematics, along with the associated scholarly research....
and as the creator of the model-eliciting activity, which is designed to help reveal thinking processes to students, teachers, and researchers.
In his work life, Dick Lesh has worked at a variety of career positions including as Principal Research Scientist at Educational Testing Services, where he tried to develop various alternative assessment
Alternative assessment
In the education industry, alternative assessment or portfolio assessment is in direct contrast to what is known as performance evaluation, traditional assessment, standardized assessment or summative assessment...
techniques that could be used to detect learning traditional assessment strategies did not. Yet despite these accomplishments, he is probably best noted and most impressionable for his teaching of countless students and for his hobbies which include playing the harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and the didgeridoo
Didgeridoo
The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
and for having started the blues band “Professing Bull.”
Major Areas of Research
- Foundations for the Future
- Multi-Tier Design Study A form of Design-Based ResearchDesign-Based ResearchDesign-based research is a type of research methodology commonly used by researchers in the Learning Sciences. Within Design-Based Research methodology, interventions are conceptualized and then implemented in natural settings in order to test the ecological validity of dominant theory and to...
described by Kelly, Lesh, and Baek involving researchers & evolving experts, teachers, and students all in the process of revising their models. - Research in Models and Modeling Perspectives