The 2020 ISDDE Prize

for Excellence in Educational Design

Joseph Krajcik

ISDDE has awarded the prestigious Prize for Excellence in Educational Design to the value of $5,000 to Joseph Krajcik, Lappan-Phillips Professor of Science Education at Michigan State University, USA.  Joe is an expert designer of instructional materials. He leads the CREATE for STEM Institute, a joint institute between the College of Natural Science and the College of Education at Michigan State and has been a pioneering leader in STEM education for decades with his impact acknowledged globally.

The prize is to be acknowledged at the ISDDE’s international one-day conference on Wednesday 24th March, 2021 being held in three different time zones focusing on  the Far East, Europe/Africa and the Americas. On hearing of the award Joe said, “I am very honored to receive this very distinguished recognition in design and development in education.” He is looking forward to, uniquely, having the award acknowledged in the three different time zones during the virtual conference of ISDDE and will give a keynote address to the next face-to-face conference of the society.

Joe’s nomination for the ISDDE Prize was supported by educators from around the world with his work being acknowledged as exceptional in its wide range of support for learners in STEM. This support highlights how his work has included “design of science curricula, pedagogical approaches, such as project-based learning, new type of activities and assessment methods. Science teachers all over the world have implemented these designs in their science classes and improved the learning outcomes and level of students’ engagement in science learning.” Joe’s design and research has been systematic in various international teams with rigorous trials involving science teachers and their students ensuring high quality products for use with learners.