Paul A. Kirschner
Paul A. Kirschner (1951) is Professor Emeritus at the Open University of the Netherlands, Honorary Doctor (Doctor Honoris Causa) at the University of Oulu, Finland, and Guest Professor at Thomas More university of applied sciences in Flanders, Belgium. Prior to his retirement he was Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Educational Psychology at the Open University of the Netherlands and Visiting Professor of Education at the University of Oulu, Finland.
He is an internationally recognized expert in his field. A few notable examples of his expertise is his presidency of the International Society for the Learning Sciences and his status as fellow at that society and research fellow at both the American Educational Research Association and the Netherland Institute for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences and Humanities. He was also a member of the Scientific Technical Council of the Foundation for University Computing Facilities (SURF WTR) as well as of the Dutch Educational Council (Onderwijsraad) where he was advisor to the minister of education.
He has published more than 350 scientific articles as well as hundreds of popular scientific articles and blogs for teachers and school administrators in both English and Dutch. He is also (co)author of a number of very successful books, including Ten Steps to Complex Learning (now in its third revised edition and translated/published in Korea and China) and two different volumes of Urban Legends about Learning and Education (also in Dutch, Swedish, and Chinese) as well as the forthcoming books Evidence Informed Learning Design and How Learning Happens: Seminal Works in Educational Psychology and What They Mean in Practice. He is author of a number of Dutch books including Op de Shouders van Reuzen [On the Shoulders of Giants] and Wijze Lessen[Wise Lessons]. He also co-edited two other books (Visualizing Argumentation and What we know about CSCL). He is also chief editor of the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning and commissioning editor of Computers in Human Behavior.
His areas of expertise include lifelong learning, computer supported collaborative learning, designing electronic and other innovative learning environments, open educational resources, media-use in education, development of teacher extensive (distance) learning materials, use of practicals for the acquisition of cognitive skills and competencies, design and development of electronic learning and working environments, and innovation and the use of information technology educational systems.