NASHVILLE, Tenn. ñ Vanderbilt University professors Lynn Fuchs and Doug
Fuchs are the recipients of the Special Education Research Special
Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association (AERA)
2005 Distinguished Research Award.
The award was presented to the husband-wife research team at the AERA annual meeting, April 11-15, in Montreal.
The Fuchs are professors of special education, hold the Nicholas Hobbs
Chair in Special Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt‘s
Peabody College, and are investigators in the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center
for Research on Human Development.
The AERA award recognizes their career accomplishments in the field of
special education. Members of the Vanderbilt faculty since 1985, the
Fuchs have pioneered innovations in reading, math, assessment and
learning disabilities. Their concept of Peer-Assisted Learning
Strategies (PALS), which creates pairs of students in the classroom for
peer tutoring, has been widely disseminated.
“Lynn and Doug Fuchs have made critical contributions to special
education that have benefited students in classrooms across the
country, most notably in peer-assisted learning and in literacy,” said
Camilla P. Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human
Development at Peabody College. “Their work is a prominent part of why
special education at Peabody is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation.”
The Fuchs‘ research is dedicated to identifying assessment and
instructional procedures that increase the school achievement of
students with diverse learning needs. Their work revolves around
teachers, allowing for researcher-teacher collaboration to help ensure
that the practices that are developed and tested are both meaningful
and feasible.
AERA is the most prominent international professional organization with
the primary goal of advancing educational research and its practical
application. Its 22,000 members are educators; administrators;
directors of research; persons working with testing or evaluation in
federal, state, and local agencies; counselors; evaluators; graduate
students; and behavioral scientists.
Media contacts: Jan Rosemergy, (615) 322-8240
jan.rosemergy@vanderbilt.edu
Melanie Catania, (615) 322-NEWS
melanie.moran@vanderbilt.edu