Valerie Crawford

Senior Research Scientist

Dr. Valerie Crawford is a senior scientist. Dr. Crawford’s fundamental interest is in designing and evaluating technology innovations that improve learning and teaching. Much of her work focuses on designing innovations for mobile devices and virtual worlds. Dr. Crawford also conducts research on innovation. She is currently principal investigator of three National Science Foundation grants, all investigating aspects of innovation in groups and in professional practice. Dr. Crawford works with both private and public sector clients on product innovation, bringing research insights to the product development process. Dr. Crawford holds a doctorate in developmental psychology.

Education

Ph.D., Developmental Psychology, Clark University, 2006
M.A., Developmental Psychology, Clark University, 1996
B.A., Communication, University of California, San Diego, 1989

Professional Experience

Senior Researcher, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA (2005-present)
Social Science Researcher, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA (2000-2004)
Manager, Office of Research and Evaluation, San Francisco Unified School District, San Francisco, CA (1999-2000)
Lecturer, Education Department, Clark University, Worcester, MA (1998-1999)
Independent Evaluation Consultant, Worcester, MA (1995-1999)

Research Areas at CTL

Assessment
Evaluation
Learning Environments
Teacher Learning (Leader)
Technology Development

Current Projects at CTL

Past Projects at CTL

ALASKA: Applet and Library Augmented Shared Knowledge Areas ended 2006
Building Social and Technical Infrastructure for Teacher Mentoring, Coaching, and Peer Support ended 2003
CATAALYST: Planning an experimental study of the participation and achievement outcomes of a classroom-network-supported pedagogy ended 2004
Center for Embedded Networked Sensing Education Cyber-Infrastructure (CENSEI) (Leader) ended 2008
Evaluation of Earth Science by Design (ESBD) (Leader) ended 2005
GenTalk ended 2003
Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center ended 2009
MAESTRo: A study of teachers’ problem solving processes and collegial collaboration and learning through practice (Leader) ended 2009
Palm Education Pioneers Program (PEP) ended 2002
Professional Development Decisions Using Data ended 2006
Worldwatcher Curriculum (Leader) ended 2002

Publications

Crawford, V. M., Schlager, M., Penuel, W. R., & Toyama, Y. (2008). Supporting the art of teaching in a data-rich, high performance learning environment. In E. B. Mandinach & M. Honey (Eds.), Linking data and learning (pp. 109-129). New York: Teachers College Press.
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Crawford, V. M. (2007). Adaptive expertise as knowledge building in science teachers’ problem solving. Proceedings of the Second European Cognitive Science Society (EuroCogSci07). May 23-27, 2007, Delphi, Greece.
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Crawford, V. M. (2007, June). Creating a powerful learning environment with networked mobile learning devices. Educational Technology Magazine: The Magazine for Managers of Change in Education, 47(3), 47-50
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Penuel, W.R., Boscardin, C.K., Masyn, K., Crawford, V., (2007). Teaching with student response systems in elementary and secondary education settings: A survey study. Educational Technology Research and Development, 55, 315-346.
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Crawford, V. M. & Brophy, S. (2006). Adaptive Expertise: Methods, Findings, and Emerging Issues. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.
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Crawford, V. M. (2005, June). Technology for teaching—what’s coming: Enhancing teaching and learning with networked mobile technology. Presentation for the Trends in Mobile Technology for K-16 Teaching and Learning Symposium, National Educational Computing Conference, June 27-30, Philadelphia, PA.
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Crawford, V. M. (2005, November). Guest Editorial: New directions for ed tech development. Leading & Learning with Technology, p. 48. Washington, DC: International Society for Technology in Education.
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Crawford, V. M., Schlager, M., Toyama, Y., Riel, M., & Vahey, P. (2005). Characterizing adaptive expertise in science teaching: Report on a laboratory study of teacher reasoning. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association, April 11–15, 2005, Montreal, Canada.
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Penuel, W. R., Crawford, V., Boscardin, C. K., Masyn, K., Debarger, A. H., & Urdan, T. C. (2005). Teaching with student response system technology: A survey of K-12 teachers. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.
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Penuel, W.R., Roschelle, J., Crawford, V., Shechtman, N. & Abrahamson, L. (2004). Workshop report: Advancing research on the transformative potential of interactive pedagogies and classroom networks. Menlo Park: SRI International.
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Bienkowski, M. A., Crawford, V. C., Hurst, K., & Sandoval, W. A. (2002). How students coordinate the use of representations and explanations in introductory genetics learning. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
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Bienkowski, M., Crawford V., & Hurst, K. (2002). Construction of scientific explanations in genetics. Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, New Orleans, LA.
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Crawford, V. & Vahey, P. (2002). Innovating the Use of Handheld Technology in K-12 Teaching and Learning: Results from the Palm Education Pioneers Program. Presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Conference. New Orleans, April 1-5, 2002.
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Crawford, V. M. (2002, June). The promise of handhelds for K-12 teaching and learning. Paper presentation at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), San Antonio, TX.
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Crawford, V. M. (2002, April). Understanding the impact of handheld technology on teaching and learning: Evaluation results from Round I of the Palm Education Pioneers Program.
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Crawford, V. M., & Toyama, Y. (2002). WorldWatcher Looking At The Environment Curriculum: Final External Evaluation Report. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.
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Crawford, V. M., & Vahey, P. (2002). Palm Education Pioneers Program March 2002 Evaluation Report. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.
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Crawford, V. M., & Valsiner, J. (2002). Interpretation and positionality in methodology. In G. Misra (Ed.), Explorations in the cultural foundations of psychology. New Delhi: Sage Publications.
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Crawford, V. M., Sandoval, B., Bienkowski, M., & Hurst, K. (2002). Mediation of genetics learning by phenomenological and discursive representations. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Educational Researchers, April 1-5, 2002, New Orleans, LA.
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Heinricher, A., Miller, J., Schacterle, L. E., Kildahl, N., Bluemel, V., & Crawford, V. M. (2002). Undergraduate learning-portfolios for institutional assessment. Journal of Engineering Education, 91(2), 249-253.
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Vahey, P. & Crawford, V. (2002). Palm Education Pioneers Program Final Evaluation Report. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.
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Crawford, V. M. & Toyama, Y. (2001, April). Assessment of student technology proficiency and an analysis of the need for technology proficiency assessments: A review of state approaches. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Educational Researchers, April 1-5, 2002, New Orleans, LA.
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Crawford, V. M. & Toyama, Y. (2001, August). Assessing the technology proficiencies of educators and students: Report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.
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Means, B., Penuel, W. R., Crawford, V. M., Korbak, C., Lewis, A., Murphy, R. F., Shear, L., Villavicencio, C., Vinson, E. Y., & Yarnall, L. (2001). GLOBE Year 6 evaluation: Explaining variation in implementation. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.
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Penuel, W. R., & Crawford, V. M. (2001, July). Developing a GLOBE assessment in North Carolina. Paper presented at the Sixth Annual GLOBE Conference, Blaine, WA.
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Vahey, P. & Crawford, V. (2001). Palm Education Pioneers program round I preliminary evaluation report. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.
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Crawford, V. M., & Valsiner, J. (1999). Editorial essay for special issue on discourse analysis & cultural psychology. Culture & Psychology, 5(3), 259-269.
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