U.S. and Non-U.S. Scholars

Fulbright New Century Scholars Program
Overview • Previous NCS Programs • NCS Scholar List • NCS Brochure • 2007-2008

Chen, Milton

• Executive Director
  
• The George Lucas Educational Foundation
  
• United States

Dr. Milton Chen is Executive Director of The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), a nonprofit operating foundation founded by the filmmaker in 1991. GLEF utilizes media, especially its multimedia website (www.edutopia.org), a new magazine, Edutopia: The New World of Learning, and documentary films, to tell inspiring stories of how interactive technologies are transforming America’s schools.

Prior to joining GLEF in 1998, Dr. Chen was the founding director of the KQED Center for Education & Lifelong Learning (PBS) in San Francisco. He has served as a research director at Sesame Workshop in New York, where he worked on PBS children’s series including Sesame Street, The Electric Company (reading), and 3-2-1 Contact (science). He also served for two years as an assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His research interests focus on educational innovation and the role of new technologies and media, especially the Internet.

Dr. Chen is a frequent speaker and media commentator on issues of education and the media. He is the author of more than 30 books, chapters, and articles on educational media. Dr. Chen currently serves as chair of the advisory council for the new Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at St. Vincent College in Pennsylvania. He has chaired NHK’s Japan Prize jury for educational TV and co-chaired the U. S. Department of Education’s Technology Expert Panel. He has been honored by the Congressional Black Caucus, PBS, Sesame Workshop, Parents’ Choice, and the Fred Rogers Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He is a trustee of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to environmental conservation, education, and stewardship.

Dr. Chen received an A.B. in social studies from Harvard College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in communication research from Stanford University. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, Ruth, a faculty member in health education at San Francisco State University. Their daughter is a college sophomore interested in public health.

Select Publications

• Chen, M. & Armstrong, S. (Eds.) (2002). Edutopia: Success Stories for Learning in the Digital Age. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Chen, M. (1994). The Smart Parent’s Guide to Kids’ TV. San Francisco: KQED Books.
• Chen, M. (1994, April 27). South Africa’s fast forward: Beyond bullets, building systems for learning. Education Week, 28.
• Chen, M. (1994). Television and informal science education: Assessing the state of research and evaluation. In V. Crane (Ed.), Informal Science Learning. Dedham, MA: Research Communications Ltd.
• Chen, M. & Paisley, W. J. (Eds.) (1985). Children and Microcomputers: Research on the Newest Medium. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

21st Century Schools and Colleges of Education: Models and Policies

Educational institutions have embarked on a paradigm shift in how education is conceived, designed, and delivered to a new generation of learners. I propose to study the many ways in which K-16 schools can prepare a much higher percentage of students for success in higher education and increase the diversity of race, gender, and cultural background among students and faculty in higher education. In my view, the best strategies involve making the elementary and secondary years more engaging and productive for students, using interactive teaching methods, such as project-based learning, and new technology tools. Teacher preparation in colleges of education must also be transformed to prepare teachers as true professionals who act more as managers of learning experiences for students rather than sole instructor.