James A. Middleton

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James A. Middleton is Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and former Director of the Center for Research on Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology at Arizona State University. Previously, he held the Elmhurst Energy Chair in STEM education at the University of Birmingham in the UK. Prior to these appointments, Dr. Middleton served as Associate Dean for Research for the Mary Lou Fulton College of Education at Arizona State University, and later as Director of the Division of Curriculum and Instruction. He received his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1992, where he also served in the National Center for Research on Mathematical Sciences Education as a postdoctoral scholar for 3 years.

Dr. Middleton served as Senior co-Chair of the Special Interest Group for Mathematics Education in the American Educational Research Association, and as Chair of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics/\’ Research Committee. He has served on several task forces for the NCTM, is a regular reviewer for the NSF and the Department of Education, and serves on the Boards of several regional and national-level research centers. He has been a consultant for the College Board, the Rand Corporation, the National Academies, the American Statistical Association, the IEEE, and numerous school systems around the United States, the UK, and Australia.

Jim’s research interests focus in the following areas where he has published extensively: Children’s mathematical thinking; Teacher and Student motivation in mathematics; and Teacher Change in mathematics. He is currently developing methodologies for utilizing the engineering design process to improve learning environments in Science, Engineering and Mathematics. He has also written on effective uses of educational technology in mathematics and science education as a natural outgrowth of these interests. To fund his research, Jim has garnered over $20 million in grants to study and improve mathematics education in urban schools. He just finished a $1.8 million research grant to model the longitudinal development of fractions, rational number and proportional reasoning knowledge and skills in middle school students, and is currently studying the longitudinal development of student engagement high school mathematics. All of his work has been conducted in collaborative partnerships with diverse, economically challenged, urban schools. This relationship has resulted in a significant (positive) impact on the direction that partner districts have taken, including a significant increase in mathematics achievement in the face of a rising poverty rate.