Prize Recipient

Laurie S. Langdon
University of Colorado, Boulder

"For the development of the Learning Assistant (LA) model and the associated LA Alliance, which has enhanced physics teacher education and recruitment, supported undergraduate course transformation, and physics instructor professional development."

Laurie Langdon is a research associate at the University of Colorado–Boulder. She received her bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and English, as well as her secondary teaching license, from Calvin College in 1996. She completed her graduate studies in 2001 at the University of Northern Colorado, earning an M.S. in chemistry and Ph.D. in chemical education in 2004. As a Science Teaching Fellow in CU Boulder’s Science Education Initiative, Dr. Langdon worked with faculty to develop learning goals, curriculum, and learning environments to improve access and success for all students in general chemistry courses. In this context she designed, piloted, and scaled the use of undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) in the department. In 2010, she transitioned to the position of CU Boulder LA Program Director. She is a founding member of the international Learning Assistant Alliance that reaches more than 280 institutions and 1,100 faculty worldwide. Her efforts to improve STEM education for a broad set of stakeholders have been amplified by collaborating with faculty and LAs at CU Boulder and other institutions, and by partnering with the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) project in the early stages of the LA Alliance.

2019 Selection Committee Members: Mats Selen (Chair), Paula Heron (Vice-Chair), Eleanor Close, Jennifer Docktor, Dave Pritchard, Kathy Perkins