James G. Greeno (May 1, 1935 – September 8, 2020) was an American experimental psychologist and learning scientist whose research focused on learning and problem solving with conceptual understanding, using scientific concepts and methods of association theory, computational cognitive modeling, and

discourse analysis Discourse analysis (DA), or discourse studies, is an approach to the analysis of written, vocal, or sign language use, or any significant semiotic event. The objects of discourse Analysis ( discourse, writing, conversation, communicative event ...

Education

Greeno earned a PhD. in psychology from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, in 1961. While a student at the University of Minnesota, Greeno also studied philosophy with

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, Alan Donagan and D. B. Terrell. During that time he developed a strong interest in philosophy, which he retained throughout his life.

Career

In 1961 Greeno was hired by the psychology department at Indiana University. There he worked with Frank Restle,

William Kaye Estes William Kaye Estes (June 17, 1919 – August 17, 2011) was an American psychologist. A ''Review of General Psychology'' survey, published in 2002, ranked Estes as the 77th most cited psychologist of the 20th century. In order to develop a statist ...

, and Cletus Burke. In 1968 he moved to the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan joining

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, David Krantz, Edwin Martin, and Robert Pachella in the Human Performance Center. Estes, Restle, and Melton were all important mentors and good friends throughout their lifetimes. During those years, Greeno’s interest in learning shifted from mathematical analyses and modeling of performance to analyses of information structures of cognition. In 1973 he was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

. In 1976 he joined scholars at the Learning Research and Development Center and the Department of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, working especially with Lauren Resnick and

Robert Glaser Robert Glaser (January 18, 1921 – February 4, 2012) was an American educational psychologist, who has made significant contributions to theories of learning and instruction. The key areas of his research focused on the nature of aptitudes and ind ...

. There he was also a member of the Center for Philosophy of Science, with Adolph Grunbaum and

Wesley Salmon Wesley Charles Salmon (August 9, 1925 – April 22, 2001) was an American philosopher of science renowned for his work on the nature of scientific explanation. He also worked on confirmation theory, trying to explicate how probability theory via ...

. In 1984 Greeno moved to the University of California, Berkeley, to become the chair of a new enterprise in building a strong area of the study of mathematics and science learning, with Alan Schoenfeld and

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, in the Program of Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology. From 1987 to 2003 he was the Margaret Jacks Professor of Education at Stanford University, where he was also Director of the Symbolic Systems Program from 1989-1992. In 1987, Greeno,

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, and David Kearns co-founded the

Institute for Research on Learning The Institute for Research on Learning (IRL) in Palo Alto, California was co-founded by John Seely Brown, then chief research scientist at the Palo Alto Research Center, and James Greeno, Professor of Education at Stanford University, with the supp ...

. Greeno retired from Stanford in 2003 and became Margaret Jacks Professor of Education, Emeritus. From 2003 to 2012 he was Visiting Professor of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. During this time, he has also been a Center Affiliate of the Learning Research and Development Center, and a Resident Fellow of the Center for Philosophy of Science. Greeno has suggested a typology of problems: 1- Problems of inducing structure: Several instances are given and the problem solver must discover the rule or pattern involved. 2- Problems of transformation: An initial state is given and the problem solver must find a sequence of operation that will produce the goal state. 3- Problems of arrangement: All of the elements are given and the problem solver must arrange them in such a way that the problem is solved.

Personal life

He married Noreen H. Greeno on 15 June 1957. They had two children.http://www.lrdc.pitt.edu/people/cv/Greeno_VITA.pdf

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greeno, James 1935 births 2020 deaths Educational psychologists American psychologists University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Fellows of the Cognitive Science Society University of Michigan faculty