Edward L. Thorndike
Personal Vita
November, 1998
Compiled by Roger Hiemstra
Name
Edward L. Thorndike
[Edward Lee Thorndike; Professor Thorndike]
[source: Edited by Roger Hiemstra from data compiled by two unknown students doing biographical sketches of Thorndike and an Historical profile of Edward Lee Thorndike, by Lois Jaynes-Hickle, a Montana State University graduate student in the fall of 1986]
Strategy Hints
See References To section shown later in this personal vita.
[source: Roger Hiemstra]
Bio/Historical Notes
Born in Williamsburg, MA, and married August 29, 1900, to Elizabeth Moulton; five children. He was the second son of Edward Roberts Thorndike and Abbie Ladd Thorndike. He received the Butler Gold Medal for Columbia University in 1925. He was known as the father of modern educational psychology. His doctoral dissertation on animal intelligence has been regarded by many psychologists as marking the beginning of the scientific study of animal behavior. He also carried out the first major scientific study of the adult learner and the learning process used by adults in 1928. This work proved that the ability of adults to learn declined very little with age.
It highlighted a growing interest on the part of social scientists in the adult learning process. As a result of this, new methods for teaching adults began to be developed, such as group discussion, the use of motion pictures and other audio-visual aids, demonstrations, field trips, dramatic techniques, and case studies. Adult learners also began playing an active role in the learning process.
[sources: Two unknown students doing biographical sketches of Thorndike and an Historical profile of Edward Lee Thorndike, by Lois Jaynes-Hickle, a Montana State University graduate student in the fall of 1986]
Birth Date
August 31, 1874
Source of Birth Date
Two unknown students doing biographical sketches of Thorndike and an Historical profile of Edward Lee Thorndike, by Lois Jaynes-Hickle, a Montana State University graduate student in the fall of 1986.
Death Date
August 9, 1949
Source of Death Date
Two unknown students doing biographical sketches of Thorndike and an Historical profile of Edward Lee Thorndike, by Lois Jaynes-Hickle, a Montana State University graduate student in the fall of 1986.
Education
1892-95--A.B., Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT.
1896--A.B., Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
1897--A.M., Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
1898--Ph.D., Columbia University, New York, NY.
1919--Hon. Sc.D., Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT.
1923--Hon. L.L.D., University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA.
1929--Hon. Sc.D., Columbia University, New York, NY.
1932--Hon. Sc.D., University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
1934--Hon. L.L.D., Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
1936--Hon. L.L.D., Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, Scotland.
1937--Hon. L.L.D., University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
[sources: Two unknown students doing biographical sketches of Thorndike and an Historical profile of Edward Lee Thorndike, by Lois Jaynes-Hickle, a Montana State University graduate student in the fall of 1986]
Work History
1898-99--Instructor, Women's College of Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
1899-40--Instructor/Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY.
1922-40--Director, Division of Psychology in the Institute of Educational Research, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY.
1942-43--William James Professor, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
[sources: Two unknown students doing biographical sketches of Thorndike and an Historical profile of Edward Lee Thorndike, by Lois Jaynes-Hickle, a Montana State University graduate student in the fall of 1986]
Associated Subjects
Adult Education.
Adult Learning.
Educational Psychology.
Intelligence.
[source: Roger Hiemstra]
Associated People
J. McK. V. Cattell.
[source: An Historical profile of Edward Lee Thorndike, by Lois Jaynes-Hickle, a Montana State University graduate student in the fall of 1986]
Associated Organizations
American Association for Adult Education (President, 1934-35) [AAAE].
American Association for the Advancement of Science.
American Council on Education [ACE].
American Psychological Association.
Motion Picture Research Committee (National Committee).
National Academy.
New York Academy of Sciences.
Society for the Advancement of Education.
[sources: Two unknown students doing biographical sketches of Thorndike and an Historical profile of Edward Lee Thorndike, by Lois Jaynes-Hickle, a Montana State University graduate student in the fall of 1986]
Associated Events/Projects
His study of adult learning in 1928 was a significant milestone in the development of the adult education profession.
[source: Roger Hiemstra]
Associated Places
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY.
[source: Roger Hiemstra]
Publications
Published 508 titles, almost ten per year during his career. His published works can be found in Teachers College Record, 1949. A few of his most important works are as follows:
Thorndike, E. L. (1912). Education: A first book. New York: Macmillan.
Thorndike, E. L. (1928). Adult Learning. New York: Macmillan.
Thorndike, E. L. (1949). Psychology and the science of education. New York: Lencke and Buechner.
References To
Joncich, G. (1968). The sane positivist: A biography of Edward L. Thorndike. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
Modified on May 6, 2002
-- Cross-reference to Project Vitae in Adult Education
-- Cross-reference to Adult Education History Project