Dr. Michael Kennedy Wins 2021 TED Pearson Award for Excellence in Teacher Education
Alexandria, VA – February 1, 2021- Michael J. Kennedy, Associate Professor of Education at the University of Virginia won the 2021 Pearson Award for Excellence in Teacher Education given by the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children.
Dr. Kennedy has distinguished himself as one of the top scholars in special education teacher education over his nine-year career. He has co-edited one book, authored or co-authored 13 book chapters, and published 48 papers in refereed journals, many of which appear in TED’s premier journal, Teacher Education and Special Education. Dr. Kennedy has also demonstrated an impressive record of success with highly competitive federal grants, securing over 8 million dollars from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, and the Institute for Education Sciences.
In addition to his scholarly contributions, Michael has made significant contributions to our field through the videos he developed with his team to define and demonstrate examples of high leverage practices. These videos have been shown and discussed in teacher education and professional development programs across the country. Given his contributions to teacher education, it is not surprising that Dr. Kennedy received the Early Career Researcher Award given by the Instructional Technology Special Interest Group of the American Education Research Association, and the Publication Award given by TED.
Michael’s contributions to teacher education and doctoral mentorship at the University of Virginia are equally impressive. He has been recognized for his exceptional work as a college instructor. In 2015, Dr. Kennedy was awarded a university-wide award for teaching, and the doctoral students he has mentored have won awards for the research they conducted under Dr. Kennedy’s mentorship.
Dr. Don Deshler, captured best why Dr. Kennedy should be this year’s awardee when he said, "There are many things that set Michael apart as a clear leader in teacher education in our field. I consider the following to be among the most significant: (1) his R & D efforts are very focused and programmatic; (2) his work is published in our fields most highly rated publications; (3) his work is designed to directly impact the quality of instruction on the front lines; (4) he has collaborated with some of our field’s most highly respected leaders in teacher education; and (5) he has produced many tools (e.g., videos, instructional materials, software) that are being used by scores of practitioners to refine their practices for better teaching individuals with special needs."
We are honored to recognize Dr. Michael J Kennedy for this prestigious award. We will celebrate Dr. Kennedy and our other award winners at the TED Annual Conference in Fort Worth November 2-5, 2021.