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Okhee Lee

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Okhee Lee (born 1959)[1] is an American education scholar and professor of childhood education at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.[2] Lee is involved in establishing equity in the education of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and computational thinking for all K-12 students, including students learning English as an additional language, referred to as English learners by the U.S. Department of Education. She is an author of five books and more than 100 refereed journal articles on educational research, policy and practice.

Lee is ranked since 2015 as one of the most influential educational academics in the U.S. by Ed-Scholar Public Influence Rankings published by Education Week.[3]

Early life and education

Lee was born in Daegu, South Korea, the youngest of seven children. She attended elementary and secondary school in South Korea and graduated from Kyungpook National University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English language and a master’s degree with an emphasis on educational psychology and instructional design.  She holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State University in educational psychology with an emphasis on learning and cognition.

Academic career

After completing her doctorate degree program, Lee began her career at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida, where she rose to professor in the school of education. In 2011, Lee went to New York University, where she is a professor and the principal investigator of the NYU SAIL Research Lab. With funding from the National Science Foundation, its team develops elementary school curriculum materials and teacher professional development resources that support science learning, language learning, and computational thinking for all students, including English learners.

Lee is a member-at-large for the American Educational Research Association (AERA). She serves on the board of trustees of the Center for Applied Linguistics and the advisory committee for the Directorate of Education and Human Resources at the National Science Foundation. She also serves on the New York State Education Department’s science content advisory panel.

Research

Lee’s recent publications call for collaboration among educators, scholars, and policymakers to ensure that English language proficiency standards are used in a conceptually sound and practically feasible manner. The AERA invited Lee to discuss the significance of her 2019 study, “Aligning English Language Proficiency Standards with Content Standards: Shared Opportunity and Responsibility Across English Learner Education and Content Areas,” in a published video.[4][5][6]

At present her research:

  1. addresses diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM, including computational thinking, that is grounded in contemporary theoretical perspectives;
  2. integrates multiple education disciplines on behalf of all students, especially English learners; and
  3. connects to educational policy and practice at the national level.

Lee’s first two decades of research, starting in the early 1990s, established her as a leader in science education and equity. With funding from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education, her research grew to large-scale intervention research[7] to promote science learning for English learners across the four largest school districts in Florida.[8]

Lee was named to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) writing team and was leader of the NGSS Diversity and Equity Team from 2011 to 2013. At the same time, she was a member of the steering committee for the Understanding Language Initiative at Stanford University. With Helen Quinn and Guadalupe Valdés, Lee produced a study on science and language for English language learners in relation to NGSS.[9] The AERA invited Lee to discuss the significance of her 2013 study, “Science and Language for English Language Learners in Relation to Next Generation Science Standards and with Implications for Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics,”[10] co-authored with Quinn and Valdés in a published video.

Selected publications

Lee, O., & Stephens, A. (2020). English learners in STEM subjects: Contemporary views on STEM subjects and language with English learners. Educational Researcher.

Lee, O. (2019). Aligning English language proficiency standards with content standards: Shared opportunity and responsibility across English learner education and content areas. Educational Researcher, 48(8), 534-542.

Lee, O. (2018). English language proficiency standards aligned with content standards. Educational Researcher, 47(5), 317-327.

Lee, O. (2017). Common Core State Standards for ELA/literacy and Next Generation Science Standards: Convergences and discrepancies using argument as an example. Educational Researcher, 46(2), 90-102.

Lee, O., Quinn, H., & Valdés, G. (2013). Science and language for English language learners in relation to Next Generation Science Standards and with implications for Common Core State Standards for English language arts and mathematics. Educational Researcher, 42(4), 223-233.

Fradd, S. H., & Lee, O. (1999). Teachers’ roles in promoting science inquiry with students from diverse language backgrounds. Educational Researcher, 28(6), 14-20, 42.

Lee, O., & Fradd, S. H. (1998). Science for all, including students from non-English language backgrounds. Educational Researcher, 27(4), 12-21.

Okhee Lee
Okhee Lee, PhD, in 2019
Born
Daegu, South Korea
CitizenshipUSA
OccupationEducation scholar
Known forEquity in STEM education for K-12 students, including English learners
Spouse(s)Michael B. Salwen, Ph.D. (d. 2007)
WebsiteOkheeLee.com

Honors

American Educational Research Association

  • Division K Innovations in Research on Equity and Social Justice in Teacher Education Award, 2019
  • Distinguished Career Contribution Award from the Committee for Scholars of Color in Education, 2013

Korean-American Educational Researchers Association

  • Inaugural Distinguished Researcher Award, 2019

National Science Teaching Association

  • NSTA Distinguished Service to Science Education Award

Personal life

Lee boarded a plane in South Korea at age 25 to pursue a Ph.D. in the United States. Her father had told her there were two options for her as a young woman: to marry, or to work and be an old maid. She created a third: she left.[11] While Lee was at Michigan State University, she married fellow doctoral student Michael B. Salwen. He died from cancer in 2007 while a professor of communications at the University of Miami, where they both worked. Lee established scholarships at Michigan State University[12] and University of Miami in his honor. In addition, she established the Michael B. Salwen Scholars Program at the Korean-American Educational Researchers Association (2012-2016, 2020-2024) to support doctoral students and junior scholars.

References

  1. ^ Congress, The Library of. "LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies (Library of Congress)". id.loc.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  2. ^ "Okhee Lee". NYU Steinhardt. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  3. ^ Hess, Rick. "The 2020 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings". Education Week - Rick Hess Straight Up. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  4. ^ Lee, Okhee (2019-10-03). "Aligning English Language Proficiency Standards With Content Standards: Shared Opportunity and Responsibility Across English Learner Education and Content Areas". Educational Researcher. 48 (8): 534–542. doi:10.3102/0013189X19872497.
  5. ^ Mitchell, Corey. "For English-Learners to Excel, More Collaboration Needed, Researcher Argues". Education Week - Learning the Language. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  6. ^ News, The PIE. "US: English learners studying STEM being "let down" says NYU professor". thepienews.com. Retrieved 2020-05-26. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  7. ^ Lee, Okhee; Krajcik, Joseph (2012). "Large-scale interventions in science education for diverse student groups in varied educational settings". Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 49 (3): 271–280. Bibcode:2012JRScT..49..271L. doi:10.1002/tea.21009. ISSN 1098-2736.
  8. ^ Lee, Okhee; Maerten‐Rivera, Jaime; Penfield, Randall D.; LeRoy, Kathryn; Secada, Walter G. (2008). "Science achievement of english language learners in urban elementary schools: Results of a first-year professional development intervention". Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 45 (1): 31–52. Bibcode:2008JRScT..45...31L. doi:10.1002/tea.20209. ISSN 1098-2736.
  9. ^ "Language Demands and Opportunities in Relation to Next Generation Science Standards for ELLs | Understanding Language". ell.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  10. ^ Lee, Okhee; Quinn, Helen; Valdés, Guadalupe (2013-05-01). "Science and Language for English Language Learners in Relation to Next Generation Science Standards and with Implications for Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics". Educational Researcher. 42 (4): 223–233. doi:10.3102/0013189X13480524. ISSN 0013-189X.
  11. ^ "Opinion: Speaking up for the low-profile commencement speaker". Los Angeles Times. 2014-05-27. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  12. ^ "Okhee Lee-Salwen Learns t". Giving to Michigan State University. Retrieved 2020-05-22.

OkheeLee.com, personal website

Okhee Lee faculty page at New York University

https://www.nyusail.org, NYU Sail Research Lab

Video: Aligning English Language Proficiency Standards With Content Standards

Video: Prof Lee and Prof. Emer. Quinn Discuss English Language Learners Study


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