Scheines Honored for Sustained Contributions to Education

For more than 30 years, Richard Scheines — as professor, department head and dean — has been at the forefront of developing educational programs that benefit learners at Carnegie Mellon University and across the globe.  On April 18, he will receive the Robert E. Doherty Award for Sustained Contributions to Excellence in Education at CMU’s Celebration of Education.

“Richard’s contributions run a gamut of different aspects of education at CMU, from specific interventions to organizational changes to program creation and curricular redesign,” wrote nominators Marsha Lovett, vice provost for teaching and learning innovation; Joel Smith, Distinguished Career Teaching Professor of Philosophy; and David Yaron, professor of chemistry.

Hired by the Department of Philosophy in 1990, Scheines holds courtesy appointments in the Machine Learning Department and Human-Computer Interaction Institute.

Ken Koedinger, Hillman Professor of Computer Science, noted Scheines’ early innovations, which included employing AI to create interactive tutors for learning formal logic and developing online courses for causal reasoning, were “ahead of their time.”

Architect of the human-computer interaction major

In 1997, Scheines led the creation of the undergraduate major in human-computer interaction (HCI) and then served as its director for seven years.

“In addition to advising individual students, he taught and mentored student teams in the capstone project course, recruiting internal and external clients,” said Robert Kraut, Herbert A. Simon Professor of Human-Computer Interaction and University Professor Emeritus. “Students consider this course, still being taught, the highlight of the HCI program.”

Champion of applied learning science research

As faculty lead of the Simon Initiative, Scheines has propelled CMU to measurably improve student learning outcomes by putting research findings into use in instruction.

“I’ve seen firsthand the tremendous impact that he has had in scaling educational innovations in ways that simultaneously leverage the learning sciences while helping to refine our understanding of how humans learn,” said Norm Bier, executive director of the Simon Initiative and director of the Open Learning Initiative (OLI).

The online materials Scheines authored and refined have been used by over half a million independent learners and students at more than 100 institutions, ranging from research universities to community colleges.

As part of this effort, Scheines did impactful educational research on the importance of active learning (problem-solving with feedback) rather than passive learning (watching videos or reading) — especially online.  His work in the 2000s and more recent work with collaborators Koedinger and Bier on the “Doer Effect” has influenced our understanding of how to design courseware that will effectively improve learning outcomes.

Creator of interdisciplinary, problem-based curricula

As head of the Department of Philosophy and dean of Dietrich College, Scheines set a bold vision to educate students to solve problems across disciplinary boundaries and to create engaged citizens and professionals through experiential learning.

“Richard recognizes that there is much more to a college education than simply attending courses,” said Kelli Maxwell, Dietrich College’s associate dean for student success. “Through revision of the General Education program, Richard was a strong advocate for health and well-being, self-directed learning, and holistic advising as critical components to a well-rounded educational pathway.”

One of the signature curricular features Scheines introduced is first-year Grand Challenge Seminars. These courses, co-taught by faculty members from multiple disciplines, focus on real, complex global problems like climate change, food insecurity or racism. In fall 2023, Scheines and Sharon Carver, Dietrich College’s associate dean for educational affairs and collaborator in the re-design of the Gen Ed, created and co-taught their own Grand Challenge Seminar, Academic Freedom and Freedom of Speech.

Advocate for experiential learning and community engagement

While an undergraduate, Cameron Dively (DC 2018) approached Scheines about creating an internship program for Dietrich College students in Pittsburgh. They quickly teamed up to create the Pittsburgh Summer Internship Program (PSIP), which funds Dietrich students to intern at nonprofit, community or government organizations, or startups that engage and strengthen the Pittsburgh community.

“With the PSIP, Richard made it so that every student had the opportunity to experience a meaningful internship, regardless of personal or financial obstacles,” Dively said.

The PSIP, now endowed, has grown from 24 students at 12 host sites in 2018 to 60 students at 43 host sites in 2023. Under Scheines’ leadership, Dietrich College also recently launched a Community Engagement Fellowship Program.

Collaborator for a better tomorrow

Regardless of the project, Scheines relentlessly pursues interdisciplinary work that matters to society.

Amy Burkert, senior vice provost for academic initiatives, wrote, “We, at CMU, are beneficiaries of Richard’s vision, action and leadership, but so are the learners of today and tomorrow whose lives may be made better through his efforts to advance effective educational methods that lie at the intersection of technology and humanity.”