In "Mini Moments with Big Thinkers," leading figures in Teachers College's history discuss groundbreaking ideas, research and initiatives born at the College during the past half-century. The Mini Moments are drawn from the College’s Oral History Project, a collection of more than 90 videotaped interviews conducted by Melanie Shorin and Jessica Wiederhorn, the principals of The Narrative Trust, a private firm that conducts and captures the oral histories of institutions, communities and individuals. Produced in conjunction with TC’s Department of Development and External Affairs, the Mini-Moments are airing throughout 2013.
Leonard Blackman | Mini Moments With Big Thinkers
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Mini Moments With Big Thinkers
Leonard Blackman
Leonard Blackman, TC Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Education, secured the federal funding that enabled TC to build 528 West 121st St. in 1973 and establish the nation's first comprehensive Research and Demonstration Center for the Education of Handicapped Children (today the College's Center for Opportunities & Outcomes for People with Disabilities), of which he was the founding director. The Center was unique in its multidisciplinary approach.
Blackman began his career as Director of Research of the Edward R. Johnstone Training and Research Center, a New Jersey state institution for people with mental retardation, where he also served as Principal Investigator of the "Teaching Machine Project" that pioneered the use of computers to teach that population. Throughout his career, his studies focused on how children with mental retardation learn; the role of psychological factors and strategies; vocational issues; and ethical concerns, such as whether the death penalty should be considered for people who have mental retardation. TC launched its annual Blackman Lecture series -- named for and endowed by Blackman and his wife, Frances -- in 2000.
To learn more about Leonard Blackman, read:
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Include Me In (TC Today magazine)
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Blackman Responds to Supreme Court on Executions (www.tc.edu)
Learn more about TC's Department of Health and Behavior Studies and its program in Applied Sciences of Learning and Special Education.
Premiered on 11/24/2013
More Big Thinkers

Nahas Angula
Ed.M., 1979; M.A., 1978
Jody Gottfried Arnhold
Dance Educator
Col. Bernard Banks
Ph.D. '11
Leonard Blackman
Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Education
George Bonanno
Professor of Psychology and Education and Professor of Clinical Psychology
Warner Burke
Professor of Psychology & Education
George Bond
Professor of Anthropology and Education
Margaret Crocco
former TC Professor of Social Studies and Education
Morton Deutsch
E.L. Thorndike Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Education
Christopher Emdin
Assistant Professor of Science Education
Alumnus William Epps
Pastor, Second Baptist Church, Los Angeles
Claire Fagin
M.A. '51
Celia Genishi
Professor of Education
Antoinette Gentile
Professor Emeritus, Movement Sciences
A. Lin Goodwin
Vice Dean and Professor of Education
Edmund Gordon
Richard March Hoe Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Education
Maxine Greene
William F. Russell Professor Emeritus in Foundations of Education
R. Douglas Greer
Professor of Psychology and Education
Jeffrey Henig
Professor of Political Science & Education, Department Chair, EPSA
Ellie Krieger
M.S. '94
David Johns
M.A. '06
Sharon Lynn Kagan
Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy
John B. King, Jr.
Ed.D. '08, New York State Commissioner of Education
Henry Levin
Professor of Economics & Education
Richard Mills
EdD '77
Eric Nadelstern
Professor of Practice in Educational Leadership
Sandra Okita
Assistant Professor of Technology and Education
Raphael MontaƱez Ortiz
Ed.D. '82
Matthew Pittinsky
Ph.D. '08
Michael Rebell
Professor of Law and Education
William Dodge Rueckert
Co-Chair, Teachers College Board of Trustees
Donna Shalala
President of the University of Miami, former TC faculty member
Gita Steiner-Khamsi
Professor of Education
Derald Wing Sue
Professor of Psychology and Education
Viola Vaughn
EdD '84
Ruth Vinz
Program Coordinator, English Education
Cally L. Waite
Associate Professor of History and Education
Barbara Wallace
Professor of Health Education
Vivian Ota Wang
M. Phil. '94, Ph.D. '95
Howell Wechsler
Ed.D. '95 and 2012-2013 Tisch Lecturer