Marie K. Norman, PhD, is a Professor of Medicine and Clinical and Translational Science. She is also the Director of the Innovative Design for Education and Assessment (IDEA) Lab. Her research interests include the application of research-based learning principles to teaching (whether face-to-face or online), the uses of video for learning, factors affecting faculty satisfaction and retention, and cross-cultural issues in education.
She is co-author of the book, How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching, which has been translated into seven languages and is used widely as a teaching resource in higher education. Dr. Norman speaks regularly about teaching and learning and writes a blog for Synapse, an education publication on the blogging platform, Medium.
Dr. Norman is on X! Follow her at @marieknorman6.
Education & Training
- BA, Oberlin College, 1987
- Certificate of Asian Studies, University of Pittsburgh, 1999
- MA, University of Pittsburgh, 1999
- PhD, University of Pittsburgh, 1999
Representative Publications
Norman MK, Hamm ME, Mayowski CA, Schenker Y, Kapoor WN. The teams of early-career investigators: a qualitative pilot study. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. 2018;2(5):321-326.
Interviews with the principal investigator and members of 5 teams led by KL2 and K12 scholars at the University of Pittsburgh revealed a high level of trust and strong communication patterns, but also underlying tensions.
Rubio DM, Hamm ME, Mayowski CA, Nouraie SM, Quarshie A, Seto T, Shaheen M, Soto de Laurido LE, Norman MK. Developing a training program to diversify the biomedical research workforce. Academic Medicine. 2019;94(8):1115-1121.
The authors determined four areas in which training and support were needed to diversify the biomedical research workforce: training in the "informal curriculum" (skills not covered in traditional clinical research courses), protected time for research training, opportunities to create career-advancing work products, and networking opportunities. This led to the development of the LEADS (Leading Emerging and Diverse Scientists to Success) program—10 instructor-led online modules.
Norman MK, Mayowski CA, Rubio DM. Lowering the barriers to teaching online. Medical Education. 2018;52(5):569-570.
Applying Everett M. Rogers’s Diffusion of Innovation Theory model effectively lowered the barriers to entry for faculty members learning to create and teach online courses.
Norman MK. Twelve tips for reducing production time and increasing long-term usability of instructional video. Medical Teacher. 2017 Aug;39(8):808-812.
Practical tips for reducing the initial time investment in video production and creating video that can be reused long into the future to help faculty and departments create high-quality instructional video while using their time and resources more wisely.
Click here for a more complete bibliography of Dr. Norman’s works.
Research Interests
- Online learning
- Educational innovation
- Application of learning research