Carnegie Learning's Steven Ritter Appointed to SIIA Education Board; Leading Authority on How Students Learn is Tapped to Help Drive Improvements in Middle and High School Math.

PITTSBURGH -- The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) has announced the appointment of Dr. Steven Ritter, senior vice president of research and development at Carnegie Learning, to a seat on the SIIA Education Division Board of Directors.

The SIIA Education Division Board consists of representatives from member companies who prioritize Education Division issues and initiatives, administer the Division budget and determine the projects, activities, and events each year.

"The appointment of Steve Ritter is an excellent choice," said Linda Roberts, former director of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology under the Clinton administration and a Carnegie Learning board member. "I have worked closely with Steve for several years and recognize him to be the authority on how students think, learn, and apply new knowledge in mathematics.

"The failure of America's high school students to master critical math skills will have a significant economic impact on our nation's global competitiveness going forward," said Roberts, "and I am pleased to see the SIIA is elevating this issue to the forefront of their agenda."

In his role as co-founder and research and development lead at Carnegie Learning, Ritter focuses on designing and evaluating intelligent teaching systems and other models of instruction that help children to learn more effectively. As a postdoctoral associate and research scientist at Carnegie Mellon University, Ritter was instrumental in the development and evaluation of the Cognitive Tutors (R) for mathematics.

Ritter is the co-author of Carnegie Learning's Algebra I curricula, one of only two math curricula recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as scientifically proven to have significant, positive effects on student learning. Ritter is currently leading several research projects related to understanding and improving the way students learn mathematics, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, The Heinz Endowments, RAND Corporation, the National Science Foundation, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Southern University. Ritter earned his Sc.B. in Cognitive Science from Brown University in 1985 and his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University in 1992. Ritter regularly shares his commentary on the state of education and educational technology as the Cognitive Blogger at http://www.cognitiveblogger.blogspot.com.

About SIIA (www.siia.net)

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education and intellectual property protection to more than 800 leading software and information companies.

About SIIA Education Division

SIIA's Education Division participates, shapes and supports the education industry by providing leadership, advocacy and critical marketing information to promote the success of education technology and content providers. Our companies include market leaders as well as hundreds of small and medium-sized companies that are driving innovation in this competitive environment. With the leadership of the Education Division Board, this division considers issues and projects that are of special interest to members in the education technology market.

About Carnegie Learning (www.carnegielearning.com)

Carnegie Learning is a leading provider of comprehensive mathematics curricula for middle school and high school students. The company's Cognitive Tutor(R) is helping more than 300,000 students in over 700 school districts across the United States succeed in math by integrating interactive software sessions, text, and teacher-led classroom lessons into a unique learning platform for algebra readiness, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II and Integrated Math programs. The U.S. Department of Education recognizes our Cognitive Tutor Algebra I program as one of only two math curricula scientifically proven to have significant, positive effects on student learning. Based in Pittsburgh, PA, Carnegie Learning was founded by cognitive science researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in conjunction with veteran mathematics teachers.