Isabel L. Beck

Isabel L. Beck, PhD, is Professor Emerita of Education in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh and a senior scientist at the university’s Learning Research and Development Center. She received all of her degrees in education—bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD—from the University of Pittsburgh, and her work has focused on decoding, vocabulary, and reading comprehension.

She has published more than 100 articles and several books, including Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction, Creating Robust Vocabulary: Frequently Asked Questions and Extended Examples, and Making Sense of Phonics: The Hows and Whys. Beck has also been recognized with honors including the Oscar S. Causey Award, the William S. Gray Citation of Merit, and the Contributing Researcher Award, and she was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame and elected to the National Academy of Education.