author
Naomi Norsworthy
1877–1916
A pioneering psychologist and educator, she helped open doors for women in academic psychology at the start of the 20th century. Her work focused on children’s learning and mental development, and her influence lasted well beyond her short life.
1 Audiobook
How to Teach
by George D. (George Drayton) Strayer, Naomi Norsworthy
About the author
Born in New York City in 1877, Naomi Norsworthy studied to become a teacher and later moved into psychology, a field that was still taking shape. She earned advanced degrees at Columbia and became the first woman on the faculty of Teachers College, where she taught and carried out research.
Her work centered on education, child development, and the study of mental differences in children. She also helped bring careful psychological research into conversations about schooling and the needs of children who were often poorly understood by the education system of her time.
Norsworthy died in 1916, at only 39 years old. Even so, she is remembered as an early trailblazer for women in psychology and as a scholar who connected research with real questions about teaching and childhood.