George Hillocks Jr.

George Hillocks Jr. (June 15, 1934 - November 12, 2014) was an emeritus professor in the Department of Education, with a joint appointment in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago. He received in 2011 the James R. Squire Award of the National Council of Teachers of English for having "a transforming influence and [making] a lasting intellectual contribution to the profession." He also received many other major awards (see below). His teaching career included the preparation of English teachers in the Master of Arts in Teaching program, and the mentoring of Ph.D. students in the doctoral program, at the University of Chicago. After retiring from the University he continued to present seminars and workshops for writing teachers across the US. His primary research interests centered on the teaching of writing, literature, and language in middle and high school English classes, and on large-scale writing assessment. When not teaching and writing, he was an accomplished bagpipe player, performing frequently for Chicago audiences and in international competitions.
Education.
He received his B.A. in English, College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio, 1956, M.A. in English, Case Western Reserve University, 1958, Diploma in English Studies, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, 1959. He attended Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, summer, 1961.
Ph.D. in English, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, 1970--Dissertation: The Synthesis of Art and Ethic in "Tom Jones"
Teaching career.
Hillocks began his teaching career teaching secondary English in the Euclid, Ohio public schools from 1956-1965. He then held various positions at Bowling Green State University from 1967 to 1971. He moved to the University of Chicago in 1971 as assistant professor and remained there for the remainder of his career, rising through the ranks to Full Professor in 1985 until his retirement in 2003.
Publications.
Hillocks's publications mostly focus on what happens in the classroom. His publications include the first NCTE Theory into Practice book, "Observing and Writing." Using this model, his students have written seven additional books in the TIP/TRIP series. His review of research from 1963–1983, "Research on Written Composition" remains one of the most frequently referenced publications in composition studies, having been cited over 600 times. His publication "Teaching Writing as Reflective Practice" won the Russell Award for Distinguished Research presented by NCTE. "The Testing Trap" provides a critique of large-scale writing assessments. More recently, "Narrative Writing: Learning a New Model for Teaching" won NCTE's Richard Meade award for excellence in writing in the field of English Education.