Fred Simmons Keller (January 2, 1899February 2, 1996) was an American psychologist and a pioneer in experimental psychology. He taught at Columbia University for 26 years and gave his name to the Keller Plan, also known as Personalized System of Instruction, an individually paced, mastery-oriented teaching method that has had a significant impact on college-level science education system. He died at home, age 97, on February 2, 1996, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Life
Keller was born on January 2, 1899, on a farm near Rural Grove, New York, in Montgomery County. He was the only child to Vrooming Barney Keller and Minnie Vanderveer Simmons. Due to instability in his childhood, he left school at an early age to pursue employment as a Western Union telegrapher in Saranac Lake, New York. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1918 during World War I and served in Camp Jackson, South Carolina, in addition to active duty overseas in France and Germany. While in France, he served in battle five times, and in Germany he participated in the Army of Occupation. Keller exited the military ranking as a sergeant in August 1919.
Keller attended Goddard Seminary, in which he received athletic scholarship in 1919. However, he was accepted to Tufts College in 1920 through a scholarship and decided to attend there. Keller was majoring in English literature. Originally Keller had left school due to discrepancies with his attendance. During his time off of at school, he read John Watson's Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist, in which he returned to Tufts with a focus in psychology a few years later. He earned a B.S. from Tufts College in 1926 and was awarded an academic position in which he was employed for, for two years. Keller attended Harvard University for graduate school following his bachelor's degree in addition to teaching at Tufts.
Additionally, he took part in a position at Harvard College as a laboratory assistant and a tutor. Keller received his master's degree in 1928 and left Harvard College in 1931. During his time in Harvard, Keller took classes under E.G. Boring, who was the peak of Keller's career. Also, Keller met fellow graduate and famous psychologist, B.F. Skinner, in which they roomed together and became long-life friends. He found a job at Colgate University during the Great Depression and remained there for seven years until 1938. Following Colgate University he was offered a position at Columbia University; he was named assistant professor in 1942, associate professor in 1946, and professor of psychology in 1950. He also served as chairman of the department from 1959 to 1962 and became professor emeritus of psychology in 1964, the same year he retired from the university. In 1963 Keller was invited to Brazil to São Paulo to incorporate his new psychology into their existing academics. Keller returned to the U.S. and was invited back to Brazil, this time to the University of Brazila, where he was instructed to continue the development of his new findings. Upon returning for good, Keller found employment at the Institute for Behavioral Research, as well as Western Michigan University, Texas Christian University, and Georgetown University. Keller spent his time as a visiting professor, adjunct professor, as well as the chair at the listed universities. He retired in May 1976 from Georgetown University.
Keller's students appreciated him as their instructor, as well as appreciated his frequent reinforcers of their behavior. His "theoretical commitment to the power of positive reinforcement… he delivered were never routine" but "mechanical repetitions of 'uhhunh' or 'good. It was seen as a possible plan to increase academic performance and often singled out his students to denote praise. He was recognized throughout his life and was liked by many. After his death, a memorial was held in San Francisco by the Association for Behavior Analysis, in which over two hundred people took part in. Keller was also recognized for his "effects of his lectures on one student's behavior ... efficacy of his teaching" and "graceful flow of sentence into paragraph".