Merlin WittrockMerlin Carl Wittrock was an American educational psychologist. He received the E. L. Thorndike Award in 1987.Early lifeHe was born in Twin Falls, Idaho in 1931. He received a bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Missouri and his PhD from the University of Illinois.WorkGenerative theory of learningWittrock is best known for his generative theory of learning. He first published this theory in 1974. It is the parent of many current theories of academic motivation.Personal lifeWittrock had three children with his wife, Nancy. He died of heart failure in November 2007 at the age of 76.