Atkinson received his B.Sc. from Dalhousie University in 1975 and his M.Sc. (1978) and Ph.D. (1982) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Atkinson's training is in social psychology, but his research and teaching interests place him more in the field of educational psychology. "Dr. Mike", as he is known to his students, has received numerous teaching awards including the Western Psychology Professor of the Year and the Student's Council/Alumni Western Teaching Award of Excellence. Recently he was awarded 3M Canada Teaching Fellowship for his pioneering work in large-scale multimedia instruction, the "Superclass."