Agenda Wednesday, July 2, 2003 NSF Science of Learning Center SLC Opportunity

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AgendaWednesday, July 2, 2003NSF Science of
Learning Center (SLC) Opportunity

• 800 AM Gathering (Coffee and bagels)
• 810 Updates, DC and more (Dov Almog)
• 830 Focused Group Activity (Tim Wells)
• 840 RASLC (Mark Bocko)
• 850 White Paper (Mark/Frank/Tim)
• 930 Next Steps (Frank Wolfs)
• 955 Next Meeting Time Place
• 1000 Adjourn

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Rochester Area Science of Learning Center

• NSF Science of Learning Centers (SLC)
• July 2, 2003

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Testing Standards put to a test
Heather Hare staff Writer Jay Capers staff
Photographer Sophomores at Fairport High School,
design signs for last weeks protest against
state-mandated exam for Math A and Physics. The
math test was later voided by the state. DC,
June 29, 2003
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And the theme is..
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SLC focus group activity

• Attempt to identify a center theme that is
  sufficiently focused (to interest the NSF) yet
  encompasses the strengths of all the
  constituents.
• Propose a structure that may then be filled out
  by the center constituents.
• We are not excluding anyone - but its your job
  to tell us where/how you fit, or how the
  structure may be modified to better represent our
  strengths.

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RASLCWhat is the problem?
The RASLC constituency is a large body of
scientists, technologists, professionals and
educators serving learners at all life-stages and
from a broad range of social/economic
backgrounds. Some members of the group conduct
research on the scientific bases of learning,
others are developing a broad array of learning
strategies based on experience and intuition. We
need to bring these two groups together to
understand why some learning strategies work and
others do not. What are the factors responsible
for success? Then we may conceive and develop
new, more effective educational strategies, based
on well-understood science.
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RASLCWhat outcome do we hope to achieve?

• Influence the paths of scientific inquiry into
  learning, learning assistance strategies, and
  technology to create new approaches for learning
  that effectively meet the needs of the 21st
  century learner.

Distance
Move in new directions that would not have been
possible (or even conceivable) without people
working together.
Science
RASLC
Re-education
Technology
Creativity
Education
Intermodal
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RASLC Themes

• Understanding what constitutes effective
  learning.
• Utilize vast RASLC laboratory.
• All projects are highly interdisciplinary.
• Learning relationships to business and economic
  development.
• Serves business
• Is business
• Project serves community.
• ...

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RASLC Focus Areas

• Effective use of technology in learning.
• Re-educating the sophisticated learner for a
  changing work place.
• Group/social interactions in learning.
• Local and distance
• Intermodal learning.
• Experiential learning.
• Emotional aspects of learning.
• Learning Assessment
• Can inventiveness be learned?
• Neural bases of learning
• Health/Well-being aspects of learning
• Can inventiveness be learned?
• ...

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RASLCScientific Technical Core

• Social Sciences
• Motivation and emotion
• Socio-cultural influences
• Organizational understanding
• ...
• Natural Sciences
• Neurophysiological bases
• Cognition
• ...
• Information Sciences
• Computer based tutoring systems
• Internet/distance learning
• Human computer interaction
• ...

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What are the RASLC trademarks?

• Every project will be interdisciplinary
• Not just an umbrella grant
• Every project will be experimental
• Treat constituency as a laboratory
• Implementation and outreach are the same

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The Rochester Area Science of Learning Center
(RASLC)White Paper
The Rochester Area Science of Learning
Center (RASLC) will bring together scientists,
educators, professionals and technologists to
explore motivational, social, cultural, technical
and psychological aspects of learning across the
human lifespan. The center will span several
institutions in the Rochester, NY area
representing learning environments that serve a
broad range of learner life-stages,
socio-economic circumstances, and levels of
technology implementation. The basic questions
that will be addressed by the center are What
constitutes effective learning?, What are the
factors that contribute to effective learning?,
and How may these factors best be captured in
educational systems evolving to meet the needs of
the rapidly changing 21st century workplace and
increasingly formed by technology? The work of
the center will be conducted throughout a broad
spectrum of educational settings represented by
the center constituents. Interdisciplinary teams
of scientists, educators and technologists will
experimentally explore the projects fundamental
questions and put the Centers research results
to the test - and to work - throughout the
extensive RASLC laboratory.
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RASLC White Paper (Cont)

• Several rapidly flowing streams of change
  including the socio-cultural context of
  education, the demands of a rapidly changing work
  place, insights into the neural and psychological
  bases of learning, and technological innovation
  converge in the learning environment. The Center
  will bring together scientists and other
  professionals and enable them to collaborate in
  ways that will steer the paths of progress in
  their respective fields in new directions that
  would have been unimaginable were they to
  continue to work in isolation. The Center
  founders firmly believe that answers to many of
  the most important questions, such as those of
  the science of learning, will be found through
  interdisciplinary approaches and the Center will
  be structured to enable and encourage truly
  interdisciplinary research.

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RASLC White Paper (Cont)

• To achieve this goal the RASLC will be
  modeled after two very successful Centers already
  in Rochester, the New York State Center for
  Electronic Imaging Systems (CEIS) and the New
  York State Microelectronics Design Center. These
  centers serve to bring together more than XX
  researchers from YY NYS Universities and
  businesses to enable progress on technology in
  their thematic areas. So far, more than 170
  million in economic impact has been realized from
  the work supported by these centers. In the
  RASLC we will adopt a similar approach in which
  interdisciplinary research teams will be brought
  together through Center activities and funded
  through Center requests for proposals. However,
  in the RASLC, the business will be education.
  The key requirements of Center funded activities
  will be first, that the activity have a sound
  scientific/intellectual basis, and second, that
  the activity must have central to it a practical
  component of implementation and testing of the
  project results in some part of the vast RASLC
  laboratory.

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RASLC White Paper (Cont)

• The Rochester region is well suited as a
  location for such a center due to its high
  concentration of diverse academic institutions
  and outreach programs. Combined, the educational
  institutions of the Rochester area are the Nth
  largest employer serving a learning community of
  more than XX individuals. The founders of this
  center are SUNY Brockport, Monroe Community
  College, Nazareth College, the Rochester
  Institute of Technology, and the University of
  Rochester. This group of academic institutions
  is joined by representatives from WXXI (the local
  public broadcasting company) and the Strong
  Museum to explore other aspects of learning not
  covered by programs and activities at the
  academic institutions. Collectively, the center
  founders represent a broad base of scientists
  already engaged in many aspects of the Science of
  Learning, and collectively our existing programs
  reach a broad range of learner life-stages,
  social/cultural/economic/health/technical
  circumstances in various learning contexts.

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RASLC White Paper (Cont)

• Although we are confident that all of the
  components for a successful and productive center
  now exist, ranging from basic science to
  outreach, at this time we are pursuing a National
  Science Foundation Science of Learning Center
  catalyst project. In the catalyst phase of our
  project we will establish the structure of the
  Center, fund a number of pilot projects and
  conduct seminar series and symposia to build the
  center constituency and further refine the
  research focal points for the center. We
  anticipate that we will be poised to submit a
  highly competitive proposal for a full center
  within a 12-18 month time frame.

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Next Steps

• From which institution will the proposal
  originate?
• Need input from constituents (2 pages)
• Where do you fit?
• What are you doing now?
• What would you like to do in a pilot project?
• What long term goals do you have? (your vision)
• With whom would you like to work? (start building
  teams)
• Write and submit the proposal

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Next Meeting Time and Place
Where Farash Auditorium UR Eastman Dental
Center When Wednesday, July 9th Time 8-10 AM