Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center an NSF Science of Learning Center

Andrew Meltzoff and Patricia Kuhl have each been invited to speak at a Nobel Foundation mini-symposium on May 29-30, 2006, in Stockholm. The Nobel Foundation’s Symposium program was initiated in 1965. The symposia are devoted to areas of science “where breakthroughs are occurring.” The topics chosen are ones of particular interest to the Nobel Assembly. This year the topic of brain development has been selected for May’s meeting. Meltzoff and Kuhl will talk about their work within the LIFE Center and at the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences. Their talks will address how new discoveries in social cognition, language, and cognitive neuroscience can coalesce to help advance interdisciplinary theories of the science of learning.

The LIFE Center and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) have started collaborating on the development of a Web-Based survey that NSBE planned to conduct of its collegiate membership. LIFE post-doc Baba Kofi Weusijana and Auburn University Computer Science and Software Engineering graduate student Wanda Eugene, both of which are NSBE members, initiated this collaboration. Ms. Eugene subsequently visited Stanford University to consult with Dr. Brigid Barron, and to SRI International, where she consulted with several staff members: Dr. Deb Emory, Ms. Amy Lewis, and Ms. Soleste Hilberg. Ms. Eugene has subsequently applied for a LIFE Fellowship, and will be assisted in the analysis of the survey by Dr. Barron and the SRI staff.

The Center for Informal Learning and Schools (CILS) and the Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center have met numerous times in the past year to (1) develop greater understanding of the goals and approaches of the two centers, (2) to identify opportunities for collaboration between the two centers, and (3) to get to know each other academically and socially. The meetings took place in September 2005 and April 2006.

The Pacific Science Center has been an ongoing partner with Strand 2 researchers, helping to recruit study participants and being instrumental in implementing study procedures. Members of the Everyday Science and Technology Group group gave a presentation to 12 members of the management team at the Pacific Science Center, talking about LIFE center work and ongoing studies in Strand 2. Information about strand 2 research and the LIFE center was also placed in a newsletter distributed to members of the Pacific Science Center.

Stevens, R., McCarthy, L., Levias, S. & Mertl, V. (2006, April 7).

Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in San Francisco, CA. The Money Matters project explores how families make financial decisions, focusing on the knowledge, resources, and practices that are developed and used in these situations. The poster describes quantitative practices used by families as observed through ethnographic methods. We present an analysis of the ways in which families develop innovations and routines around family financial activities.

The poster was part of a coordinated presentation of LIFE research across University of Washington and Stanford campuses led by discussant Rogers Hall, Vanderbilt University. The structured poster session was entitled Insights From Everyday Cognition: Ethnographic Studies of Science, Math, and Technology Learning.

Rose von Thater Braan of the Native Science Academy visited SRI International on two occasions. On the first visit, Ms. von Thater Braan shared her work at the Native Science Academy and her project, “Planning and Sustaining Partnerships in Native American Learning Paradigms” funded by an NSF Catalyst Award. On the second visit, attended also by Marie Battiste, co-PI on the Catalyst project and Bryant York of the University of Portland, possible collaborations were discussed. It was determined that Ms. von Thater Braan and Dr. Battiste will host a Native American Scholars Circle to provide LIFE researchers, students and interested partners with an experience in Native Science, and that Dr. Battiste will plan an extended visit to the LIFE Center to share the work of her center in Canada, the Center for Lifelong Learning, and to investigate opportunities for further collaborations between the centers.

LIFE Leaders Andrew Meltzoff and Patricia Kuhl have created a new undergraduate course at the University of Washington entitled “Introduction to the Science of Learning: From Biology to Behavior.” The course is jointly taught. This interdisciplinary course introduces students from all fields to the science of human learning. The course takes advantage of new findings in neuroscience and behavior to examine learning from early infancy to adulthood. It includes both historical descriptions and modern formulations. The course combines insights and contributions from developmental science, cognitive science, and neuroscience. The roles of both biology and culture in human learning will be examined.

The first edition of the Handbook of the Learning Sciences was published today by Cambridge University Press. LIFE Center researchers co-authored the opening chapter of the volume, highlighting the need and possibilities for theoretical synthesis over the next decade. Through the pursuit of conceptual collisions and synergies we believe it is possible to juxtapose and possibly coalesce our theoretical accounts of human learning through interdisciplinary research. The handbook provides a comprehensive accounting of what the contributing fields have discovered — and have yet to discover — about the details of human learning.

Andrew Meltzoff and Patricia Kuhl presented their research to the 13 members of the “Washington Learns” steering committee, chaired by Washington State Governor Gregoire, and approximately 80 members of the public, including community leaders and K-12 teachers and administrators. The Washington Learns committee seeks to improve the state’s educational system, review all education sectors including early learning, K-12 and higher education, and develop recommendations to improve coordination on learning across the lifespan access to education.

LIFE-ECO has had initial conversations with Mike Richey and Vivian Dang at the Boeing Company. Through a partnership for higher education, the Boeing Company’s Learning Training and Development Engineering group desires to establish a working relationship aimed at the development, delivery, and practical application of a distance learning certificate program in Nanotechnology. The objectives are to build the required competencies for engineers and scientists in the workforce, as well as to explore partnership opportunities with LIFE Center researchers, SRI International, and other key stakeholders to begin building a roadmap that integrated and builds the framework for a comprehensive education program in Nano technology.

The workshop will seek to encompass and apply the latest research in the application of nanotechnology and learning sciences. The primary focus is to create a “nano-ecological roadmap” for embedding both science and technology educational principles and real-world application of nano-modified materials for civil and transport structures into certificate programs for practicing engineers & technicians, link educational concepts into grades 6 through 12 STEM educational outcomes, and align learning goals to move from theory into practical commercial applications.