CIRCL News
Thanks to all who participated in a fantastic Cyberlearning ‘19 convening… and if you missed it, be sure to watch videos of the keynotes and check out Tweets at #NSFCL19. The convening shaped our communal sense of the fantastic and important opportunities for this research community going forward, opportunities that lie at the intersections of emerging technology, pressing equity issues, and advancing learning science theories.
But enough Venn pie-in-the-sky, what about concrete opportunities?
- A new call for NSF AI Institutes targets funding for an institute in AI and Augmented Learning, with unusually large potential awards.
- Cyberlearning has a January 13, 2020 due date. Note that while the solicitation has a new added focus for cyberlearning within the context of work at the human-technology frontier, it still funds all types of cyberlearning research — not just that related to the topic of “work at the human-technology frontier,” and also not just for STEM.
- Digital Promise has been selected to lead the next version of the National Educational Technology Plan, a key policy document for the whole United States. Your input is valued as we want to feature some cyberlearning research. Learn more and drop us a line.
- The Journal of the Learning Sciences has a call for special issues — how about proposing one about findings emerging from Cyberlearning research? And Technology, Mind, and Behavior is a new open access, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal from the American Psychological Association that publishes original work in the area of human–technology interaction.
- And don’t miss the November 18 submission deadline for the International Conference of the Learning Sciences, to be held in Nashville, TN in 2020.
Finally, congratulations to Henry Kautz, CISE leader from NSF, for receiving the ACM – AAAI Allen Newell Award for contributions to artificial intelligence and computational social science!
Funding Opportunities
The new NSF Institute in AI-Augmented Learning targets funding for a specific ~$20M institute in AI-Augmented Learning. Amy Baylor is the primary contact person for inquiries. See the solicitation and press release. Proposals deadlines are January 28, 2020 for Institute proposals in one of the six specified themes, and January 30, 2020 for Planning proposals.
NSF Cyberlearning for Work at the Human-Technology Frontier invites proposals for exploratory and synergistic learning technology research in STEM and other foundational areas that enable STEM learning. Proposals are due January 13, 2020.
NSF INCLUDES Planning Grants Solicitation invites proposals to support planning efforts necessary to build capacity to establish future centers, alliances, or other large-scale networks endeavoring to address a critical broadening participation challenge in STEM at scale. Proposals are due December 3, 2019.
The Susan Crown Exchange (SCE) has launched a new Challenge: Youth Voice in the Digital Age that seeks to support programs, initiatives or campaigns that respond to the following question: How can young people inspire their peers to use technology in healthy ways and make digital spaces better for everyone? Submissions are due January 31, 2020.
Featured Perspective: Meet Eric Hamilton
Eric Hamilton is Professor of Education at Pepperdine University with joint appointment in Mathematics. His current work to establish a network of STEM-related Collaborative Media Making Clubs in the U.S. and 3 other countries is described in his STEM Video Showcase videos from 2019, 2018, and 2017, and builds on the work featured his 2016 video on teacher creativity at the intersection of content, student cognition, and digital media.
What is the big idea of your current project?
We’re building and researching an International Network for STEM Media Making and Student Participatory Teaching through an NSF-funded AISL grant, in a collaboration between Pepperdine University and the New York Hall of Science. The project is building and studying a network of STEM-related after school Media Making Clubs in the U.S. and in three other countries: Kenya, Namibia and Finland. The media produced by the students (ages 12-19) focuses on STEM topics and is intended to help other students become enthused about and learn the science. Our research questions look at knowledge formation in digital maker spaces and in the impact of participatory teaching, virtual networks, and intercultural, global competence. You can learn more about the project at the IC4 Project site. Read more of Eric’s perspective.
Conferences, Calls, & Webinars
Conferences:
- ISLS 2020 is June 19-23, 2020 in Nashville,Tennessee. Paper, poster, and symposia submissions are due November 18, 2019. Early Career Workshop and Doctoral Consortium applications are due December 15.
- LAK 2020 is March 23-27, 2020 in Frankfurt, Germany – celebrating its 10th year. The deadline for research paper submissions has passed, but workshop paper submissions are due December 15, 2019.
- L@S 2020 is May 27-29, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. L@S focuses on innovations in scaling and enhancing learning, empirical investigations of learning at scale, new technical systems for learning at scale, and novel syntheses of relevant research. Full papers are due January 20, 2020, workshops are due February 3, and demos and WIP papers are due March 27.
- iLRN 2020 is June 21–25, 2020 in San Luis Obispo, California. The event focuses on advances in the use of virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and other extended reality technologies to support learners across the full span of learning. Papers and proposal submissions are due January 6, 2020.
- EDM 2020 is July 10-13, 2020 in Ifrane, Morocco. EDM invites contributions to data mining research that explore how people learn and teach. Workshop and Tutorial proposals are due January 13, 2020; Paper abstracts are due February 20, 2020.
- AIED 2020 is July 7-10, 2020 also in Ifrane, Morocco, just before EDM 2020 (above). (Details on AIED 2020 are forthcoming.).
Calls:
- The Journal of the Learning Sciences (JLS) invites proposals for a special issue on emerging themes in the field, to be published in 2022. See Instructions to Authors for information on how to prepare a proposal. Proposals are due December 2, 2019.
- Technology, Mind, and Behavior is a new open access, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal from the APA that publishes original work in the area of human–technology interaction with a focus on human behavior at the individual or group level. Submissions are now being accepted.
- Routledge will be publishing a new book series on learning sciences research. Book proposals and edited volumes are welcome, and international perspectives encouraged. Topics can include theory, methodology, or empirical research. Share your idea in a brief email to one of the 3 co-editors: Chee-Kit Looi (cheekit.looi@nie.edu.sg), Keith Sawyer (rksawyer@email.unc.edu), or Mike Sharples (mike.sharples@open.ac.uk).
JLS Webinar: Teacher–Student Dialogue During Classroom Teaching: Does It Really Impact on Student Outcomes? What is known about classroom dialogue? Which aspects are relevant for student learning – and which do not matter? Join a webinar with the Cambridge Educational Dialogue Team and panelists on November 13. Register and read the paper.
Job & Fellowship Opportunities
Also see #learningsciencesjobs
NSF positions:
- NSF seeks a program officer with expertise in media in STEM education in one or more of the following areas: education media; transmedia production; interactive media; and assessment of STEM learning via media products. Applications will be reviewed beginning October 15, 2019.
- NSF seeks program officers with expertise in pre-K-12 science education research or mathematics/statistics education. Apply by December 31, 2019.
Faculty & staff positions:
- Simon Fraser University invites applications for a tenure-track position in educational technology and learning design. Apply by January 2, 2020.
- The University of Georgia invites applications for Assistant Professor of Science Education in the Department of Mathematics and Science Education.
- Utah State University invites applications for two tenure track positions at the Assistant or Associate Professor level and for a Professional Practice Professor to join the Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences.
- The University of Utah invites applications for Assistant or Associate Professor in Learning Science focused on STEM learning in museums and informal contexts. Review of applications will begin on November 15, 2019.
- The University of Wisconsin-Madison invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Computational Approaches to Language. (Reviews in progress; applications accepted until position filled.)
- The University of Connecticut invites applications for two positions in Learning Sciences at the assistant or associate professor level. (Reviews in progress; applications accepted until position filled.)
- The University of Texas at Austin invites applications for an Assistant or Associate Professor of STEM Education. (Reviews in progress; applications accepted until position filled.)
- The University of Arizona invites applications for Professor of Learning Sciences at the assistant, associate, or full professor level.
- MIT invites applications for a Research Scientist in Comparative Media Studies in the Scheller Teacher Education Program.
- MIT also has 4 open positions in the Playful Journey Lab, which explores frontiers in lifelong, lifewide learning: Assessment Scientist, Learning Sciences Researcher, Project Manager, and Teacher Education Research Consultant.
The Google PhD Fellowship Program awards PhD students around the world for doing innovative research in areas relevant to computer science and related fields. Fellowships tuition and fees, stipend, a research mentor, and a yearly Global Summit. Learn more and apply by November 30, 2019.
New Cyberlearning Awards
New projects funded by the NSF Cyberlearning program include:
- CAREER: Designing a New Nexus: Examining the Social Construction of Electronics and Computing Toolkits to Broaden Participation and Deepen Learning, funded by CFLT. PI: Kylie Peppler, University of California-Irvine.
- EXP: To Enact, To Tell, To Write: A Bridge to Expressive Writing through Digital Enactment, funded by CORE & CFLT. PI: Sharon Lynn Chu, University of Florida.
- Discussion Tracker: Development of Human Language Technologies to Improve the Teaching of Collaborative Argumentation in High School, funded by S-STEM & CFLT. PI: Amanda Godley, University of Pittsburgh. CoPI: Diane Litman.
- Support for Doctoral Students from U.S. Universities to Attend the 12th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2019), funded by CFLT. PI: Shiting Lan, University of Massachusetts Amherst.
NSF is also making five new awards to create and study open-source learning platforms to train and reskill workers in fields ranging from engineering to manufacturing, with the support of a $10 million gift The Boeing Company made in 2018.
Resource & Tech Corner
Broadening participation starts by examining our own practices. The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) Broadening Participation in STEM task force offers a Conversation Guide that outlines key challenges, questions, and tips to facilitate conversation. Check out CAISE news and the many other resources they provide to support research, evaluation, and proposal writing.
NAPLeS has a new home within the ISLS website. Explore the site to find videos, webinar recordings, syllabi, information about NAPLeS member programs, and NAPLeS news. NAPLeS has established multiple task forces to work on creating Learning Sciences signature courses and offering online resources on particular topics in the learning sciences.
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CIRCL is supported by NSF grants IIS-1233722, IIS-1441631, and IIS-1556486. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.