Learning Sciences is an interdisciplinary field that draws on multiple theoretical perspectives and research paradigms with the goal of advancing knowledge and application of knowledge about human learning and development in formal and informal educational settings.

Faculty Listing

The graduate program in Learning Sciences emphasizes four major goals:

1. To develop a strong foundation in research, principles, and theory in learning sciences as the basis for growth over a professional career.
2. To develop capacities and skills for applying cognitive science to problems and issues in classroom instruction and the acquisition of knowledge and skills.
3. To develop the capability to conduct high quality educational research.
4. To develop the skills necessary to study cognitive processes.

We are committed to understanding and improving P-16 education with a particular emphasis on building and researching technology-enhanced classroom environments.

Our scholarship encompasses the coordinated design and study of learning environments ranging from preschool to university education, and reaches outside of school to informal contexts for learning, like museums and after-school programs.

We focus strongly on informal educational contexts such as after-school centers, museums, and home environments, as well as the growing importance of more formal adult education and corporate training settings.

Learning Sciences takes a broad approach to principles of learning such as memory and the effective representation of knowledge, computer-based education, as well as processes in reading, writing, problem solving, and reasoning including mathematical and scientific reasoning.

This area also encompasses traditional topics in human learning, such as motivation, intelligence and other individual difference variables, education of the gifted and talented, and the study of effective schools and teachers.

COURSE WORK

Our program of study emphasizes an apprenticeship model of scholarship with early engagement in substantive problems of learning and teaching. Students work in concert with faculty to develop research studies in each of the first two years of study.

Courses are coordinated to promote the development of research and communication skills, so that students can become involved with important problems in educational research.

As students progress in the program they continue to work with faculty, both within and outside of the department, to craft systematic investigations of learning environments.

Course work is designed to develop a broad-based foundation and an interdisciplinary approach to issues in Learning Sciences. Although a core sequence of courses establishes this foundation, most course work is tailored to individual interests and needs.

Students are thus encouraged to take courses in the departments of Psychology, Computer Sciences, Curriculum and Instruction, Linguistics, Anthropology, and Philosophy. These departments, as well as others, are involved in interdisciplinary efforts that define Learning Sciences.

Click here for detailed requirements in the area.

RESEARCH

The intent of Learning Science research is to develop evidence-based claims about how people learn that have theoretical, practical, and pedagogical implications.

Given this focus on intertwining theory and practice through both field-based and laboratory research, Learning Sciences frequently involves carrying out design and implementation experiments. These experiments are intended to improve the education of all learners, but often have particular emphasis on finding solutions for minority and disadvantaged students for whom achievement gaps are a continuing problem.

Researchers in the Learning Sciences attempt to understand the nature and conditions of learning, cognition, development, and related areas of human performance, and they investigate cognition in its material, social, and cultural contexts.

Students are encouraged to become involved in research activities early in their graduate program.

Some students work closely with faculty members on research grants as a research or project assistant. Others work on a project of their own design with assistance from their advisor and other faculty members. Publications frequently result from these efforts.

Several facilities on and off campus provide excellent resources that aid research.
The School of Education's Media, Education Resources, and Information Technology (MERIT) Library offers several national information retrieval systems, such as ERIC and PSYCH LIT, through their on-line databases. The Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Lab (AADLC) is a Madison-based learning technology research and devlopment center that partners with UW.

Many project organizations located in the School of Education are concerned with effective schooling, including cognition and instruction, such as the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and the former Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools.

MS DEGREE PROGRAMS WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS

The Learning Sciences area participates in the Department's Masters Degree in Educational Psychology with Special Emphasis programs, which are designed for teachers who plan to remain in the school setting. These programs involve study toward a non-thesis Master's degree.

The special-emphasis program is designed for individuals who want to improve their knowledge base and skills for functioning in educational settings. The program is built around educator needs and offers a flexible blend of course work, independent study, and practicum experiences. It is designed to provide the student with an individualized program of theoretical and applied training, tailored to his or her interests, needs, and professional goals.

Students may concentrate in a particular interest area within Learning Sciences, such as cognitive development, accommodating learning needs of individual students, classroom computer applications, teaching problem solving and reasoning, teaching mathematical problem solving, and others.

The programs have separate admission procedures and degree requirements. Information on this program is available from the Educational Psychology Graduate Admissions Coordinator.

EMPLOYMENT

Most students in this area pursue a PhD degree and plan a career in college teaching and research. Federally sponsored and private research organizations and software firms provide additional employment opportunities.

LEARNING SCIENCES FACULTY

Department Faculty

Sharon Derry
Erica Halverson
Charles Kalish
Mitchell Nathan
Sadhana Puntambekar
David Williamson Shaffer

Affiliated Faculty

Martha Alibali, Department of Psychology
Richard Halverson, Educational Leadership and Policy Ananlysis
Eric Knuth, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Kurt Squire, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Constance Steinkuehler Squire, Department of Curriculum and Instruction