IU to sponsor education and learning science conference

As learning scientists study the nature and conditions of education, they must find a way to convince other researchers, teachers and policy makers of the value of their findings. \nIn order to further that organic process, the School of Education's Learning and Developmental Sciences Program will host the International Conference for the Learning Sciences Tuesday through July 1. The conference is centered on the "Making a Difference" theme which aims to show the learning sciences do make a difference in educational models, said Sasha Barab, education assistant professor and conference co-chair. \n"Simply put, the learning sciences are the study of learning and the environments that support learning," said Ken Hay, a conference co-chair from the School of Education. \nAbout 450 attendees from around the world are expected at the conference. About 140 researchers will present in a series of poster sessions, presentations and symposia. One invited symposium, "Projects that Made a Difference," will feature presentations from four individuals -- John Bransford, Barbara McCombs, Marlene Scardamalia and Seymour Paper -- whose innovative projects are considered "legendary" in education and the learning sciences, Barab said. \nTwo prestigious events sponsored by the National Science Foundation are planned for today, said the conference co-chairs. One is a doctoral consortium for graduate students and the other is a career workshop for exceptional young faculty members. More than 100 applicants applied for 30 available seats. \n"(The conference will) really get people thinking more deeply about the impact our work is having on schools and people more generally," Barab said. "This year we are focusing on what impacts our projects and theories are having and how we might better align our work to have impact." \nA panel of National Science Foundation Science of Learning Center directors will present at the conference. The Centers have access to a combined total of $45 million in federal grants toward learning sciences, said the conference co-chairs. They added, collaboration during research and at conferences like this one promote the future of the learning sciences. \n"The learning sciences community is rooted in the synergy between cognitive science and computer science that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s," said education associate professor Dan Hickey, a conference co-chair. "It differs from related disciplines by its focus on innovative considerations of learning as they occur in actual learning contexts."\nThe conference is co-sponsored by the School of Education and the School of Informatics. The two schools, along with the cognitive sciences program, share interests in this interdisciplinary field and were recently awarded a Learning Sciences "Commitment to Excellence" award that added faculty members in each area. \nThis conference is the seventh biennial meeting of its kind. All meetings will take place on campus in the Indiana Memorial Union. Previous host sites include University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and University of California, Los Angeles. The next ICLS meeting will be held in June 2008 at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.