Program Schedule

Teaching Institute and Teaching Related Programming

Thursday, May 24^th Plenary Session: 1 to 2 pm

Learning Principles: What We Know About Learning

Session Chair:
Valerie Reyna,
Cornell University

Abstract: How do people learn? Are there ways to help them learn better? Experts in the field of learning will present research on self-regulated learning with computer-based learning systems, spatial learning, and learning from text. Different social contexts of learning, factors that influence learning, and ways that learning processes can be improved will be discussed.

Biography: Dr. Reyna's research focuses on dual processes in memory, judgment, and decision making, on how these processes change with age and expertise, and on their implications for risky decision making in law, health, and medicine. She is co-developer with another HD professor, Charles Brainerd, of fuzzy-trace theory, a theory of memory and its relation to higher cognitive processes.

Roger Azevedo,
University of Memphis

Title: What we know about self-regulated learning with computer-based learning environments

Nora Newcombe,
Temple University

Title: What we know about spatial learning

Abstract: Spatial thinking provides the foundation for many cognitive skills, such as the design of buildings, the solution of mathematics problems, and the use of spatial metaphor. Research that reveals how to increase it therefore can improve workforce effectiveness, as well as reduce gender and SES difference, thus improving social equity.


Biography: Nora S. Newcombe is Professor and James H. Glackin Fellow at Temple University. Her Ph.D. is from Harvard University. Her research focuses on spatial development and the development of episodic memory. Dr. Newcombe is the author of numerous chapters, articles, and books, including Making Space (with Janellen Huttenlocher). Her work has been recognized by awards including the George A. Miller Award and the G. Stanley Hall Award. She has served as Editor of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General and Associate Editor of Psychological Bulletin. She is currently PI of the NSF-funded Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center.

Susan Goldman,
University of Illinois, Chicago

Title: What Matters When Learning from Text?

Abstract: Learning from text is an individual and a social act of sense-making. The processes and outcomes of sense-making are affected by the text (structure, content, context);  previously acquired knowledge; the task context and purpose; and interest and motivation for engaging in sense-making. Each of these is socially and individually constrained.

Biography: Susan R. Goldman is Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Education at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She is Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Learning, Instruction, and Teacher Development. Her interests are in learning, instruction, and assessment in subject matter domains such as literacy, mathematics, history, and science and roles for technologies in supporting these. Her current research examines cognitive and social processes of science and historical inquiry that involves the use of multiple information resources. She is also involved in collaborations with practitioners to improve teaching and learning in urban schools.

Breakout Session, 2:15 to 3:15

Applications of Principles that Promote Performance

Session Chair:
J. Kevin Ford,
Michigan State University

Abstract: This breakout session focuses on three presentations by leading experts in the areas of critical thinking, feedback and creating learning systems. In each presentation, research across disciplinary fields is summarized to develop a better understanding of the factors that can impact learning at school and work settings. The practical implications of this research for the development of learning principles, guidelines, and strategies for optimizing the design and delivery of instruction are then described.

Biography: J. Kevin Ford is a professor of psychology at Michigan State University. His major research interests involve improving training effectiveness through efforts to advance our understanding of training needs assessment, design, evaluation and transfer. Dr. Ford also concentrates on building continuous learning and improvement orientations within organizations. He is an active consultant with private industry and the public sector on training, leadership, and organizational change issues. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. He received his BS in psychology from the University of Maryland and his MA and Ph.D. in psychology from The Ohio State University. Further information about Kevin and his research and consulting activities can be found at http://www.io.psy.msu.edu/jkf

Bruce Torff,
Hofstra University

Title: The Rigor Gap: Teachers' Beliefs about Critical Thinking
Abstract: Research indicates that teachers support the use of critical-thinking activities more for high- than low-achieving students, resulting in diminished rigor of curriculum for underachievers and persistent achievement gaps.  Research is needed to develop strategies for facilitating appropriate changes in teachers' beliefs about learning and teaching.

Biography: Bruce Torff, an educational psychologist, is Associate Professor of Curriculum and Teaching at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. He has published numerous articles and books on topics including teachers' beliefs and attitudes (especially concerning critical-thinking activities and professional-development initiatives), expertise in teaching, and musical cognition.  He earned a doctorate and two master's degrees at Harvard University, where he worked with Howard Gardner, and held a postdoctoral appointment at Yale University in collaboration with Robert J. Sternberg. Torff is active as a leader of professional-development workshops for educators and is also a pianist and songwriter.

Valerie Shute,
Educational Testing Service

Title: Formative Feedback and Learning

Abstract: My presentation focuses on formative feedback, which I define as anything that modifies a student's thinking or behavior to enhance learning and/or performance, engendering the formation of accurate, targeted conceptualizations and skills. I will overview some landmark feedback studies, and conclude with a set of guidelines for generating formative feedback. 

Biography: Val Shute is a Principal Research Scientist at ETS and designs and develops basic and applied research projects related to assessment, cognitive diagnosis, instruction, and learning from advanced systems. She earned a Ph.D. in cognitive/educational psychology from UC Santa Barbara and held a postdoctoral research fellowship at LRDC in Pittsburgh. Some example projects that she has pursued include: exploratory and confirmatory tests of aptitude-treatment interactions using the controlled environments of intelligent tutoring systems, student modeling research, and developing an automated knowledge elicitation and organization tool. Her main quest is to help eliminate the achievement gap that persists in this country.

Eduardo Salas,
University of Central Florida

Title: Designing Learning Systems in Organizations: What matters

Abstract: Over the last decade, the science of learning has generated a number of findings for optimizing the design and delivery of learning systems in work organizations. This presentation will take a systems approach to training as to illustrate how these findings influence learning and training effectiveness in the workplace.

Biography: EDUARDO SALAS, Ph.D. is Trustee Chair and Professor of Psychology at the University of Central Florida. He has co-authored over 300 journal articles and book chapters, has edited eighteen books, serves on 10 editorial boards and is past Editor of Human Factors journal. He is a Fellow of Division 14(recipient of the Division's applied research award) and 21(recipient of Division's Taylor award for contributions to the field) (member of Division 19, 49) of APA and a Fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. He has twenty years of experience in applied research on learning, training and simulation-based training.

Friday, May 25^th

Time: TBA

Learning with Technologies of the Future

Biography: Diane F. Halpern is Professor Psychology and Director of the Berger Institute for Work, Family, and Children at Claremont McKenna College .  Diane has published over 350 articles and many books including, Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking (4^th Ed.); Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities (3^rd ed.),a special two-volume edited issue of the American Behavioral Scientist entitled Changes at the Intersection of Work and Family(edited with Heidi R. Riggio, 2006) and Critical Thinking in Psychology (edited with Robert J. Sternberg and Henry L. Roediger, III, 2006). Diane was 2004 President of the American Psychological Association.

Presenters:

Art Graesser,
University of Memphis

Title: Talking Heads: Learning Environments with Animated Conversational Agents

Abstract: Interdisciplinary teams of researchers are building learning environments with animated conversational agents that speak, point, gesture, posture, and display facial expressions. Do these agents help us learn about serious content? Are they seductive or irritating distractions? This talk explores research on these agents and their impact on learning gains.

Biography:  Art Graesser is a professor in Psychology, Computer Science, and the Institute for Intelligent Systems at University of Memphis. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California at San Diego in 1977. His primary research interests are in discourse processing, cognitive science, and learning technologies. Specific interests include text comprehension, reading, inferences, question asking and answering, tutoring, and computational linguistics. He is associate editor of Discourse Processes and senior editor of the Handbook of Discourse Processes He has designed software in learning, language, and discourse technologies, including AutoTutor, Coh-Metrix, Question Understanding Aid (QUAID), QUEST, HURA Advisor, and Point&Query.

Milt Hakel,
Bowling Green State University

Title: Learning Online with and from Peers

Abstract: Electronic portfolio systems in general and Calibrated Peer Review in particular offer online technologies that can amplify engagement in learning.  This presentation provides an overview of how the use of these technologies can deepen and document students’ learning.

Biography: Milton D. Hakel is the Ohio Board of Regents Eminent Scholar in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Bowling Green State University, in Bowling Green, Ohio.  He chairs the National Research Council's Committee on Evaluation of the Impact of Teacher Certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.  The role of formative assessment in learning and documenting performance changes due to integrative learning are his major current interests.  With Diane Halpern and Art Graesser he co-chairs the Life Long Learning at Work and at Home task force.

James Paul Gee,
University of Wisconsin

Title: Learning Online with and from Peers

Biography: James Paul Gee is the Tashia Morgridge Professor of Reading at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.   His book Sociolinguistics and Literacies(1990) was one of the founding documents in the formation of the ÒNew Literacies Studies.Ó His book An Introduction to Discourse Analysis(1999/2004) brings together his work on a methodology for studying communication in its cultural settings, an approach that has been widely influential.  His most recent books both deal with video games, language, and learning. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy (2003) offers 36 reasons why good video games produce good learning. Situated Language and Learning (2004) places video games within an overall theory of learning and literacy.

Learning at Different Developmental Stages

Chair:
Keith Millis,
Northern Illinois State University

Abstract: How can we develop tools necessary for learning across the lifespan? We need to overcome challenges in doing controlled research in schools. We need to make learning engaging and flexible. In this intriguing session, we have three experts who will address challenges for learning in schools and in the workplace.

Biography: Keith Millis is a professor of psychology at Northern Illinois University. He received his Ph.D. from Memphis State University in 1989 before completing a post-doctoral fellowship at Carnegie-Mellon University. His research interests center on various aspects of language comprehension. He has received federally funded grants to develop and test new ways of assessing reading strategies associated with successful comprehension and to teach them to struggling readers. He is also applying principles of deep comprehension to computerized environments that teach various aspects of critical thinking.

Presenters:

Ken Koedinger,
Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract: Cognitive Tutor software combines Psychology and Artificial Intelligence to advance learning theory and improve student achievement across the country. Extending this approach, the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center is providing a cyberinfrastructure to support researchers in more easily creating, running, and analyzing microgenetic data from controlled experiments in classrooms.

Biography: Ken Koedinger is a professor of Human-Computer Interaction and Psychology at Carnegie Mellon. He is co-founder of Carnegie Learning, a company developing and distributing science and technology based courses to more than 2000 schools. He is also a director of the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center, a $25 million NSF funded center that is advancing a practical theory of robust learning. At LearnLab.org researchers will find a technical and social infrastructure that can support them in creating, running, and mining data from classroom experiments with real students and content.

J. D. Fletcher,
Institute for Defense Analysis

Title: Learning for Working Adults

Abstract: Working adults must continually adapt to evolving workplace environments. Adults particularly need anytime, anywhere access to learning environments that assess their prior knowledge, interests, and aspirations and that tailor instructional content and strategies accordingly. Techniques for meeting these goals and evidence of their effectiveness and benefits will be discussed.

Biography: J. D. Fletcher is a member of the senior research staff at the Institute for Defense Analyses where he specializes in personnel and human performance issues. He has held university positions in psychology, computer science, and systems engineering. He has held government positions in Navy and Army Service Laboratories, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He has served on various science and technology advisory panels. His research interests include "intelligent" tutoring systems, networked instructional simulations, mobile performance aids, analyses of skilled behavior, and cost-effectiveness analyses of education and training.

Denise Park,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Title: Maintaining Cognitive vitality in late adulthood: Impact of cognitive engagement

Abstract: It is commonly believed that maintaining an active mind throughout one's life is protective of cognitive function in late adulthood. I will argue that "productive" but not "receptive" engagement may impact positively on cognitive function and will suggest new directions for experimentally studying the impact of engagement in older adults.

Biography: Denise Park is Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois and Co-Director of the Center for Healthy Minds at the Beckman Institute. She is also a past member of the APS Board of Directors. Her work focuses on understanding age-related changes in basic neural and behavioral cognitive processes, as well as the implications of those changes for function in everyday life. She recently has become particularly interested in the impact of an engaged lifestyle of sustaining cognitive function in late adulthood.

Here is a list of who we are:

Co-Chairs:

Diane F. Halpern, Claremont McKenna College

Art Graesser, University of Memphis

Milt Hakel, Bowling Green State University

Members:

Phillip Ackerman, Georgia Institute of Technology

Roger Azevedo, University of Memphis

Cynthia Belar, American Psychological Association

Steve Breckler, American Psychological Association

Robert Bjork, UCLA

John Bransford, University of Washington

Anders Ericsson, Florida State University

Dexter Fletcher, Institute for Defense Analysis

Kevin Ford, Michigan State University

James Gee, University of Wisconsin

Susan Goldman, University of Illinois, Chicago

W. Lewis Johnson, University of Southern California

Ken Koedinger, Carnegie Mellon

Kurt Kraiger, Colorado State University

Stacy Marsella, University of Southern California

Margaret Matlin, State University of New York, Geneseo

Richard Mayer, UC - Santa Barbara

Keith Millis, Northern Illinois University

Nora Newcombe, Temple University

Denise Park, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Charlie Reeve, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Henry Roediger, III, Washington University

Wendy Rogers, Georgia Institute of Technology

Eduardo Salas, University of Central Florida

Daniel Schwartz, Stanford University

Valerie Shute, Educational Testing Service

Reed Stevens, University of Washington

Bruce Torff, Hofstra University

Peter Vorderer, University of Southern California

Association of Psychological Science Staff:

Alan Kraut

Sarah Brookhart

Amy Pollick

Clayton Stephenson, graduate assistant, Claremont Graduate University