Developmental science, specifically interested in learning processes, symbolic functioning, representational thinking, and how you can think in the abstract

What are the findings or theories from your area of expertise that we could apply to higher education?

I think that the major findings come from following five targeted areas each of which has been well researched.

1. Structure of knowledge and memory
2. Analyses of problem solving and reasoning
3. From developmental psychology, we know about the early foundations of learning and how early learning relates to later learning
4.  Meta-cognitive processes
5. A newer area that is gaining attention is looking at how culture and cultural experiences mediate learning, memory, and problem solving

These are five areas that we know something about and that we are ready to use for influencing programs and curricula in schools.

What are the (most important) unsolved problems? What should be included in an agenda for research?

The biggest unsolved problem is in terms of the mediators of learning.  For example, technology has become a major influence in our lives, both in schools and in our homes.  Technology is pervading our lives, and yet we do not have a good understanding or knowledge base of how technology is a mediator of learning and understanding.  I could also say that is true of the issue of culture and cultural experiences.  I think that the mediators of learning are what we really need more information about: culture and technology are the two high-profile examples of this.

We need to know about conceptual change.  We want research to look at how mediators influence our concept formation.  We need to know how they are used to alter our preconceptions so that we can change our beliefs and change our understandings and change our behavior as we acquire more information.  Cultural belief systems influence how we approach problem solving. Children come to school with a lot of notions that need to be corrected; those notions are mediated through the culture.  Teachers also have their own conceptions of how children learn, as teachers gain more experience in teaching and in teaching with technology, they may need to change their conceptions of children’s learning.  The big unsolved problems lie in our understanding of what it takes to change people’s preconceptions, this is for both students and for teachers. The big challenge is in the area of conceptual change and what it takes for learning to occur.

What prototypes can you point us toward where principles from the science of learning are already being applied ?

The important prototypes are the ones that have been built from what we know about meta-cognition.  These prototypes come right out of basic developmental research that demonstrates the role that self-awareness plays in learning and in terms of appraising the learning processes.  The prototypes that have taught children to how to ask questions and how to develop self-awareness of their learning process have been influential in many areas, including the development of mathematical programs that are based in meta-cognition.  These math programs teach students how to estimate and how to diagram information and these are concepts that come out of our understanding of meta-cognition.

What are the major problems with or barriers to redesigning higher education? Do you have any ideas for overcoming them?

I think the two areas of continuity and time on task combined are the biggest problem that both teachers and school systems are faced with.  If you have a curriculum that is set up with a certain fixed number of units that a teacher has to work through in a specific amount of time, then the goals and objectives are built around the number of units and the amount of time available.  We know from effective learning that understanding and competency cannot be rushed.  I think a definite barrier is the way we conceptualize time and continuity. 

A big part of overcoming this barrier is by understanding that competency and understanding are not off-the-shelf ideas that can just be handed to the learner after a specified amount of time.  You achieve that understanding, on the teachers’ part at least, by changing the instruction that teachers receive in colleges of education.  We can work on this problem by instructing future teachers in areas of developmental psychology and developmental processes so that they learn about skill acquisition and competency development, and so that they develop an understanding that it takes time and time on task to develop competency.   

What additional questions should we be asking?

If we are looking at student performance and what it takes to move students from being a novice in an area to being competent in an area, we need to ask what the corollaries are to moving from novice to competent performance.  What are the support systems that influence this?  What are aspects of the child’s family and background that correlate with this learning process?  Again, we really need to look at the mediators of learning and the role that the culture and social influences play.  A major correlate involves the role of transfer of learning.  We need to do a better job of linking domains of knowledge and linking knowledge from context to context.  The role of prior knowledge and students background knowledge and the role of culture as a mediator are all really big unanswered questions that influence students’ learning.

What do we need to do so that one outcome of the retreat is to effect change (in ways that we want)?