Agenda Friday, June 13, 2003 NSF Science of Learning Center Opportunity 9:00AMGathering (Coffee and bagels) 9:15Introductions (Dov Almog) 9:30Overview of NSF’s Science of Learning Centers (SLC) Program(Carol Van Buren) 10:00SLC’s Oral Health component - Why Oral Health and why iLearning(Dov Almog) 10:15Sharing of current relevant work(Marjorie Zack/All) 10:30Feasibility & Partnerships: Exploratory Discussion & Brainstorming / Next Steps(Marjorie Zack/All) 11:30Adjourn

National Science Foundation Science of Learning Centers (SLC) Program Solicitation Overview For Discussion: June 13, 2003

What is the Science of Learning? “The Science of Learning aims to understand what learning is and how it is affected at all levels, ranging from the digital to the societal, mathematical, physical, social sciences, engineering, and education.” Research Areas: Psychological, social & pedagogical aspects of learning Biological basis of learning, machine learning, learning technologies Mathematical analyses & modeling of all of the above. Purpose: To extend our understanding of learning To connect learning research to the scientific, technological, educational, & workforce challenges of our time

Science of Learning Motivational, emotional, and social contexts Biological foundations Mathematical, statistical, and computational analyses Machine learning Learning technologies Feedback networks Cognitive processes

What is the Science of Learning Centers (SLC) Program? Science of Learning Center Awards: “…offer awards for large-scale, long-term Centers that will extend reach of knowledge on learning & create the intellectual, organizational, & physical infrastructure needed for long-term advancement of learning research” “Centers will be built around a unifying focus and will incorporate a diverse, multidisciplinary environment involving appropriate partnerships with academia, industry, and all levels of education and other public & private entities” Catalyst Awards: Designed to enable partnership building & research activities leading to the creation of new Centers during initial years of the SLC Program Likely to include workshop & planning activities

Goals Advance the frontiers of all sciences of learning through integrated research Connect science of learning research to specific scientific, technological, educational, & workforce challenges Enable research communities that can capitalize on new opportunities & discoveries and to respond to new challenges

Features Long-term vision & strategic plan Integrated, multi-disciplinary research program Diverse teams & appropriate partnerships Mechanisms to share resources & disseminate ideas Innovative educational, research, and career development opportunities Strong project leadership combined with external expertise & interests Robust infrastructure

Research Areas Biological foundations of learning Feedback networks Neural basis of learning in humans+ Machine learning, learning algorithms, robotics… Language, communication, & symbol systems Visualization & representation of complex phenomena & multidimensional data Analogical reasoning, mathematical reasoning… Learning of disciplinary content including assessment, structure, pedagogical content…

Research Areas Learning of strategies to identify solutions to open- ended or ambiguous problems Motivational, emotional, & social context of learning Learning technologies, e.g. intelligent tutoring systems, visualization tools, digital libraries, etc. Mathematical, statistical & computational modeling in any of the above research areas Development of new tools & technology to support the science of learning

Scope & Focus Centers: Ready Infrastructure Full-scale long-term support. First competition in FY03. Networking opportunities. Serving as national resources. Awards of up to $3-5M each per year, or total of $25M over 5 years with annual review of progress. Catalysts: Proof of Concept Limited-duration research and partnership-building activities leading to subsequent establishment of a center. Networking opportunities. Awards of up to $250K each. $50K additional available for international collaborations in a future center.

Scope & Focus Every Center & Catalyst must: Be organized around a unifying research focus Appropriate to its own strengths & creative vision Extend the frontiers of research on learning Build on a broad base of relevant bodies of knowledge Open to a wide range of potential research foci & approaches, spanning across ALL areas of the science of learning

Scope & Focus Education/SLCs expected to: Contribute to learning in Pre-K-12 settings Establish a culture for education of graduate & undergraduate students Evaluate curricular contributions & disseminate how those are successful Deepen understanding of learning in educational settings Identify how research advances can best be integrated into broad array of educational settings

Scope & Focus Partnerships: Expected projects will be multi-faceted Require group of collaborating investigators representing diverse perspectives & expertise Collaborative efforts must be designed to advance the field beyond what might be possible via separate, independently conducted projects Each member bring unique element to team Whole greater than sum of parts Beyond traditional disciplinary & institutional boundaries

SLC Deadline Dates Centers Catalysts LETTERS OF INTENT (REQUIRED) August 5, 2003 PROPOSALS August 5, 2003 PROPOSALS September 17, 2003 See Appendix at close of slide show for Proposal Details

NSF’s SLC Program and the Rochester Opportunity The Case for Oral Health Introduction by Dov Almog June 13, 2003

Why Rochester? A Center for the Science of Learning fits well with the Rochester “region's competency cluster of academic institutions”.

Why this discussion today? “I am not sure though that I understand the scope and our potential role.” Our intent is to explore the feasibility of partnering with “a large-scale, long-term Center that will extend the frontiers of knowledge on learning and create the intellectual, organizational, and physical infrastructure needed for the long-term advancement of learning research …… involving appropriate partnerships with academia, industry, all levels of education, and other public and private entities.” (NSF ).

Why oral health? Compelling evidence connecting oral health and the cognitive and social elements of education and equitable access to learning is documented in The Surgeon General's Report. Unlike most other chronic diseases, it is largely preventable. Data indicates a clear need for determined oral health promotion efforts to inform and encourage increased levels of preventive behaviors among parents, children K-12, teachers, providers, nurses and pediatricians, to name a few, particularly among specific socio-demographic and ethnic groups.

Why oral health? More than 51 million school hours are lost each year to dental-related illness. Poor children suffer nearly 12 times more restricted-activity days than children from higher-income families. Pain and suffering due to untreated diseases can lead to problems in eating, speaking, and attending to learning. The nation’s total bill for dental services was estimated by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to be $70.1 billion in Beyond these expenses are the millions of school and work hours lost every year because of oral health problems.

What focus for oral health? Dov to describe his vision of how an oral health initiative would fit into the Science of Learning Center concept, including iLearning initiative of VDC.

NSF’s SLC Program and the Rochester Opportunity Feasibility of Partnership Discussion Facilitated by Marjorie Zack June 13, 2003

What other existing initiatives / partners? Solicit feedback from attendees as to their research and how it might fit into the SLC concept.

What other existing initiatives / partners? Brainstorming of ideas and next steps. Reality check against full Center proposal v.s. Catalyst approach as initial focus.

National Science Foundation Science of Learning Centers (SLC) Appendix of Proposal Details

Centers: Letters of Intent to 1. Descriptive title 2. Names of PIs and Senior Personnel word abstract Information is used for planning review No feedback from NSF beyond acknowledgement PIs and Institutions may participate in more than one proposal

Centers: Proposals Submit electronically by FastLane Project Description (30 pages max) must include: 1. Vision 2. Current State of Knowledge 3. Research and Education Activities 4. Management Plan 5. Evaluation and Assessment 6. Facilities, Equipment, and other Resources 7. Sustainability

Centers: Proposals Must not duplicate or be substantially similar to another NSF proposal Submit participant list as a supplementary document Budget for 5 years, $3 to $5 million annually Include travel funds for annual SLC meetings

Other Considerations Write for a multidisciplinary audience Be concrete about what, why, and how Two-way connections and partnerships Centers as national resources Be focused and strategic, without losing sight of the big picture There is no formula: develop an approach that works for you

Is SLC the right program for me? Alignment with program goals Advancing research frontiers Connecting research to challenges Enabling research communities Ready (or almost ready) to work at a Center scale? Other Center and grants programs

Essential Details Program Information Solicitation:NSF Web-site: FastLane Electronic Proposal Submission Information Telephone help:(800) NSF Grant Proposal Guide