Learning Sciences Distinction

Coursework

Learning Sciences course outside of the student’s major. Students will select one elective outside of their discipline, that carries the Learning Sciences/Research attribute from across Pitt (3 credits). This class will be drawn from courses offered by LRDC faculty in the Dietrich School, the School of Computing and Information, and the School of Education. They also include courses identified outside of LRDC, in collaboration with undergraduate advisors across the university. Where appropriate, undergraduate students further along in their program of study may also petition to have a master’s level course count towards the distinction.

The Learning Sciences Attribute will be assigned by a committee drawn from across disciplines. Initially, the committee will be comprised of the faculty presenting this proposal, but over time, faculty members
will be added as needed to assure disciplinary breadth. Course syllabi will be used to determine whether at least 30% of the course content addresses core Learning Sciences material. Instructors will be contacted if there are questions as to topic relevance to the learning sciences.

Learning Sciences Pro-Seminar Course: Students will participate in a pro-seminar (3 credits) developed and taught by faculty at LRDC. The pro-seminar will provide students with the opportunity to learn
about different facets of the learning sciences, including different research paradigms and methodologies, as well as practical issues related to learning sciences research. The course will also include elements that will vary year to year to take advantage of unique opportunities that present. Potential examples of the latter include a brief practical experience that exposes students to a key insight from a learning sciences field; a technology session where students learn about how a particular piece of equipment works (e.g,. MRI or eyetracker); a field visit to a school or other context to see the learning sciences in action; and other impactful activities to help students understand the learning sciences, either from a research perspective, an applied perspective, or a career perspective. While we expect that the proseminar will be initially listed as a course in the School of Arts and Sciences, our longterm goal is for the course to be cross-listed in multiple schools.

LRDC Research Project

The co-curriular component of the Learning Sciences distinction would consist of participation in LRDC research for at least 2 semesters. Research participation may be for pay on funded research projects (e.g,. work-study positions) or for credit. Students’ time can be distributed across various projects or devoted to a single project. Under faculty supervision, advanced graduate students or post-docs in the LRDC also could potentially work with students on their research projects. This would serve the twin goals of expanding potential mentors for undergraduate students (range of research opportunities) as well as providing graduate students/post docs with mentoring experience. For all students, additional learning opportunities will be identified in the semester where the pro-seminar is not offered to enhance the undergraduate learning community. Examples may include:

• Peer presentations; discussion of journal articles; lab tours
• Learning about career opportunities via structured conversations and/or observations with individuals employed in fields related to the learning sciences (e.g., academia, industry, education, medicine)

Capstone

The distinction will culminate in a capstone project through which students will have the opportunity to communicate about their research experience with external audiences. During the soft launch for the distinction, the deliverable for this will be the following:

• Poster summarizing involvement in a research project (what they did, what they found, why it matters). All students will submit their project for consideration to the Pitt Undergraduate Research Fair organized by the Office of the Provost.
• Students will also be encouraged to present their work as it unfolds at other local conferences. Options for the latter include:
  • Laurel Highlands Conference at Pitt Johnstown
  • 48th Western Pennsylvania Undergraduate Psychology Conference
  • Pitt BRAIN Day
  • Statistical Analysis of Neuronal Data (SAND) workshop

As an alternative to presenting in the Pitt Undergraduate Research Fair, the distinction will accept as deliverable for the capstone project, a paper accepted in the Pitt Undergraduate Review.

• If extenuating circumstances prevent a student from presenting in the Undergraduate Research Fair, the student may petition the Learning Sciences Distinction committee for approval of an alternative synthetic project via the administrative contact for the distinction.

At a later date, and in consultation with the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Programs, the LRDC may explore hosting an in-house poster event for the required capstone, perhaps in collaboration with the Undergraduate Research Fair.