The International Conference for the Learning Sciences will be held in Chicago June 29 - July 2, 2010: <a href="http://www.isls.org/icls2010/">http://www.isls.org/icls2010/</a>
We would like to invite all who might be attending ICLS2010 and who are interested to apply to the Doctoral Consortium and Early Career Workshops which will run for 1.5 days before the larger conference June 28 and 29, 2010.
How to apply for the Doctoral Consortium Workshop:
<a href="http://www.isls.org/icls2010/call.html#dc">http://www.isls.org/icls2010/call.html#dc</a>
How to apply for the Early Career Workshop:
<a href="http://www.isls.org/icls2010/call.html#dc">http://www.isls.org/icls2010/call.html#dc</a>
Descriptions about the workshops follow below.
Doctoral Consortium Workshop:
The Doctoral Consortium Workshop will provide an opportunity for Ph.D.
Students around the world working in learning science-related areas to discuss their dissertation work among themselves and with more senior mentors. Most applicants will be advanced graduate students, and be at a stage in their work where the consortium participants may be of help in shaping the research or analysis activities. The objectives of the Doctoral Consortium Workshop are:
* provide a setting for mutual feedback on participants’ current research
* provide guidance on future research directions
* provide a forum for discussing methodological and theoretical issues of central importance to Learning Sciences
* develop a supportive community of scholars in the Learning Sciences
* develop a spirit of collaborative research across countries and institutions, and
* contribute to the conference experience of participating students through interaction with other participants and consortium faculty.
Doctoral Consortium Workshop activities are organized around small-group interactions. During the workshop participants will first be asked to introduce themselves through a short presentation about a particular aspect of their dissertation research that they would like to discuss
because: they are seeking input on how to approach it, it is an intriguing problem for Learning Sciences generally, it is an issue other doctoral students are likely to be confronting, or it has the potential for stimulating discussions of methodological and theoretical importance. Then, based on the issues for discussion (theoretical, research question, data collection, analyses, relevance to practice, design, writing, etc), participants will form small groups (4 students), and be assigned an expert mentor for further discussion. After the intensive small group interactions, participants will report their progress to the consortium. Plans for further joint activity will be discussed as well.
The Doctoral Workshop will precede the ICLS 2010 Conference, taking place all day June 28 and half day June 29th.
Early Career Workshop:
Under the auspices of the International Society of the Learning Sciences, ICLS2010 is organizing an Early Career workshop at the ICLS conference this June in Chicago. This Early-Career Workshop is intended to provide an opportunity for researchers early in their careers working in learning science-related areas to discuss early-career challenges among themselves and with more senior mentors. Scholars who are within five years of having received their PhD and in a research position are welcome to apply, regardless of the type of institution they are in.
The three goals of the Early Career Workshop are to:
1. Foster community building between a) early career researchers themselves and b) early career researchers and senior researchers in order to develop academic, professional, and personal support network;
2. Build on the 2010 ICLS conference theme, to encourage cross-disciplinary dialogue with emphases on understanding learning themes and methodologies that both define disciplinary goals and also more generally contribute to the Learning Sciences community; and
3. Investigate essential elements of successful academic and professional participation as an early career researcher which may include discussions on: building a research program; requirements for tenure and other professional benchmarks; pointers for grant proposal and journal writing; mentoring graduate students; and negotiating a balance between institutional service, cross cultural issues, academic writing, and teaching.
There are a number of activities planned which include discussions with journal editors, presentations and conversations with leaders in the learning sciences field, a focus on participant identified early career challenges, and opportunities for participants to present their research ideas and receive constructive feedback. The workshop also includes a variety of social activities that will provide a way for those early in their careers to get to know each other.
The workshops are being organized by Susan Yoon and Paul Kirschner, with additional participation by members of the ISLS education committee.
Leaders of the workshops and invited guest speakers will be announced in the near future.
The workshop will run one and half days prior to the ICLS conference: on Monday morning and afternoon, June 28 and on Tuesday morning, June 29.
We are interested in working with a broad range of Learning Sciences researchers from around the world.
On behalf of the workshop co-chairs,
Susan Yoon and Paul Kirschner, Early Career Workshop
Cindy-Hmelo-Silver and Jerry Andriessen, Doctoral Consortium Workshop