The LIFE Center: Learning in Informal and Formal Environments

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Proposal NSF 0835854: The LIFE CenterABSTRACTThis is a proposal to renew the LIFE Center, situated at the University of Washington in Seattle, a multi-university, multi-year, interdisciplinary project devoted to the study of social factors in learning, an underappreciated element of the science of learning. Now concluding its 5th year of support, the center proposes to continue its efforts "to develop and test principles about the social foundations of human learning in informal and formal environments, including how people learn to innovate in contemporary society, with the goal of enhancing human learning from infancy to adulthood."Among the research projects to be pursued during the next phase of investigation are (1) social factors in language learning--especially in infants, (2) new designs to enhance learning via media and technology by identifying and utilizing social interaction and "social belief", the perception that one is interacting with a human being, whether or not this is true, (3) effects on learning of social identity and stereotyping, (4) social practices in science learning, including an anthropological study of informal science learning in social settings, (5) new views of and efforts to enhance expertise, transfer and assessment, (6) social practices in the workplace that foster learning, and (7) the importance of informal teaching by parents, peers and mentors.In addition to demonstrating strong effects of social factors on learning, the researchers in LIFE will pursue answers to the overall theoretical question: "What is it about the social that powerfully enhances learning?"More than just a research center, LIFE participants are also committed to the education of undergraduates, graduate students and post-docs; to increasing diversity among faculty, students and future scientists; and to the transfer of research results to practice in education and workplaces.