New insights from cognitive scientific studies of learning and significant advances in the nature of computer technology make the Learning Sciences a critical area of study for innovations in teaching and learning based on sound theory and evidence. The Learning Sciences Ph.D. program is a new interdisciplinary doctoral program launched at Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy in 1991 with over twenty newly-hired faculty (in the disciplines of Education, Computer Science, and Psychology) targeting the training of a new generation of professionals in the field. Faculty and students in the program are engaged in research to advance the scientific understanding and practice of learning and education, and the theory, design, construction, and assessment of innovative technologies and learning environments for schools and workplaces. The Learning Sciences Ph.D. comprises a cohesive training program integrating substantive treatment of three areas of specialization in its core coursework, methodological foundations, and research apprenticeships: (1) the study of social contexts of learning which investigates the social, contextual, and cultural dynamics of learning in situation ranging from classrooms to out-of-school setting, (2) the study of cognition, developing scientific models of the structures and processes by which domain knowledge and skills are acquired and (3) the study of learning technologies, which concentrates on the theory-guided design and use of multimedia computing, artificial intelligence, and communications technologies for supporting learning and teaching processes. This proposal describes the graduate training program in Learning Sciences and our plans for aggressive recruiting to attract underrepresented groups to this field in the context of Northwestern's recent dramatic increases in minority doctoral program enrollment.
