This project is providing support for travel and registration for U.S. participants in a key global venue for research and training in the learning sciences via the Doctoral Consortium and Early Career Workshops at the Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) 2011 conference in Hong Kong. Prior versions of these workshops have had a significant impact on the career and research of pre- and post-PhD scholars in the learning sciences from diverse domains such as computer science, information science, education, psychology, and cognitive science. The intellectual merit of this project rests in its selection of top-quality pre- and post-doctoral candidates whose research in computer-supported collaborative learning addresses the conference theme of connecting theory and practice in the learning sciences. Their participation in the conference provides opportunities to improve the dissertations of approximately twenty graduate students and the research agendas of approximately twenty early career, post-doctoral scholars. As such it is an important capacity-building project that leverages the expertise of the CSCL community and the outcomes of previous workshops held with the International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS). The broader impacts of this project include multiplying opportunities to develop international collaborations in the field of CSCL, and supporting the career development of some of the best and brightest researchers in multiple disciplines who work in the CSCL area.
Training the Next Generation of Learning Scientists This grant advanced research in the field of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning by supporting US participation in training workshops for graduate students and early career scholars at the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) conference Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) 2011 in Hong Kong. Rather than supporting a study or single researcher, the grant supported the US component of an international exchange of dozens of scholars from around the world, selected by a rigorous competitive application process, in all areas of computer-supported collaborative learning including STEM education, computer science, cyberinfrastructure, and social, behavioral and economic sciences. Multilateral funding organized by the conference helped support early-career scholars from Asia-Pacific via a grant from the Government of Hong Kong via the University of Hong Kong; a grant to students from Europe and the Middle East from the European Union via the STELLAR Network of Excellence; and a direct grant from the International Society for the Learning Sciences to support scholars from developing countries and other regions (e.g., Mexico). The NSF grant funds were entirely expended on supporting travel, registration, and subsistence for US-based and US-citizen graduate students, early career scholars (postdocs/new faculty), and a small number of American mentors. In all, 17 US scholars were supported by this grant to participate in the workshops, which comprised eight mentors and over forty students and early career scholars from over a dozen countries. Intellectual Merit Both the Early Career Scholars (postdocs and early faculty) and Doctoral Consortium (senior graduate students) were successful events in which all participants were able to receive feedback on their research projects, their career and publishing plans, and how their work fits into an international context during the conference. A high-profile set of mentors, including the chief editors of the two ISLS journals and the president of the ISLS itself participated fully for the two days of the workshops. Participants were selected through a competitive application process that included a research statement, CV, and letter of recommendation from the advisor or an outside senior colleague, reviewed by an international panel. Broader Impacts The broader impacts of the workshops were threefold. First, because of the financial support provided by this grant, young US researchers who would likely not have been able to afford attending the conference were able to participate in the pre-eminent technology and collaborative learning conference in the world. Secondly, the training provided as part of the grant helped US researchers get feedback and mentoring not only from other Americans but also from a global set of mentors and experts. Third, because of NSF's contribution, combined with that of other governments and organizations, these workshops were able to convene a truly global group of learning scientists and thus help promote international exchange in the field more generally.
