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) 2013 conference in Madison, WI. 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: "Learning across Levels of Space, Time, and Scale." Their participation in the conference provides opportunities to improve the dissertations of approximately fifteen graduate students and the research agendas of approximately fifteen 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 in conjunction 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 next generation of researchers in multiple disciplines who work in the CSCL area.
This grant funded the Early Career Workshop and Doctoral Consortium at the Computer Supported Collaborative Learning 2013 conference. The Early-Career Workshop is meant as opportunity for researchers working in CSCL and in the Learning Sciences early in their careers to discuss their own research, to discuss post-doc and early-career challenges with peers and senior mentors and to initiate international networks related to their research topics. The early career workshop is designed for post-doc and early career researchers starting with those who have just finalized their doctoral thesis to those having 5 years of experience after receiving the doctorate with research interests in CSCL and the Learning Sciences. Two primary goals underpin the organization and selection of activities for the Early Career workshop: Fostering community building (a) among the cohort of early career researchers, and (b) between early career researchers and senior researchers in order to develop academic, professional, and personal support networks, and Deepening participants’ understandings of the elements of successful academic and professional development, including the building of a research program, requirements for tenure and other professional benchmarks, pointers for grant proposal and journal writing, mentoring graduate students, preparation for multidisciplinary and multi-cultural collaborations, and negotiating a balance among institutional service, academic writing, and teaching. The Doctoral Consortium is intended to provide an opportunity for graduate students with interests related to cognition, technology, design, and the social and cultural contexts for learning to discuss their dissertation work and career plans with peers and senior mentors, and to initiate international networks related to their research interests. Participants are selected on a competitive basis, based on the quality of their research and personal statement. In addition, there is a strong attempt to create a diverse cohort. Activities typically include, but are not limited to, small group interactions around fellows' research and career management; presentations by journal editors and senior scholars, as well as social events. This event especially targets graduate students who will be actively working on their dissertations at the time of the consortium meeting. Based on surveys of participants each year since 2010, we see the following themes in participant responses that point to the tremendous impact these workshops have had. Attendees at the two workshops overwhelmingly endorse participation for future potential attendees. Out of the over 100 individuals represented in these reports, only two ever indicated that they would "not recommend" the workshops for young researchers at the respective stages in their careers. NSF support has played a critical role in enabling both U.S. and international PhD students and early career researchers to attend the workshops. Across the historical and 2013 surveys, 40-80% of respondents indicate that they would not have been able to attend the workshops without financial support. The workshops play a critical role in integrating new researchers into the research community of the Learning Sciences. Attendees consistently indicate that the opportunity to develop personal relationships among peers and mentors, and the opportunity to learn more about the breadth and depth of research in the field, were important outcomes of their participation. The opportunities for small-group and informal discussions are viewed by participants as the most important components of the workshop designs. Consistent across all surveys was a strong preference for small-group interaction in preference to formal presentations, either by peers or by mentors. The workshops play a critical role in the development of awareness of Learning Sciences as an international community. Participants overwhelmingly cite the opportunity to meet researchers from other countries and continents, and to develop understandings of the methods and research lines being developed around the world, and important outcomes of their participation in the workshops.
