of Education Sciences that aims to train a “new breed” of learning
scientists who will acquire the skills and experience necessary to advance
our knowledge about human learning and to translate that knowledge into
effective instruction. This program is built upon our successful
pre-doctoral training program.
We seek applicants from strong doctoral programs in areas such as
psychology, computer science, or STEM education. Selected trainees will work
with faculty in CMU’s Department of Psychology, Human Computer Interaction
Institute, or the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center. Training will
focus on cognitive, metacognitive, and/or motivational foundations for
developing and implementing evidence-based instructional methods that can
improve teaching and learning in authentic educational settings. Content
emphasis will be closely related to the development and efficacy goals in
IES programs in Cognition and Student Learning, Math and Science Education,
and Educational Technology.
The PostPIER program is crafted to advance trainees’ knowledge about the
concepts, methods and tools that will enable them to acquire and analyze
rich data sets of potential mediating variables between instructional
manipulations and final assessments of robust student learning. They will
become well versed in emerging technologies, such as intelligent tutors,
web-based instructional delivery systems, and educational data mining, that
play a central role in this type of data collection and analysis. Our
research projects, many of which are supported by IES or involve IES
pre-doctoral fellows, have demonstrated how such technologies can not only
profoundly enhance robust student learning outcomes, but also significantly
increase the specificity, accuracy, and breadth of assessment.
More specifically, the post-docs under this grant would be involved in one
or more the following areas of research and training:
o Intelligent tutors in core scientific procedures (Klahr, Koedinger)
o Intelligent tutors in middle-school mathematics (Aleven, Koedinger)
o Educational data mining (Koedinger)
o New forms of assessment and cognitive diagnosis. (Koedinger, Aleven,
Klahr)
The fellowship carries a stipend of $50,000[2]/yr, full-time benefits
including health insurance, as well as funds for professional travel and
research costs (computer, software, books, etc.). Successful applicants
could expect up to two years of support. For the 2011-12 Academic Year,
there are two openings. The anticipated start date is September 1, 2011, but
could be earlier.
To apply, send vita, 1 or 2 publications, and a brief (1 page) summary of
your research interests and professional goals for this training program.
Include the names of two people who have agreed to write letters of support,
if we requested them. Applications and inquiries should be sent to Audrey
Russo, Program Coordinator:
ar3v@andrew.cmu.edu. Review of applications will begin February 15 and will
continue until the positions are filled.
