Cindy Hmelo-Silver | |
---|---|
Occupation(s) | Distinguished Professor; Associate Dean for Research and Development |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | Vanderbilt University (PhD) State University of New York at Stony Brook (BS, MS) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Learning Sciences |
Institutions | Indiana University- Bloomington |
Main interests | problem-based learning,collaborative inquiry,computer supported collaborative learning. |
Cindy Esther Hmelo-Silver is a learning scientist and expert on problem-based learning,collaborative learning,the use of video for learning,and complex systems understanding. She is a Distinguished Professor of Learning Sciences,Barbara B. Jacobs Chair in Education and Technology,and the Associate Dean for Research and Development at Indiana University Bloomington. [1] [2] She is co-Principal Investigator and Education Research Lead of the EngageAI Institute, [3] which conducts research on narrative-centered learning technologies and collaborative learning. [4]
Hmelo-Silver is an active member of the International Society for the Learning Sciences,serving as Editor of the Journal of the Learning Sciences. [5] She was named a fellow of the American Educational Research Association in 2016. [6] She has authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and has contributed to several books on learning sciences and educational psychology. Her work is widely cited and has influenced both theoretical frameworks and practical applications in education. Hmelo-Silver was awarded the Outstanding Practice Award by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) in 2020 [7] and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2023. [8] Her work has been featured on websites like EurekAlert! [9] and Building Indiana. [10] [11]
Hmelo-Silver earned her B.S. in Cardiorespiratory Sciences from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1978. She obtained her MS in Educational Computing at State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1985. Hmelo-Silver subsequently attended Vanderbilt University,where she completed her Ph.D. in Cognitive Studies with a minor in Educational Technology in 1994. [1] Her thesis topic was Development of independent learning and thinking:A study of medical problem-solving and problem-based learning, completed under the advisement of Dr. John Bransford.
From 1994-1996,Hmelo-Silver worked as a postdoctoral researcher and project manager at Georgia Tech. She moved to the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh in 1996 to work as a research associate. In 1998,Hmelo-Smith joined the faculty of the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University,progressing from from Assistant Professor to Department Chair of Educational Psychology. [12] In 2014,she was appointed Professor of Learning Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington. [13]
Hmelo-Silver investigates how students engage in problem solving and the role of social interaction in learning processes. She also studies how people learn about complex phenomena and how technology can support that learning. Some of her most cited work examines the nature of learning when students engage in problem-based learning and the empirical evidence supporting this pedagogical approach. [14] Other work focuses on collaborative inquiry,collaborative knowledge construction and computer-supported collaborative learning. Hmelo-Silver has also studied the role of technology to support social knowledge construction and collaborative learning and problem-solving.
Hmelo-Silver has received substantial funding for her research through the National Science Foundation. One of her projects Big Data from Small Groups:Learning Analytics and Adaptive Support in Game-based Collaborative Learning aimed to develop a new model of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) that combines advantages of game-based learning with problem-based learning. Effective game-based learning environments combine rich scenarios with engaging activities in support of student learning. Key outcomes of the project include a model of collaborative scaffolding for game-based learning that is usable in classrooms to help students learn STEM content and learning analytics designed to support the teacher in the roles of guide and collaborator. [15]
In collaboration with colleagues in informatics,Hmelo-Silver has been exploring how human-centered robotics can help promote STEM engagement and learning in middle and high school youth. She is the education lead on a team that aims to advance natural language processing,computer vision and machine learning by conducting research on narrative-centered learning technologies,embodied conversational agents and multi-model learning analytics to create deeply engaging,collaborative,story-based learning experiences. Their project,Integrating AI Learning into Middle School Science through Natural Language Processing, investigates how professional development and participatory co-design can be tailored to support teachers' competencies and sense of preparedness in bringing artificial intelligence and natural language processing into science classrooms. [16] Another project,Augmented Cognition for Teaching:Transforming Teacher Work with Intelligent Cognitive Assistants, investigates how intelligent cognitive assistants for teachers can transform work to increase teacher performance and quality of working life. The project centers on the design,development,and evaluation of the Intelligent Augmented Cognition for Teaching (I-ACT) framework for intelligent cognitive assistants for teachers. [17]
Hmelo-Silver and her colleague Joshua Danish were awarded an NSF grant for the project Hearing Each Other's Voices:Community Models for Professional Learning for Teachers,STEM Coaches and Researchers. [18] The project is focused to support teachers,STEM coaches and researchers in sharing their knowledge so that they can learn from one another. [19] She is also part of a team of researchers who received a $1.1M NSF grant to fund study of student group engagement in STEM activities. [20]
Hmelo-Silver frequently presents her research at national and international conferences,contributing to the global dialogue on effective teaching and learning strategies. Some of her recent presentations include:NLP4Science:Designing a Platform for Integrating Natural Language Processing in Middle School Science Classrooms at the IEEE symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing 2023, [21] Is Elementary AI Education Possible? at the SIGCSE 2023 technical symposium. [22]
Instructional scaffolding is the support given to a student by an instructor throughout the learning process. This support is specifically tailored to each student;this instructional approach allows students to experience student-centered learning,which tends to facilitate more efficient learning than teacher-centered learning. This learning process promotes a deeper level of learning than many other common teaching strategies.
Problem-based learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which students learn about a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended problem found in trigger material. The PBL process does not focus on problem solving with a defined solution,but it allows for the development of other desirable skills and attributes. This includes knowledge acquisition,enhanced group collaboration and communication.
Learning sciences (LS) is the critical theoretical understanding of learning,engagement in the design and implementation of learning innovations,and the improvement of instructional methodologies. LS research traditionally focuses on cognitive-psychological,social-psychological,cultural-psychological and critical theoretical foundations of human learning,as well as practical design of learning environments. Major contributing fields include cognitive science,computer science,educational psychology,anthropology,and applied linguistics. Over the past decade,LS researchers have expanded their focus to include informal learning environments,instructional methods,policy innovations,and the design of curricula.
Linda B. Smith is an American developmental psychologist internationally recognized for her theoretical and empirical contributions to developmental psychology and cognitive science,proposing,through theoretical and empirical studies,a new way of understanding developmental processes. Smith's works are groundbreaking and illuminating for the field of perception,action,language,and categorization,showing the unique flexibility found in human behavior. She has shown how perception and action are ways of obtaining knowledge for cognitive development and word learning.
Science,technology,engineering,and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science,technology,engineering,and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of education policy or curriculum choices in schools. It has implications for workforce development,national security concerns,and immigration policy,with regard to admitting foreign students and tech workers.
An intelligent tutoring system (ITS) is a computer system that imitates human tutors and aims to provide immediate and customized instruction or feedback to learners,usually without requiring intervention from a human teacher. ITSs have the common goal of enabling learning in a meaningful and effective manner by using a variety of computing technologies. There are many examples of ITSs being used in both formal education and professional settings in which they have demonstrated their capabilities and limitations. There is a close relationship between intelligent tutoring,cognitive learning theories and design;and there is ongoing research to improve the effectiveness of ITS. An ITS typically aims to replicate the demonstrated benefits of one-to-one,personalized tutoring,in contexts where students would otherwise have access to one-to-many instruction from a single teacher,or no teacher at all. ITSs are often designed with the goal of providing access to high quality education to each and every student.
Inquiry-based learning is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions,problems or scenarios. It contrasts with traditional education,which generally relies on the teacher presenting facts and their knowledge about the subject. Inquiry-based learning is often assisted by a facilitator rather than a lecturer. Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based learning includes problem-based learning,and is generally used in small-scale investigations and projects,as well as research. The inquiry-based instruction is principally very closely related to the development and practice of thinking and problem-solving skills.
Education sciences,also known as education studies,education theory,and traditionally called pedagogy,seek to describe,understand,and prescribe education including education policy. Subfields include comparative education,educational research,instructional theory,curriculum theory and psychology,philosophy,sociology,economics,and history of education. Related are learning theory or cognitive science.
The International Society of the Learning Sciences is a professional society dedicated to the interdisciplinary empirical investigation of learning as it exists in real-world settings and how learning may be facilitated both with and without technology. Learning sciences research explores the nature and conditions of learning as it occurs in educational environments,broadly construed.
Design-based research (DBR) is a type of research methodology used by researchers in the learning sciences,which is a sub-field of education. The basic process of DBR involves developing solutions to problems. Then,the interventions are put to use to test how well they work. The iterations may then be adapted and re-tested to gather more data. The purpose of this approach is to generate new theories and frameworks for conceptualizing learning,instruction,design processes,and educational reform. Data analysis often takes the form of iterative comparisons.
Marcia C. Linn is an American professor specialising in personal development and cognitive processes. Linn specializes in education in mathematics,science,and technology at the Graduate School of Education at the University of California,Berkeley.
Ashok K. Goel is a professor of computer science and human-centered computing in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology,and the chief scientist with Georgia Tech's Center for 21st Century Universities. He conducts research into cognitive systems at the intersection of artificial intelligence and cognitive science with a focus on computational design and creativity. Goel is also the Principle Investigator and Executive Director of National Science Foundation's AI Institute for Adult Learning and Online Education and an editor emeritus of AAAI's AI Magazine.
Michelene (Micki) T. H. Chi is a cognitive and learning scientist known for her work on the development of expertise,benefits of self-explanations,and active learning in the classroom. Chi is the Regents Professor,Dorothy Bray Endowed Professor of Science and Teaching at Arizona State University,where she directs the Learning and Cognition Lab.
Bruce Martin McLaren is an American researcher,scientist and author. He is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute,head of the McLearn Lab,and a former President of the International Artificial Intelligence in Education Society (2017-2019).
Okhee Lee is an American education scholar and professor of childhood education.
Candace Walkington is an associate professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Southern Methodist University,and a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.
Katherine A. Rawson is an American cognitive psychologist known for her educational research on how to optimize learning,promote effective study strategies,and enhance metacognition. She is Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University. She is co-editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Cognition and Education, which surveys research on teaching and study strategies that increase learning.
Barbara A. Bichelmeyer is an American educator,university administrator,and the current provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of Kansas. Most recently she was provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of Missouri–Kansas City,a position she held from July 2015 to January 2020. Prior to serving as the provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City,Bichelmeyer primarily served as executive associate vice president for university academic affairs and senior director of the Office of Online Education at Indiana University Bloomington.
Susan Elise Brennan is a cognitive scientist known for her research on human communication within the mulitple lenses of linguistics,psychology,and computer science. She holds the positions of Distinguished Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Stony Brook University.
Meredith L. Rowe is an American educational psychologist known for her work on how environmental factors influence learning,particularly the role of parents and families in children's early language and literacy development. Her research investigates key aspects of children's early communicative environments that promote language and cognitive growth,with the goal of using these insights to design intervention strategies for caregivers. She holds the position of the Saul Zaentz Professor of Early Learning and Development at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.