Our primary areas of research and scholarship are in the fields of the learning sciences, SoTL, and educational development. Within these fields, our work has centered on:

• Assessment and evaluation
• Collaborative learning
• Design-based research
• Faculty development
• Instructional design
• Learning communities
• Organizational development
• Qualitative methods
• STEM education
• Technology integration and technology-mediated learning

Our team is involved in the following projects:

• Boston UniverCity – Partnering Graduate Students and Cities to Tackle Urban Environmental Challenges
  In the press: NSF Awards $3 Million for Research Traineeship Grant
• Preparing Future Faculty to Improve STEM Education: Broadening the National Impact of the CIRTL Network

The learning sciences comprise a broad range of disciplines and methodologies spanning the fields of Educational Psychology, Anthropology, Cognitive Science, Human Computer Interaction, Sociology, Applied Linguistics, and Human Development, among others. Learning scientists seek to further our understanding of human learning processes, and the application of learning research to the design and implementation of new learning experiences.

Learning Sciences Professional Societies, Publications, and Conferences:

• International Society of the Learning Sciences
• American Educational Research Association, SIG ATL-LS
• Journal of the Learning Sciences
• International Journal of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning
• Cognition and Instruction
• Mind, Culture, & Activity
• International Conference of the Learning Sciences
• International Conference of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning

Faculty and Organizational development involve the improvement of colleges and universities, with a specific focus on teaching and learning. Educational developers work at varying levels of higher education institutions, with different populations (undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and administrators) and in different contexts (with individuals, with academic programs, with institutional organizations, etc.).

Faculty and Organizational Development Professional Societies, Publications, and Conferences:

• Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network
• Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
• POD Network Annual Conference
• Educational Developers Annual Conference
• To Improve the Academy
• International Journal of Academic Development
• Change

The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) is an approach to teaching, learning, and research in higher education that aims to improve instruction through active inquiry and investigation. Broadly, SoTL involves asking questions about what works in the classroom, and attempts to answer those questions through systematic research. SoTL is conducted by educators from myriad disciplinary backgrounds who typically utilize the practices of their specific disciplines to collect and analyze evidence.

SoTL Professional Societies, Publications, and Conferences:

• International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning
• International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning Conference
• Teaching & Learning Inquiry
• International Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

2017

Sullivan, F. R., Adrion, W. R., Hart, D., Hill, C. N., Turner, K. C. N., Xavier, J., … & Wheeler, B. (2017). Cross Referencing to Co-construct Knowledge About Global Heat Transfer in an Online Learning Environment: Learning with Multiple Visualizations. In Multiple Representations in Physics Education (pp. 289-310). Springer, Cham.

2016

Wilson, N. (2016). “Sociotechnical and Pedagogical Barriers to Technology Integration.” In Grassetti, M. and Brookby, S. (Eds.), Advancing Next Generation Teacher Education Through Digital Tools and Applications.

Wilson N., & Michalchik, V. (2016). “Structuring Authentic Open Inquiry in an Undergraduate Science Lab Course as an Epistemic Onramp to Professional Physics. In Looi, C. K., Polman, J. L., Cress, U., and Reimann, P. (Eds.). Transforming Learning, Empowering Learners: The International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2016, Volume 1. Singapore: International Society of the Learning Sciences.

2015

Sullivan, F., Keith, K., & Wilson, N. (2015). Examining Power Relations in an All-Girl Robotics Learning Environment. In Lindwall, O., Häkkinen, P., Koschmann, T., Tchounikine, P., & Ludvigsen, S. (Eds.), Proceedings of “Exploring the Material Conditions of Learning,” The Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) Conference 2015, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Sullivan, F.R., & Wilson, N. (2015) Playful talk: Negotiating opportunities to learn in collaborative groups. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 24(1).

2014

Wilson, N. (2014). Interrogating the Divide: A Case Study of Study of Student Technology use in a One-to-One Laptop School. In J. Poleman, E. Kyza, I. Tabak & K. O’Neill (Eds.), Proceedings of “Learning and Becoming in Practice,” the 11th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS 2014). University of Colorado at Boulder: ISLS.

2011

Sullivan, F.R., Hamilton, C.E., Allessio, D., Deschamps, A., Sinclair, A., Vargas, G., Wilson, N., Zhu, Y. (2011). Representational guidance and student engagement: Examining the relationship of representational design to collaborative problem solving in three chat environments. Educational Technology Research & Development, 59(5).

2018

Hamilton, K., Otsuki, J., & Wheeler, B. (November, 2018). Bridging Boundaries: Linking General Education and Satellite Campuses. Workshop at the annual meeting of the Professional and Organizational Development Conference, Portland, Oregon.

2017

Hamilton, K. (October, 2017). Interdisciplinarity in Theory and Practice: Implications for Curriculum Development. Workshop at the annual meeting of the Professional and Organizational Development Conference, Montreal, Canada.

Wheeler, B., Pociask, S., & Shih, M. (October, 2017). Juggling Data & Ethics: Determining What Matters in Higher Education. Workshop at the annual meeting of the Professional and Organizational Development Conference, Montreal, Canada.

2016

Wilson N., & Michalchik, V. (June, 2016). Structuring authentic open inquiry in an undergraduate science lab course as an epistemic onramp to professional physics. Poster presentation at the International Conference for the Learning Sciences, Singapore.

Wilson, N. (April, 2016). Examining how technology shapes roles for disenfranchised students in the classroom: A cultural historical perspective. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Washington D.C.

Sullivan, F., Keith, K., & Wilson, N. (April, 2016). Learning from the periphery in a collaborative robotics workshop for girls. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Washington, D.C.

2015

Wilson, N. & Michalchik, V. (2015). Structuring authentic open-ended inquiry in an undergraduate science lab course. Paper presented at the annual Professional and Organizational Development conference, San Francisco, CA.

Alper, M., Ames, M., Rafalo, M., & Wilson, N. (2015). “I Open at the Close”: Infrastructure and Ideology at Play in School Tablet and Laptop Rollouts. Symposium conducted at the annual Digital Media and Learning Conference, Los Angeles, CA.

Sullivan, F., Keith, K., & Wilson, N. (2015). Examining power relations in an all-girl robotics learning environment. Data session presented at the 11th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Wilson, N. (2015). Non-Dominant Students’ Struggle for Legitimate Participation in a Laptop Classroom. In N. Ares (Chair) Decentering Dominant Discourses and Reimagining Privileged Spaces in STEM Education. Structured poster session presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.

2014

Wilson, N. (2014). Interrogating the divide: A case study of student technology use in a one-to-one laptop school. Paper presented at the International Conference for the Learning Sciences, Boulder, CO.