Learning Sciences and Technology Design (LSTD)

Learning Sciences and Technology Design Cross-Area Specialization

Research in the Learning Sciences is dedicated to the systematic study and design of psychological, cultural, and technological processes that support learning and its improvement.  An excellent introduction to this field is provided in the Vision Statement of the International Society of the Learning Sciences (http://www.isls.org/ISLS_Vision_2009.pdf), and the Cambridge University Handbook of the Learning Sciences (2006: http://goo.gl/nL1CY - with an expanded 2nd edition to appear September 2014: http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/psychology/educational-psy...).

Stanford's Learning Sciences and Technology Design program is one of the leading global programs in this rapidly emerging field (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_sciences). 

A significant challenge for the field is to prepare scholars with expertise in both the research and design methodologies relevant to technology-enhanced learning environments. The Learning Sciences and Technology Design (LSTD) curriculum includes courses on learning, research, and design, coupled with integrative seminars and explicit apprenticeship activities with faculty. The LSTD curriculum builds upon current GSE Area requirements. Students admitted to the LSTD and one of the CTE, DAPS, or SHIPS Program Areas need to fulfill the requirements in the first year of coursework (and in subsequent years) for their applicable Area and their Area-specific milestones, while simultaneously participating in the “community of learning” for two cohorts: LSTD and CTE, DAPS, or SHIPS (as applicable).

The curriculum also assumes that typical students will develop special expertise in learning, design research, computer science, engineering or a cognate field—such as psychology, linguistics, human-computer interaction (HCI), machine learning, or neuroscience—as their Ph.D. minor. The first year emphasizes the development of prerequisite knowledge, typically in courses within the school and university offerings. Students primarily work within the requirements of their Area (e.g., CTE, DAPS, or SHIPS) while developing additional competencies needed for LSTD. Student experiences in the second year and beyond are focused more intensively on the process of integrating the sciences of learning and technology design. These years emphasize the intertwining of distinct competencies and GSE Area perspectives in the application of theoretical, research, and design competencies to the topic of learning.

For LSTD, students must take the following courses and meet the following milestones:

LSTD Proseminar EDUC 291 (Autumn, Winter and Spring Quarters of the first year, and then again for an overall total of nine quarters altogether): As a condition for receiving the Ph.D. with the LSTD cross-area specialization, students are required to attend the colloquium for at least 9 quarters, and they must attend at least five quarters in the first and second year.  This colloquium provides a vibrant forum for students and faculty to present and critique new and original research relevant to the Learning Sciences and Technology Design doctoral program.  The goal is to help develop a community of scholars who become familiar with one another's work and can inform each other in the diverse areas relevant to LSTD.  The colloquium is also intended to give students practice and feedback pertaining to the arts of presentation and scholarly dialog, while introducing seminal issues and fundamental works in the field.

First Year Project: LSTD students will also complete and write-up a first-year project which will constitute a significant component of their first year review to be conducted in the Autumn of their second year.  LSTD students will also need to demonstrate proficiency through coursework or prior achievements (such as course equivalencies), determined in consultation with their faculty advisor, in the following domains:

Two courses in research methodology
Two courses in design skills (e.g., user experience design, programming, graphic design, robotics, video/film, simulation modeling, animation, industrial design, game development)
Two courses on learning
One course on technology from social scientific/historical/philosophical perspective
One course focused on a topical content area (e.g., mathematics, science, literacy)

See the “General Education Courses” Section for additional information about these requirements.