Science of Learning Program Grant: Advancing Fundamental Research in Learning

Examples of general research questions within scope of the Science of Learning program include:
•How does learning transfer from one context to another or from one domain to another? How is learning generalized from specific experiences? What is the basis for robust learning that is resilient against potential interference from new experiences? How is learning consolidated and reconsolidated from transient experience to stable memory?
•How does the structure of the learning environment impact rate and efficacy of learning? For example, how do timing, content, learning context, developmental time point and type of engagement (e.g., active learning, group learning) impact learning processes and outcomes?
•How can we integrate research findings and insights across levels of analysis, relating understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms of learning in the neurons to circuit and systems-level computations of learning in the brain, to cognitive, affective, social, and behavioral processes of learning? What concepts, tools, or questions will provide the most productive linkages of across levels of analysis?
•How can insights from biological learners contribute and derive new theoretic perspectives to computational learning systems, neuromorphic engineering, materials science, and nanotechnology? Biological and non-biological systems and social systems can all display learning. What can integration across these different domains contribute to a general understanding of learning?