A Message from the Director
Welcome to the new web site of the Learning Sciences Institute (LSI) at Vanderbilt University. We hope you find it informative and will revisit it often to keep up with our more than 50 research projects or to access information about our research support services.
The LSI's mission is to advance research on policies, practices, and procedures that influence human learning and development. Capitalizing on the extraordinary research talent at Vanderbilt, the LSI, a Vanderbilt Academic Venture Capital Fund (AVCF) initiative, is designed to facilitate the acquisition of external funds for research and offer investigators from across the university needed technical and methodological support to enable the conduct of their research and advance the quality and impact of their science.
Research in the learning sciences is usually not dependent upon a single, critical piece of equipment, such as an fMRI, but rather a suite of support services and specialized expertise for conducting research (e.g., tests, survey techniques, trained observers and interviewers, videographers) and analyzing the data produced (i.e., sophisticated statistical and methodological knowledge). Of course, there are some equipment needs, yet they pale in comparison to the highly sophisticated expertise and personnel that are needed for the conduct of research in the learning sciences. Thus, the LSI philosophy is that, through the provision of these services and specialized expertise, the intellectual community is created and nourished for Vanderbilt learning scientists and educational policy analysts.
Currently, the projects in the LSI cluster into four primary areas: (1) learning studies (2) assessment studies, (3) intervention studies, and (4) policy and management studies. As the expertise of faculty within the learning sciences and policy studies grows and changes, the types of projects served will change as well as their distribution. New categories are certain to emerge. Bottom line, the LSI will function as a research support services center for diverse LSI investigators to advance inquiry and research in their domains.
Metaphorically speaking, the LSI can be conceptualized as the trunk of a large tree where among its various branches and foliage many research projects are nested. When a research project has come to completion, the nest will be vacated and new nests will be built, providing the mechanism for continual renewal. Thus, the support structure is stable while the various projects nesting within the LSI will vary with time, opportunity, and faculty activity. 
If you are interested in any of our projects or are considering developing a proposal for one of your own projects, I'd like to talk with you to see if the LSI can help advance your research. Please give me a call at 615-322-2538 or drop me an e-mail at steve.elliott@vanderbilt.edu.
