Philip Bell Associate Professor of Cognitive Studies 312F Miller Hall, University of Washington Everyday Science & Technology Research Group - curriculum vitae - pbell@u.washington.edu A blog that I manage related to my work: How People Learn: Research, News & Perspectives: provides a stream of information on how people learn. The focus is on cognitive, sociocultural, developmental, and neurobiological research and related news. There is somewhat of a heightened emphasis on science education since that is my primary research focus. I direct the ethnographic and design-based research of the Everyday Science and Technology Group. As a learning scientist, he has studied everyday cognition and expertise in science, children's argumentation, the use of digital technologies within youth culture, the design and use of novel learning technologies, and new approaches to inquiry instruction in science. Bell is a Co-Lead of informal learning research for the Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center and is a Co-PI of COSEE-Ocean Learning Communities. I have a background in human cognition and development, science education, electrical engineering, and computer science. I've built web-based learning platforms, designed and studied K-12 science curricula, and presently most of my time is spent conducting cognitive ethnographies of children's development across social settings. A book about my work that started back in Berkeley -- Internet Environments for Science Education -- was released in 2004. A reasonable subtitle for our book would be "how information technologies can support the learning of science." The web site for the book describes it in more detail. Education University of California, Berkeley, M.A. and Ph.D., Cognition & Development, emphasis in Math, Science & Technology Education University of Colorado, Boulder, BS, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Professional Experience Associate Professor, Cognitive Studies in Education, with appointments in Educational Psychology and Curriculum & Instruction, 2004-present Co-Lead on the LIFE Center, an NSF Science of Learning Center, 2004-present Assistant Professor, Cognitive Studies in Education, 1998-2004 Director, Cognitive Studies in Education program, 2002-2004, 2006-present Software Engineer, Architectural Energy Corp., Boulder CO, 1990-1992 Current & Recent Research Much of my current research is being conducted within the context of my research group, the Everyday Science and Technology Group, affiliated with the LIFE Center. In general, we are focused on how children learn about science and technology across the settings they frequent -- and how such accounts of learning can be used to shape classroom instruction. New technologies hold significant promise for fundamentally improving the means of meaningful learning and interaction. As I describe in this presentation, new genres of learning technologies need to be designed and studied in the contexts of interest (classrooms, homes, online) in order to fully capitalize upon these possibilities. A number of such environments have been developed and are in use. The ones I have had a hand in designing and studying -- in collaboration with colleagues -- include various environments for (scaffolding) (disciplinary) (inquiry), online knowledge forums, and argument visualization tools. Every one of us is regularly bombarded with a variety of images of science, ranging from structured and logical investigations found in classrooms and textbooks to fantastic and whirlwind accounts of scientific breakthroughs in movies and books to tales of serendipitous and adventurous discovery in documentaries of science. How do children piece together an understanding of the nature of science from all of these discrepant images? What images of science should we be providing to kids in instruction to deepen their understanding of the purposes and practices of science -- and its complex role in our society? The Science Controversies Online: Partnerships in Education project engaged in work of this kind by having students explore detailed images of "science in the making" by studying contemporary scientific controversies. Controversy curriculum projects are available -- and are in broad classroom use -- through the Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE) project. Select Publications On the theoretical breadth of design-based research in education, Educational Psychologist, 2004. Internet environments for science education (May 2004) which includes chapters on "Promoting students' argument construction and collaborative debate in the science classroom" and "The educational opportunities of contemporary controversies in science" among others. Design-based research: An emerging paradigm for educational inquiry. Educational Researcher, Jan/Feb 2003. Fostering multi-partisan interactions online around a socially polarized science-based controversy (or, "How to get stakeholders in a current science controversy to start making their positions and arguments visible over email lists "). Courses Taught Introduction to Inquiry in Education: an in-depth introduction for incoming doctoral to the research traditions in education Exploring the Gap between Science Education and the Nature of Science: an exploration of the evolving gulfs and continuities between the practice of science education and our understanding of how science works Technology and Child Development: has a dual focus on understanding the technological fluencies that kids develop (how they 'become technological') as well as how digital technologies, electronic gadgets, and interactive media influence children's development Emerging Genres of Learning Technology: an overview of current research exploring the affordances of novel computer technologies for learning Design-based Research Methods in Education: a two-quarter, project-focused methods sequence on design-based research that takes students through a cycle of design, enactment, analysis, and reporting Dilemmas in Teaching and Learning: a course in the UW Teacher Education Program that introduces preservice teachers to the learning sciences and problematizes aspects of teaching and learning Cognition in the Context of the School Curriculum: a survey of cognitive theories and research that can inform instruction in history, literature, science, and mathematics The Works of Jerome Bruner: a chronological reading of books and articles of Bruner related to education Discourse in the Disciplines: an exploration of the form and function of talk, social interaction, and epistemic practices in various academic disciplines -- fields in the natural sciences, history, mathematics, and literature Instructional Theory: an overview of contemporary theories and frameworks for instruction Current Professional Activities Member, Board on Science Education with the National Academy of Sciences Elected Founding Board Member, International Society of the Learning Sciences, 2003-present Review Board, The Journal of the Learning Sciences Editorial Board, International Journal of Science Education Founding Member of the Design-Based Research Collective (funded by the Spencer Foundation) Program Committee of the Sixth International Conference of the Learning Sciences, Santa Monica CA, 2004 Advisory Board Member, Center for Information Technology in Science, Making Thinking Visible Project, Synergy Communities: Aggregating Learning about Education, and VaNTH Bioengineering Education Center Other Essentials &c. Spending time with my wife and daughters Zoë (now 7) and Sophie (now 4). Almost anything that takes me outdoors -- hiking, climbing, snowshoeing, ... The following document is a fabulous piece of educational research history. It is a letter written by John Dewey from the spring 1896 (?) arguing for the creation of a lab school at the University of Chicago. Address Philip Bell University of Washington Cognitive Studies in Education 312 Miller Hall, Box 353600 Seattle, WA 98195-3600 pbell@u.washington.edu

Contact Us | Home | Degrees | College of Education | University of Washington Last updated March 2007