Summer School on Informatics Education Research

Session description:

The learning sciences is an interdisciplinary field that explores the mechanisms and processes involved in human learning, frequently taking place in real-life contexts. This exploration entails a nuanced examination of individual and collaborative learning scenarios, seeking to understand various sociocultural contexts, and carefully considering how the design and utilization of artefacts and tools, including technology, can shape the learning experience.

The session will begin with a presentation of the foundational aspects of the learning sciences. It will offer a retrospective analysis of the field and will explain its defining characteristics. It will also discuss the distinctive characteristics of the learning sciences, drawing connections to seminal literature and influential scholars in the field, while providing illustrative examples of pioneering work.

About the instructor:

Dr. Eleni A. Kyza is a Professor of Information Society in the Department of Communication and Internet Studies at the Cyprus University of Technology, where she leads the Media, Cognition, and Learning Research Group (http://mcl.cut.ac.cy). She has a background in educational technology, cognitive science and the learning sciences, and a continuous interest in how digital technologies can support learning, critical reflection, and the development of active and informed citizens. She holds a PhD from the Learning Sciences program at Northwestern University, with a specialization in Cognitive Science, a master's degree in Technology in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a B.Sc. in Education, summa cum laude, with a concentration in Educational Media and Technology from Boston University, and a Teacher's Diploma from the Pedagogical Academy of Cyprus. Her research investigates technology-enhanced learning environments to support motivated, meaningful, and reflective practices. Her work has examined, among others, inquiry-based learning, teacher learning and professional development, scaffolding student learning, collaborative learning, and media & information literacy on social media. With her colleagues, she has developed and empirically investigated learning technologies, such as the web-based learning and teaching platform STOCHASMOS for promoting evidence-based reasoning in science education, TraceReaders, an augmented reality platform for scaffolding students’ inquiry learning in informal and non-formal contexts, and CompARe, a mixed reality (VR and AR) environment. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Instructional Science. She is the past President of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) (2021-2023), a past president of the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS), and an Inaugural Fellow of the ISLS.

Learn more about Dr. Eleni A. Kyza.

Session description:

The lecture will introduce the foundational concepts relative to the processes of human cognition, that is how people acquire knowledge and understanding such as brain, perception, attention, memory, learning, cognitive development, problem-solving, transfer effect and cognitive load while discussing also the various levels at which cognitive processes happen and how they are related.

About the instructor: 

Martin Fischer is a professor of cognitive sciences with a background in attention research and motor control. He is an expert in numerical cognition. He is the leader of the Potsdam Embodied Cognition Group. After studying psychology at RWTH Aachen/Germany, Fischer worked in Massachusetts/USA from 1991-1996. He studied eye and body movements and their effects on spatial attention to obtain my PhD. After 3 years as a post-doc at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich/Germany, Fischer moved to the University of Dundee/Scotland. There he worked for 12 years on various interdisciplinary topics, such as poetry reception, humanoid robots and numerical cognition, before becoming a full professor of cognitive science at the University of Potsdam in 2011. Martin's current research focus is on embodied cognition.

Learn more about Martin Fischer.

Session description:

The lecture will address the main issues relative to providing quantitative measures on data collected during research. They cover both descriptive statistics (e.g. dependent and independent variables, descriptive graphics, numerical descriptions), which provides ways to quantify the actual data recorded, and inferential statistics (e.g. hypothesis testing, inferential tests), which allows to possibly extend our findings beyond the actual samples.

About the instructor: 

Mattia Monga is an Associate Professor at Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy with the Department of Computer Science. He holds a PhD in Computer and Automation Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy. He is one of the founders of the ALaDDIn group (http://aladdin.unimi.it) and the Deputy Director of the CINI National Laboratory on Computer Science and School. 

Learn more about Mattia Monga.

Session description:

The lecture will address the various methods used for qualitative research, that is the kind of investigations where insights on activities, accounts and artefacts relative to the phenomena under study do not come from the mathematical methods which are the basis of quantitative research. Among the most relevant of these methods are interviews, focus groups, observational studies, content analysis, and data collection.

Learn more about the instructor Inge Hutter.

Session description:

This session will provide an introduction to tech ethics and their implications, addressing also governance and risk models. Governance of AI Foundation Models will also be discussed.

About the instructor:

Elizabeth M. Daly is a Research Scientist leading the Interactive AI Group at the IBM Research Laboratory, Dublin. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the School of Computer Science and Statistics at Trinity College Dublin.

She received her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Trinity College Dublin in November 2007 with her thesis entitled 'Social Network Analysis for Routing in Disconnected Delay-Tolerant MANETs'. Before joining IBM Research - Dublin she was a post-doctoral researcher in the IBM Research Centre for Social Software in Cambridge, MA. There her work focused on the intersection of social networks and information systems. More recently her team is researching innovative solutions for interactive AI by introducing mechanisms to facilitate AI and humans negotiate a common objective. She is on the program committee of high impact conference such as RecSys, IUI, WWW, UMAP and ICWSM. She is currently serving on the Royal Irish Academy’s committee on Engineering and Computer Science.

Learn more about Elisabeth Daly.

Session description:

This session will address the identification of research questions, and their evaluation, formulation, articulation, and execution, using the approach of “Design Thinking for Research & Science”.

About the instructor: Ambrish Rawat is a Research Scientist in the AI Security & Privacy team at IBM. His research interests are at the cross-sections of security, privacy and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Most recently, he has worked on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) like Federated Learning and Differential Privacy. He is passionate about building trustworthy AI systems with security and privacy guarantees within the regulatory demands of GDPR as well as EU AI and Digital Acts.

Learn more about Ambrish Rawat.

Session description:

This session will present one to two case studies published in the literature for this level of school (6 to 10 years old), analyze and discuss them, paying attention to biases and how to avoid them.

Learn more about the instructor Jane Waite.

Session description: 

This session will present one to two case studies published in the literature for this level of school (11 to 18 years old), analyze and discuss, paying attention to bias and how to avoid them.

About the instructor:

Jan Vahrenhold is Professor for Efficient Algorithms and Algorithm Engineering at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster since 2012. His research focuses on algorithms and data structures for geometric problems, algorithm engineering with a focus on resource efficiency and computer science education.

Jan Vahrenhold is co-editor-in-chief of "Computer Science Education" and associate editor of "ACM Inroads" and "Journal of Computational Geometry". He has (co-)chaired several conferences in the field of computer science and computer science education, most recently the ACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER 2021/2022). He is member of the national consortium for the current "International Computer and Information Literacy Study" (ICILS 2023), member of the board of Informatics Europe, and speaker of the "Computer Science and Education" section of the German Informatics Society.

Learn more about Jan Vahrenhold.

Session Description: 

The lecture will present and discuss the role of tools and technology in Informatics Education and Informatics Education Research, by analyzing advantages and disadvantages. They will also cover research issues related to Human-Computer Interaction and AI-assisted education.

Learn more about Karthik Mukkavilli.

Session Description: 

The lecture will provide an introduction to the main pedagogical approaches, such as active learning, collaborative learning, cooperative learning and blended learning, which allow to describe and analyze the complex set of relationships developing between the teacher and students in the various learning contexts and for the different learning activities.

About the instructor:

Lauri Malmi has been a professor of computer science at Helsinki University of Technology and Aalto University since 2001. His main research field is computing education research. He is leading the Learning+Technology research group (LeTech) which mainly focuses on improving programming education in terms of building advanced learning tools to support students and teachers, as well as analyzing their impact on students’ learning results, motivation, studying practices and teachers’ work. The group is very actively researching novel AI-driven tools in this area. His interests also include research on educational technology to support engineering education. He received the ACM SIGCSE award for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education in 2020 and was nominated as ACM distinguished member in 2023.

Learn more about Lauri Malmi.

Session Description:

SCHIER participants will be asked to present one possible research topic, on which they plan to work or have already started to work, for a joint discussion. Depending on the number of students and proposals, the work can be done in groups.

Learn more about the Scientific Committee.

SCHIER 2024 took place between 2 September and 6 September, supported by IBM Research Europe and hosted at their IBM Innovation Studio & Think Lab Zurich, in Rüschlikon.

SCHIER 2024 was structured as a residential in-person program, featuring one major theme for each morning or afternoon, outlined in the following table. The organization prioritized inclusivity to accommodate diverse backgrounds of students, spanning from those with backgrounds in Informatics/Science to those with a focus on education.
The first two days covered foundational theoretical and methodological aspects of research on teaching and learning, while the subsequent sessions delved into the more practical aspects of designing and implementing research in these areas. All sessions featured a first part with a more traditional, lecture-style, material and a second part focused more on practical and hands-on work.

The program was enhanced with a behind-the-scenes look at IBM's oldest and largest European research lab, featuring special visits to their Quantum Computing Lab and Nanotechnology Center.

	Mon, 2 Sep	Tue, 3 Sep	Wed, 4 Sep	Thu, 5 Sep	Fri, 6 Sep
Morning 09:00-13:00, with a coffee break at 10:45-11:15	Learning Science	Quantitative Methods	Part 1: Responsible Tech Part 2: Study Design	Secondary School (11-18) Case Studies	Pedagogical Approaches
13:00 - 14:00                                                                                           Lunch Break
Afternoon Mon from 14:00-18:15, with a coffee break at 15:45-16:30 Tue-Fri from 14:00-18:00, with a coffee break at 15:45-16:15	Cognitive Science	Qualitative Methods	Primary School (6-10) Case Studies	Technology and Tools	Students’ Cases
		1800-1830 Visit IBM's Quantum Computing Lab / Nanotechnology  Center	Social Evening	1800-1830 Visit IBM's Quantum Computing Lab / Nanotechnology  Center

Monday afternoon's coffee break featured a behind-the-scenes look at IBM's Think lab. On Tuesday, participants splited into two groups: one visited the Quantum Computing Lab, and the other the Nanotechnology Center from 18:00-18:30. The groups swapped location of visit on Thursday evening.

All sessions took place at IBM Innovation Studio & Think Lab Zurich (Säumerstrasse 4, 8803 Rüschlikon, Switzerland). SCHIER targets PhD students, Post-docs and any researcher interested in Informatics Education Research. Participants from IE member institutes enjoy reduced registration fees.

SCHIER is addressed mainly to PhD students from all over the world wishing to work in the area of Informatics Education Research, but also to post-doctorates and other researchers interested to learn more about topics and challenges in this field. Participants specializing in other fields relevant to Informatics and/or Education are welcome. In exceptional cases, undergraduates are also welcome to participate.

Depending on your nationality, you need a visa to travel to Switzerland. You may find information about the visa requirement on the website of the State Secretariat for Migration. All visa procedures remain in the participant's responsibility and must be arranged before arriving in Switzerland.

Participants of SCHIER must organize accommodation themselves – it is not being provided by SCHIER and is not included in the registration fee. However, Zurich provides a large number of accommodation options, and IBM Innovation Studio and Think Lab, where SCHIER will take place, is easily accessible by car or public transport from central Zurich, taking only 15 minutes. Here are some possible options:

• Youth hostel, Zürich Wollishofen - direct public bus to the venue [view here]
• Meininger Hotel Zürich - multi-bedded rooms available [view here]
• Hotel Ibis, Adliswil [view here]

and further options can be found here: https://www.zurich.ibm.com/visitors/hotels_zh.html.

SCHIER is an intensive 5-day program that provides a concentrated learning experience with focused instruction from renowned international experts in Informatics Education Research, offering immediate insights and practical skills. There is no other international school like this in Europe. SCHIER offers international networking opportunities, connecting participants with experts and peers across Europe and beyond to exchange ideas and broaden their professional horizons.

SCHIER will be held in English. Applicants are not required to hold formal qualifications in English to take part in SCHIER.

Participants attending SCHIER will be asked to present one possible research topic, on which they plan to work or have already started to work, for a joint discussion. Depending on the number of students and proposals, the work can be done in groups.

 

SCHIER is an Informatics Europe training school, sponsored and co-organized by IBM Research Europe.

Yes, an attendance of at least 4 of all 5 days is required for a certificate to be issued. The certificate will be issued by Informatics Europe.

• It will be up to the participant's home institution to decide how many ECTS credits will be awarded through attending SCHIER 2024, but the SCHIER organising committee will:
  • Provide any necessary information to help the university of origin evaluate SCHIER 2024.
  • Provide the participant with a Certificate of Participation (soft copy only), stating the courses attended and the number of hours completed.
• It will be the responsibility of participants to contact the Registrar/Academic Secretary/Study Abroad Office of their home institutions to check how the hours completed and the grades obtained, if any, can be transferred into official credits.