Science of Learning Centers  (SLC)  

CONTACTS

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Apply to PD 07-7278 as follows:

For full proposals submitted via FastLane: standard Grant Proposal Guidelines apply.
For full proposals submitted via Grants.gov: NSF Grants.gov Application Guide; A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.gov Guidelines apply (Note: The NSF Grants.gov Application Guide is available on the Grants.gov website and on the NSF website at: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=grantsgovguide)

Important Notice to Proposers

A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 13-1, was issued on October 4, 2012 and is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14, 2013. Please be advised that, depending on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 13-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity.

Please be aware that significant changes have been made to the PAPPG to implement revised merit review criteria based on the National Science Board (NSB) report, National Science Foundation's Merit Review Criteria: Review and Revisions. While the two merit review criteria remain unchanged (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts), guidance has been provided to clarify and improve the function of the criteria. Changes will affect the project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected.

A by-chapter summary of this and other significant changes is provided at the beginning of both the Grant Proposal Guide and the Award & Administration Guide.

DUE DATES

Full Proposal Accepted Anytime

The Science of Learning Centers Program is currently only accepting proposals for Workshops, EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER), Rapid Response Grants (RAPID), and Supplements to NSF awards (including those funded by other programs). PIs must contact the NSF program officer prior to submission of an EAGER or RAPID proposal.

SYNOPSIS

The Science of Learning Centers program (SLC) offers awards for large-scale, long-term Centers that create the intellectual, organizational and physical infrastructure needed for the long-term advancement of Science of Learning research.  It supports research that harnesses and integrates knowledge across multiple disciplines to create a common groundwork of conceptualization, experimentation and explanation that anchor new lines of thinking and inquiry towards a deeper understanding of learning.

The goals of the Science of Learning Centers Program are to advance the frontiers of all the sciences of learning through integrated research; to connect the research to specific scientific, technological, educational, and workforce challenges; to enable research communities to capitalize on new opportunities and discoveries; and to respond to new challenges.

The SLC Program construes learning broadly, including that of animals, humans and machines.  The program is open to many possible approaches and topics that can be brought to examine what learning is, how it is affected, how it works at different levels, how biologically-derived learning principles can inform artificial systems and vice versa.  The Program places high value on creativity, integration of theoretical and empirical work, innovative models of research and research transfer, and inventive uses of technology.

Science of Learning Centers are built around a unifying research focus and incorporate a diverse, multidisciplinary environment involving appropriate partnerships with academia, industry, all levels of education, and other public and private entities.

Catalyst awards were made during the initial years of the program. Catalyst awards are designed to enable partnership-building and research activities that facilitate interdisciplinary approaches to questions that require multiple areas of expertise.

RELATED URLS

Center of Excellence for Learning in Education, Science, and Technology (CELEST)

Center for Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE)

Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center for Robust Learning (PSLC)

Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center (SILC)

Temporal Dynamics of Learning Center (TDLC)

Visual Language and Visual Learning Center (VL2)

Report from SLC Workshop on Art, Creativity and Learning (June 11-13, 2008)

2010 SLC PI Meeting Presentations

Report from SLC Workshop on Opportunities and Challenges for Language Learning and Education

Special Guidelines for Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) and EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER)

Special Guidelines for Conferences, Symposia and Workshops

Special Guidelines for Supplemental Support

Report from SLC Workshop on Future Challenges for the Science and Engineering of Learning

THIS PROGRAM IS PART OF

Opportunities that Highlight International Collaboration

What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)

Map of Recent Awards Made Through This Program

News

Discoveries