CUTTING-EDGE LEARNING

IN A PRESTIGIOUS CENTURY-OLD UNIVERSITY

The Institute of Learning Sciences and Technologies (ILST) was originally part of National Tsing Hua University’s Tsing Hua College, where it was called “Institute of Learning Sciences”. After the university’s merger with National Hsinchu University of Education on November 1, 2016, the Institute integrated faculty from the two universities, was renamed ILST, and was administratively transferred from Tsing Hua College to College of Education.

ILST seeks to integrate the development of positive attitudes toward learning with scientific inquiry into learning behavior, based on the theory of learning sciences, with the goals of triggering learning activities, facilitating motivation and effectiveness through innovative research, and applying learning technologies to shape social-cultural contexts.

The Institute currently has 21 faculty members (14 full-time; 7 jointly appointed), whose research fields include Learning Technology, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Science Education and Animation, Digital Literacy and New Literacy, Big Data and Data Analysis, Teaching Strategies and Instructional Design, Game-based Learning and Media Design, Language Learning and Cognitive Psychology, Community Learning and Human-Computer Interaction, and Mathematics and Science Education. The Institute enrolls 24 master's students per year. Students will encounter multiple educational professions and will deeply explore interdisciplinary learning research issues, with an emphasis on innovative and integrative research.

The offices, classrooms, and research facilities are on the fourth floor of General Building II, Side B, on the Kuang-Fu Campus.

AIMS

In the information era, technological progress and rapid changes in society have greatly altered the way people learn. In this context, traditional research on Education has gradually shifted its focus to investigate the nature of learning, a trend which is embodied in the new field of Learning Sciences and Technologies. The field adopts an integrated interdisciplinary perspective in exploring the multi-dimensional interaction among learner, learning process, society and culture, psychology, and cognition, in both real-world and virtual situations. Learning sciences also seek to find applications of technology for enhancing learning performance. The Institute studies learning mechanisms and developments in modern society, taking as its educational objective the training of students who can turn learning theory into effective practices.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

Our educational objectives are to equip students with the ability to inquire and construct knowledge, reflect on the known, explore the unknown, and create the principles, processes, and mechanisms of new knowledge. Using technologies and scientific methods, we integrate the fields of cognitive science, pedagogy, information science, sociology, media and culture, psychology, and anthropology, and horizontally connect science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) through learning. The Institute aims to cultivate an interdisciplinary learning spirit and a research-oriented mindset, allowing learners to successfully confront all kinds of individual and organizational learning challenges in the future world – a complicated world potentially overwhelmed by information.

LEARNING VISIONS

The Institute seeks to adapt to the rapid changes in the learning environment with four learning visions:

1. forward-looking learning mindset: to facilitate knowledge engineering, reflecting on the known and exploring the unknown
2. learning environment construction: to creatively use technology tools and to integrate virtual reality environments and science
3. interdisciplinary in-depth research: to integrate theories and practices and to find problem-solving strategies
4. learning behavior analysis: to guide the learning process, foster learning ability, and deepen literacy

LEARNING PATHS

The curriculum consists of core courses and four major modules:

1. Foundation of learning sciences: theory and knowledge
2. Construction and integration of virtual reality learning technology
3. Development of interdisciplinary learning design
4. Learning behavior research and data analysis

CORE ABILITIES

After successful completion of the graduate program, students are expected to

have the following core knowledge and abilities:

1. a deep understanding of integrated perspectives on learning sciences and technologies
2. the ability to explore the process of learning in individual, social, and environmental contexts
3. the ability to design or develop learning activities or learning technologies to enhance the quality of learning
4. the ability to plan and complete research projects based on learning science and technology
5. the ability to maintain a concern with issues related to learning and to contemplate possibilities for improvement

CAREER PROSPECTS

Our graduates engage in jobs that involve assisting, guiding, and designing individual and community learning, such as academic researcher, learning manager, learning data analyst, UX designer, interactive interface designer, digital instruction designer, human resources manager, and teacher. These jobs are found in the learning and technology industry, the orange technology industry, the creativity and media industry, and various NGOs.