Established with a gift from U-M alumna Eileen Lappin Weiser, the center aims to strengthen the connections between research and practice by engaging numerous partners to study the many places and ways that learning happens.
Our Mission
To propel the innate capacity for human learning and to foster relationships that lead to wondering, understanding, becoming, and thriving. We design tools and practices that support human development across the lifespan and advance equitable and just learning systems across time and place.
In fulfilling our mission, we:
- Conduct equitable community-engaged research to understand and advance community goals and needs; to make existing learning visible; and to challenge systems of power and narratives that confine learning and limit outcomes, especially for those who are harmed by existing systems.
- Create practices, tools, and technologies in partnership with communities, schools, and families to support accessible, equitable, and meaningful learning opportunities.
- Host learning experiences for PK-12 preservice and inservice teachers, informal or out-of-school-time educators, families, and employers.
- Lead discussions and deliberations about learning to impact public discourse at the local, national, and international levels, and in scholarly communities.
- Offer learning opportunities for university students as full partners who contribute to collaborative projects with schools, organizations, and communities to advance their capacities to support meaningful, equitable, and joyful human learning across settings.
- Provide a context for critically engaging with the claims made about emerging technologies and their role in supporting learning at multiple scales.
- Recognize the interconnectedness of learning and thriving by regularly reviewing center activities using lenses of justice and sustainability for humans and the natural environment.
Our Team
FAQ
- How can I get involved?
Sign up for our email list to be notified of events and opportunities. Or email us ([email protected]) with your ideas and questions if you’re interested in a particular project or topic.
- Are events open to the public?
Yes! All our public events will be listed on our website and the Marsal Family School of Education’s event calendar.
- Where can I learn more about the Learning Sciences?
- The International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) is a professional interdisciplinary society dedicated to the empirical investigation of learning as it exists in real-world settings and to how learning may be facilitated both with and without technology. They host a conference every year, this year in Helsinki, Finland, June 10-13, 2025
- Watch for resources from our center (coming soon!)
Connect with us
ADDRESS
University of Michigan – Marsal Family School of Education
Eileen Lappin Weiser Center for the Learning Sciences
610 East University Ave, Suite 1323
Ann Arbor, MI 48109