Learning Research and Development Center
Encyclopedia
The Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) at the University of Pittsburgh
is an interdisciplinary center focused on describing, understanding, improving, and researching various aspects of human cognition, learning in order to improve and reform instruction and training in schools, the workplace, and informal environments. Co-founded in 1963 by Robert Glaser
, it was among the first such centers in the world focusing on field of fundamental learning studies, and was selected for a program of the Cooperative Research Branch of the United States Office of Education
as the first such center to provide a major concentration of effort in psychologically oriented education. Early funding support in 1968-1969 came by way of a $5.6 million grant from the U.S. Office of Education for facilities and a $1.2 million grant for program expansion from the National Science Foundation
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Currently composed of 26 faculty from across the departments and schools at the university, the center focuses on interdisciplinary approaches to research. Among the faculty are education researchers, cognitive scientists, computer scientists, developmental and social psychologists, psycholinguists, evaluation and measurement specialists, organizational behavior researchers, and education policy analysts. A supporting research staff of over 150 research associates, as well as post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate students, contribute to research undertaken at the LRDC. The Director of the LRDC is Charles Perfetti who succeeded Lauren Resnick
who served as LRDC director from 1977 through 2008.
. Winner of several architectural awards, the unique building slopes at a 45 degree angle along an upper campus hillside. Opened in 1974, it contains offices, experimental classrooms, teaching labs, demonstration areas, and lecture areas with advanced audiovisual and computer equipment.
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
is an interdisciplinary center focused on describing, understanding, improving, and researching various aspects of human cognition, learning in order to improve and reform instruction and training in schools, the workplace, and informal environments. Co-founded in 1963 by Robert Glaser
Robert Glaser
Robert Glaser is an American educational psychologist, who has made significant contributions to theories of learning and instruction...
, it was among the first such centers in the world focusing on field of fundamental learning studies, and was selected for a program of the Cooperative Research Branch of the United States Office of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
as the first such center to provide a major concentration of effort in psychologically oriented education. Early funding support in 1968-1969 came by way of a $5.6 million grant from the U.S. Office of Education for facilities and a $1.2 million grant for program expansion from the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
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Currently composed of 26 faculty from across the departments and schools at the university, the center focuses on interdisciplinary approaches to research. Among the faculty are education researchers, cognitive scientists, computer scientists, developmental and social psychologists, psycholinguists, evaluation and measurement specialists, organizational behavior researchers, and education policy analysts. A supporting research staff of over 150 research associates, as well as post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate students, contribute to research undertaken at the LRDC. The Director of the LRDC is Charles Perfetti who succeeded Lauren Resnick
Lauren Resnick
Lauren B. Resnick is an educational psychologist who has made notable contributions to the cognitive science of learning and instruction. She is a professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, and was previously director of the University's Learning Research and Development Center. In...
who served as LRDC director from 1977 through 2008.
Centers within LRDC
The LRDC hosts a number of research centers- Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center (jointly with CMU)
- Institute for Learning
- University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out-of-School Environments (UPCLOSE)
- Learning Policy Center
Building
Funded in part from a $5.6 million grant awarded in 1969 from the U.S. Office of Education, the $7 million nine-story building was designed by Harrison & AbramovitzHarrison & Abramovitz
Harrison & Abramovitz was an American architectural firm based in New York and active from 1941 through 1976, a partnership of Wallace Harrison and Max Abramovitz....
. Winner of several architectural awards, the unique building slopes at a 45 degree angle along an upper campus hillside. Opened in 1974, it contains offices, experimental classrooms, teaching labs, demonstration areas, and lecture areas with advanced audiovisual and computer equipment.