Learning Sciences & Technologies (MS)

The MS in Learning Sciences & Technologies program at WPI is for people who are passionate about improving education. In our highly regarded and well-funded program, you’ll be collecting data in real learning environments, discovering, testing, and implementing groundbreaking advances in how students learn using technology in and out of the classroom.

We’re persistent in our quest to improve learning—how students learn best and how teachers can implement those practices into their classrooms. From software design to classroom environments to curriculum organization and shifting expectations, you'll consider many influences to make learning practices successful and efficient. If you think education needs to keep up with the advances in technology, you can make big changes with your work here.

Graduate Admissions

Curriculum

Our flexible, personalized curriculum offers highly motivated students the latest courses, technology, and resources that support extensive research, and strong relationships with schools worldwide that help inform our scientific and social approach.

The master’s program combines computer science; cognitive, developmental, and educational psychology; and statistics classes to give you a solid interdisciplinary foundation of the social, emotional, cultural, and scientific influences on learning.

Whether you take classes part-time or full-time, you’ll be working with faculty and on project-based teams to see how students and teachers put the methods to use in authentic learning environments.

Find complete course descriptions and degree requirements in the Course Catalog.

Graduate Catalog

Similar Degrees

Computer Science (MS)

Data Science (MS)

Society, Technology & Policy (BS)

Research

The extensive research experiences provided in the Learning Sciences & Technologies program encourage one-on-one mentoring relationships with our expert faculty. Our faculty projects are well-funded and highly interdisciplinary; they use a range of mixed methodologies including classroom observations, survey data, advanced quantitative methods, and educational data mining.

No matter your interests, you’ll make discoveries and implement changes that improve teaching and learning. Some recent research projects:

Using the ASSISTments tool, an adaptive online tutoring system to conduct randomized controlled trials
Using probabilistic modeling, neural networks, and other data-mining and machine learning methods to understand how students progress through wrong answers to right answers
Creating games and instructional activities with wearable embodied technologies
Using Graspable Math, a dynamic algebra system, to analyze student strategies
Examining student affect, motivation, engagement, and learning within intelligent tutoring systems

Although you’ll work in labs to collect, analyze, and mine data and shape platform changes, you’ll also spend time in real K-12 STEM classroom environments, talking with teachers and students and observing how your research projects and technologies can be used to advance teaching and learning.

Research & Facilities

Faculty Profiles

Erin Ottmar

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Assistant Professor

Social Science

Erin Ottmar is an assistant professor of psychology and learning sciences at WPI. She received her BA in psychology and elementary education from the University of Richmond. After college, she spent several years teaching in Ecuador and Japan. In 2011, she received her PhD in Educational Psychology: Applied Developmental Science from the University of Virginia. After graduate school, returned to a small liberal arts environment and spent 3 years as a post-doctoral research scientist at the University of Richmond.

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George T. Heineman

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Associate Professor

Computer Science

Computer programming makes it possible to solve problems that otherwise could never be attempted. You can create worlds that could never be possible and help make this world a better place. Most of my professional and personal accomplishments were possible directly because of my understanding and practice of computer programming. For me, programming led me to appreciate fundamental concepts in computer science and directed me to major in CS. I've always been passionate about the possibilities of computer programming; this forms the basis for all of my teaching.

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Joseph Beck

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Associate Professor

Computer Science

Joseph Beck, assistant professor of Computer Science, has been at WPI since 2007. His research focuses on educational data mining, a new discipline that develops techniques for analyzing large educational data sets to make discoveries that will improve teaching and learning. His work centers on estimating how computer tutors impact learning. He established the first workshop in the field and in 2008 was program co-chair of the first International Conference on Educational Data Mining.

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Neil Heffernan

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Professor

Computer Science

Neil T. Heffernan enjoys doing educational data mining and running the ASSISTments system. ASSISTments helps schools teach better. It’s a web service hosted at WPI that allows teachers to assign nightly homework or daily class work. Students get instant feedback while teachers get live reports. Professor Heffernan enjoys supervising WPI students in creating ASSISTments content and features. He has 6 dozens paper in educational data mining, and 20+ papers in comparing different ways to optimize student learning.

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Getting Involved

Grad students find a vibrant and interesting life at WPI. With clubs that welcome all students, you’ll find many choices to fit your interests from gaming clubs to theatre to intramural sports. The active Graduate Student Government supports grad students and welcomes them to the WPI community.

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Students walking around the fountain in the springtime

After Graduation

With the extensive and collaborative classroom experiences at WPI, you’ll be well prepared for educational research jobs where smarter learning education is paramount. With a vibrant start-up educational technology culture in New England, you’ll find that employers seek out WPI grads because of their extensive hands-on experience and big-picture approach.

Career Outlook

Learning Sciences & Technologies Program

Affiliations:

Social Science & Policy Studies