I'm happy to handle email inquiries, but formal applications must be
by hardcopy to Prof. David Wood at the address below.

Frank Ritter@psyc.nott.ac.uk  (where I really am)
      Ritter@cs.cmu.edu       old best mail drop
      ritter@psy.cmu.edu      my (old) real affiliation
        fr07@andrew.cmu.edu   where the above two point to

+ 44 (602) 515-292 (office)  + 44 (602) 704-740 (home)
+ 44 (602) 515-324 (incoming fax)
Department of Psychology
U. of Nottingham
University Park, Nottingham
NG7 2RD
England


ESRC Centre for Research in Development, Instruction and Training 

Department of Psychology 
University of Nottingham 

The Centre has guaranteed funding from the ESRC for the next five years.
In year 4, ESRC will undertake a mid-term review. If the outcome of the
review is positive, funding will be awarded for a further five year period.
The Centre is based in the Department of Psychology which has received the
highest UFC gradings in each of the three research selectivity rounds. We
already have a good infrastructure for research and the ESRC award includes
monies for purchase of necessary equipment, software etc.

The posts:

Posts are available from October 1st, 1993. Planning for a minimum of five
years research demands some degree of flexibility and the point at which
particular project lines come on stream will be determined, in part, by the
availability of suitable applicants in each area. So, there are grounds for
negotiation about start dates.

Junior Research Assistants 

People who apply for a post as a junior Research Assistant are unlikely to
have had much by way of previous research experience. We are looking for
people with good honours degrees in relevant disciplines (eg psychology,
computer science, education, A.I.). There is a possibility that suitable
candidates will be able to register for higher degrees and many opportunities
for research training exist within the Psychology Department.

Research areas within which we are looking for young R.As include: 

  1. Peer collaboration and peer tutoring 
  
  2. Industrial training 
  
  3. Modelling the learning process 
  
  4. Computer-supported learning 
  
  5. Intelligent tutoring systems 
  
  6. Intervention studies with children with learning difficulties 

Research Fellows 

Candidates for these posts will have had significant, relevant research
experience and ideally (but not necessarily) possess a Doctorate. Each senior
research person will be expected to be involved in two lines of research,
serving as 'bridges' across the disciplines involved. The exact nature of
the posts involved is open to some negotiation to reflect the research
experience and research ambitions of candidates. The main areas of interest
are:

1. Collaborative learning. The person who occupies this post will be expected,
   in the first year, to share teaching duties with Dr Claire O'Malley who will
   be seconded, part time, from the Department to the Centre. Dr O'Malley's
   main research area is computer support for collaborative learning in physics.
   Exact details of the nature of the teaching duties involved will be
   negotiable with the successful applicant.

2. Teacher training. The person who occupies this post will be based mainly
   at the School of Education, University of Leicester, working with Dr Jean
   Underwood. The initial focus for research in this area is to evaluate
   different approaches to training teachers in terms of their effects on
   classroom performance and pupil learning.

3. Industrial Training. The successful applicant will have had some
   experience in research into adult learning/training. The initial project
   line is designed to test the generality of principles for the design
   intelligent tutoring systems (designed for educational contexts) in
   application to the design of systems to support adult training.

4. There may be a fourth senior post tenable in any relevant area.
   This may prove particularly attractive to non-U.K. based researchers
   with an established research record who wish to work in the U.K. for a
   fixed term.

Apply with full curriculum vitae and names of two referees, or for details to: 

Professor David Wood, Director, ESRC Centre for Research in
Development, Instruction and Training, Department of Psychology,
University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD,
Telephone ++ 44 (0602) 515302
Fax ++ 44 (0602) 515 324

Brief (non-technical) outline of the agenda 

The objectives of the Centre are to elaborate and exploit a theoretical
framework for the design, delivery and evaluation of systems to support
instruction and training. By bringing together researchers in psychology,
education, artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction, the aim
is to achieve maximum impact on developments and practices in educational
and training contexts. Initially, the main areas of research will include
the creation of multi-media, computer-based systems for teaching and
learning in mathematics and science education, classroom-based research to
improve learning and communications skills in children with learning
problems, and the development of face-to-face and computer-based techniques
for adult training.

Dissemination is a central objective and will comprise written reports aimed
at academic, educational and training audiences, seminars, workshops and
video-based training materials.

Collaborative links with colleagues at the Universities of Leicester and
Ulster are already in place, and the Centre welcomes opportunities to forge
new links with other researchers in the field. In addition to providing a
context for national and international co-operation in relevant fields, the
Centre will also provide an inter-disciplinary training environment for
young researchers.

The scientific programme will include: 
  
  * Support for peer collaboration in mathematics and physics learning 
  
  * Charting the development of teaching skills in children 
  
  * Design and evaluation of tutoring systems to teach aspects of algebra 
  
  * Development of computer-based systems which learn how to teach 
  
  * Evaluation of teaching methods to promote learning and communication
    skills in children with learning difficulties
  
  * The application of principles of instruction to teacher training 
  
  * Principles of instruction to support training in the workplace 

Timetable 

Making ten appointments will take some time! We hope to call people for
interview starting in mid-May, but exact timing will depend upon the number
of suitable applicants who we need to see.

Current staffing 

The agenda for the Centre (see below) is a broad one and we are seeking to
build up a multi-disciplinary team. Principal Investigators and current
members of the Centre, in addition to the Centre Director (Prof David Wood),
are:

Shaaron Ainsworth and Dr Claire O'Malley (computer support for collaborative
learning)

Dr Neil Anderson and Prof Tom Cox (Adult training) 

Dr Peter Cheng (representation and scientific discovery) 

Dr David Gilmore (Human and machine learning) 

Dr Frank Ritter (SOAR models of human cognition) 

Prof Nigel Shadbolt (A.I. and intelligent tutoring systems) 

Prof Geoff Underwood (peer collaboration/competition and gender) 

Dr Jean Underwood (teacher training) 

Dr Heather Wood (intelligent tutoring systems; learning difficulties) 

In addition, the Centre has full-time secretarial and technical support.