Robert F. Williams Associate Professor of Education Linguistics & Cognitive Science Lawrence University Appleton, Wisconsin
At Lawrence University I teach courses and tutorials in education, linguistics, and cognitive science and conduct research into conceptual aspects of human cognition, communication, and teaching/learning. I also supervise student teachers and independent studies, and I chair the faculty committee on assessment. When not at work, I can be found singing with the White Heron Chorale, going on nature walks with my kids, or enjoying the local culture (more than beer, cheese, and snow!). If you're interested, have a look at my faculty profile in Lawrence Today (Winter 2006) or my interview for the UCSD Cognitive Science Alumnus of the Month (March 2009). See a recent science slam I presented while on sabbatical in Aachen, Germany (May 2011). Information about my background, teaching, and research can be found below. Details are in my CV.
-------------------------------- VITA --------------------------------
2011	Visiting Professor, Natural Media & Engineering Human Technology Centre (HumTec)				RWTH Aachen University, Germany
2010-present	Associate Professor, Education Department Linguistics and Cognitive Science Programs				Lawrence University Appleton, WI
2004-10	Assistant Professor, Education Department Linguistics and Cognitive Science Programs				Lawrence University Appleton, WI
2004	Doctor of Philosophy in Cognitive Science (Dissertation: Making meaning from a clock: Material artifacts and conceptual blending in time-telling instruction)				University of California, San Diego
2000	Master of Science in Cognitive Science (Thesis: An ERP study of hemispheric asymmetries in joke comprehension)				University of California, San Diego
1996-97	Visiting Lecturer, English				University of Passau, Germany
1993-98	High School Teacher, German & English				Jefferson County Schools, Colorado
1992	Master of Arts in Curriculum & Instruction, Secondary English and Foreign Language				University of Colorado, Denver
1985-91	Systems Engineer				IBM Corporation, Denver
1985	Bachelor of Arts, German major				Purdue University West Lafayette, IN
1985	Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering				Purdue University West Lafayette, IN
------------------------------ COURSES ------------------------------
Fall 2011		Winter 2012		Spring 2012
EDST 180 Psychology of Learning EDUC 660 Advanced Methods in Teaching		EDUC 430 Educating All Learners EDUC 431 Educating All Learners in Music		EDST 180 Psychology of Learning LING 545 Gesture Studies
TEACHER EDUCATION EDST 180 Psychology of Learning (PSYC 180) An investigation of how people learn. This course examines learning theories (behavioral, cognitive, constructivist, humanist) and their implications for the educational process in schools. Other topics include learning and the brain, the nature of expertise, the design of learning environments, and approaches to instruction that promote meaningful learning. Practicum of 20 hours required. 6 units. EDUC 430 Educating All Learners This course focuses on two related topics: promoting effective reading and writing in school content areas and adapting instruction to learners with special needs. As part of the latter focus, students will explore various exceptionalities, legal requirements, school arrangements, and teacher practices. Practicum of 20 hours required. 6 units. Prerequisite: EDST 180 and junior standing. EDUC 431 Educating All Learners in Music (MUEP 431) This course focuses on adapting instruction to learners with special needs. Students will explore various exceptionalities, legal requirements, school arrangements, and teacher practices. Practicum of 10 hours required. For music education students. 3 units. Prerequisite: EDST 180 and junior standing. EDUC 650 Student Teaching Student teaching is normally taken during Term I, coinciding with the public school fall semester. A weekly seminar at Lawrence (EDUC 660) is required with this course. See department chair for prerequisites and for exceptions to the Term I requirement. 18 units. Prerequisite: Senior standing and admission to the teacher certification program. EDUC 660 Advanced Methods in Teaching The seminar will engage students in critical reflection upon their student teaching experience. Concrete and theoretical problems having to do with teaching and learning will be explored (classroom management, assessment of pupil performance, curriculum design, instructional methods), as will issues having to do with educational policy and school organization. 3 units. Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in EDUC 650 or consent of instructor. LINGUISTICS & COGNITIVE SCIENCE EDST 180 Psychology of Learning (PSYC 180) An investigation of how people learn. This course examines learning theories (behavioral, cognitive, constructivist, humanist) and their implications for the educational process in schools. Other topics include learning and the brain, the nature of expertise, the design of learning environments, and approaches to instruction that promote meaningful learning. Practicum of 20 hours required. 6 units. EDST 345 Distributed Cognition (ANTH/PSYC 345) Distributed cognition explores the role of the environment, artifacts, social interaction, and culture in human reasoning, problem-solving, and learning. Domains of study range from the sophisticated (ship navigation) to the everyday (time-telling). Emphasis is placed on studies of cognition in real-world settings. 6 units. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. LING 470 Cognitive Linguistics Cognitive linguistics is a subfield of linguistics and cognitive science that studies conceptual structure, language, and meaning in relation to general cognitive mechanisms. Topics include cognitive and construction grammars, categorization, construal, image schemas, mental spaces, conceptual metaphors, and conceptual blending. 6 units. Prerequisite: LING 150 or consent of instructor. LING 545 Gesture Studies (EDST/PSYC 545) Gesture studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the use of the hands and other parts of the body in communication and cognition. In this seminar we discuss studies of gesture types, universals, and variations; gesture development; gesture production and perception; relations of gesture to thought and language (spoken and signed); and functions of gesture in human interaction, problem-solving, and learning. 6 units. Prerequisite: one course in linguistics or psychology, junior standing or consent of instructor.
------- SAMPLE TUTORIAL & INDEPENDENT STUDY TOPICS -------
Theory and practice in second language acquisition Motivation in language learning Assessment in second language learning Literacy acquisition in English language learners Cultural identity and bilingual education History of Waldorf education Mood-dependent memory effects Computational semantics Artificial life and language evolution Conceptual integration and motor learning Cognitive models in political discourse Linguistic study of humor
----------------------------- RESEARCH -----------------------------
My research explores conceptual and embodied aspects of everyday cognition, communication, and instruction. I analyze how people use talk, gestures, and representational tools and artifacts to reason and solve problems and to guide the thinking and action of others. Domains I have studied include time-telling, counting, and everyday scientific reasoning. In my research, I gather data through ethnographic and quasi-experimental methods, and I analyze recordings of activity using concepts from distributed cognition, cognitive linguistics, and gesture studies. Recent Papers and Talks: Coordinating and sharing gesture space in collaborative reasoning (2011). Paper presented in the theme session "Within and across spaces: Towards multi-dimensional models of gesture space" at the 3rd conference of the Scandinavian Association for Language and Cognition, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. [abstract] [slides] Gesture coupling body, mind, and world (2011). Cognitive Science colloquium at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, April 20. [abstract] Gesture, conceptualization, and distributed cognition (2011). Plenary address for the workshop The Exbodied Mind: Motion in Communication and Cognition Research, RWTH Aachen University, Germany. [slides] Image schemas in clock-reading: Latent errors and emerging expertise (2011). Journal of the Learning Sciences special issue on embodied mathematical cognition, edited by R. Hall & R. Nemirovsky. [draft pdf] Gesture in everyday scientific reasoning and explanation (2010). Paper presented at the 4th conference of the International Society for Gesture Studies, Europa University Viadrina Frankfurt/Oder. [abstract] [slides] Distributed cognition (2008). In E. Anderman (ed.). Psychology of Classroom Learning: An Encyclopedia. Detroit: Macmillan Reference. [draft pdf] Situating cognition through conceptual integration (2008). Paper presented at the 9th conference on Conceptual Structure, Discourse, and Language, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH. [abstract] [slides] Functions of gesture during instruction: Conceptual mapping, anchoring, and blending (2008). Invited lecture at the Berlin Gesture Center, Berlin, Germany. Path schemas in gesturing for thinking and teaching (2008). Paper presented at the 3rd conference of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association, University of Leipzig. [abstract] [slides] Gesture as a conceptual mapping tool (2008). In A. Cienki & C. Mueller (eds.), Metaphor and Gesture [Gesture Studies 3] (pp. 55-92). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. [draft pdf] Guided conceptualization: Mental spaces in instructional discourse (2008). In T. Oakley & A. Hougaard (eds.), Mental Spaces in Discourse and Interaction (pp. 209-234). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. [draft pdf] Embodiment in learning to read a clock (2007). Presentation for the workshop on Research on Embodied Mathematical Cognition, Technology, and Learning at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Palo Alto, CA. Counting and conceptual blending (2007). Paper presented at the 10th International Cognitive Linguistics Conference, University of Krakow, Poland. Using mapping and anchoring gestures to establish common ground (2007). Paper presented at the 3rd conference of the International Society for Gesture Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. [abstract] [slides]. Latent errors and conceptual change (2006). Paper presented at the 8th conference on Conceptual Structure, Discourse, and Language, University of California, San Diego. The image-schematic structure of pointing (2006). Poster presented at the 2nd international conference on Language, Culture, and Mind, Paris, France. [pdf] Instruction as guided conceptualization (2006). Paper presented at the 2nd international conference on Language, Culture, and Mind, Paris, France. Using cognitive ethnography to study instruction (2006). In S.A. Barab, K.E. Hay, & D.T. Hickey (eds.), Proceedings of the 7^th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (vol. 2, pp. 838-844). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. [pdf] Lessons from a cognitive ethnography of time-telling instruction (2005). Learning Sciences colloquium at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, September 30. Student Research: Herdeman, M., & Williams, R. F. (2010). Cognitive models and the partisan divide: A study of the debate over health care reform. Poster presented at the 10th conference on Conceptual Structure, Discourse, and Language, University of California, San Diego. [pdf] Miller, N. C., & Williams, R. F. (2010). Building a better oarsman: Conceptual integration and motor learning in rowing instruction. Poster presented at the 10th conference on Conceptual Structure, Discourse, and Language, University of California, San Diego. [pdf] Potsch, E., & Williams, R. F. (in press). Image schemas and conceptual metaphor in action comics. To appear in F. Bramlett (ed.), Linguistics and the Study of Comics, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. [draft pdf]. Science Slam: What you can do with your hands (besides the obvious) (2011). Public presentation of gesture research in the first Science Slam Aachen competition, Jakobshof/Aachen, Germany, May 11. [video] A complete list of works can be found in my CV.
----------------------------- CONTACT -----------------------------
E-mail robert.f.williams at lawrence.edu		Office Briggs 124 (920) 993-6276		Mail 711 E. Boldt Way SPC 22 Appleton, WI 54911