Reflections on the Learning Sciences

This volume presents historical and critical analyses of the emerging field of the learning sciences from both established and up-and-coming scholars.

Michael A. Evans (Edited by), Martin J. Packer (Edited by), R. Keith Sawyer (Edited by)

9781107070158, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 4 February 2016

308 pages, 18 b/w illus. 8 tables
23.5 x 15.7 x 2 cm, 0.57 kg

This volume offers a historical and critical analysis of the emerging field of the learning sciences, which takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and improving how children and adults learn. It features a wide range of authors, including established scholars who founded and guided the learning sciences through the initial turbulence of forming a new line of academic inquiry, as well as newcomers who are continuing to shape the field. This diversity allows for a broad yet selective perspective on what the learning sciences are, why they came to be, and how contributors conduct their work. Reflections on the Learning Sciences serves both as a starting point for discussion among scholars familiar with the discipline and as an introduction for those interested in learning more. It will benefit graduate students and researchers in computer science, educational psychology, instructional technology, science, engineering, and mathematics.

1. Introduction Michael A. Evans, Martin J. Packer and R. Keith Sawyer
Part I. Past: 2. Why learning sciences? Roger Schank
3. The prehistory of the learning sciences Roy Pea
4. Some early contributions to the situative perspective on learning and cognition James Greeno and Timothy Nokes-Malach
5. The group as paradigmatic unit of analysis: the contested relationship of CSCL to the learning sciences Gerry Stahl
Part II. Present: 6. Reconstructing the influences on and focus of the learning sciences from the field's published conference proceedings Victor R. Lee, Min Yuan, Lei Ye and Mimi Recker
7. Mapping the territory of the learning sciences Martin J. Packer and Cody Maddox
8. Researcher-practitioner collaboration in educational design research: processes, roles, values, and expectations Susan McKenney
Part III. Future: 9. Growing the learning sciences: brand or big tent? Implications for graduate education Mitchell J. Nathan, Nikol Rummel and Kenneth E. Hay
10. Education policy and the learning sciences: the case for a new alliance Mary Kay Stein, Kevin Crowley and Lauren Resnick
11. Learning and development as transaction: offering a Deweyan perspective to extend the landscape of the learning sciences Michael A. Evans and Sandra Schneider
12. Conclusion: a Foucauldian analysis of the learning sciences R. Keith Sawyer.

Subject Areas: Educational equipment & technology, computer-aided learning [CAL JNV], Educational psychology [JNC], Psychology [JM]