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The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences

Learning sciences is an interdisciplinary ﬁeld that studies teaching and learning. The sciences of learning include cognitive science, educational psychology, computer science, anthropology, sociology, neuroscience, and other ﬁelds. The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences shows how educators can use the learning sciences to design more effective learning environments, including school classrooms and informal settings such as science centers or after-school clubs, online distance learning, and computer- based tutoring software. The chapters in this handbook describe exciting new classroom environments, based on the latest science about how children learn. CHLS is a true handbook: readers can use it to design the schools of the future – schools that will prepare graduates to participate in a global society that is increasingly based on knowledge and innovation.

R. Keith Sawyer is Associate Professor of Education at Washington University in St. Louis. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Chicago and his S.B. in Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He studies creativity, collaboration, and learning. Dr. Sawyer has written or edited eight books. His most recent book is Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation (2006).

The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences

Edited by R. Keith Sawyer Washington University

cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao˜ Paulo

Cambridge University Press 40 West 20th Street, New York, ny 10011-4211, usa www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521845540

c Cambridge University Press 2006

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2006

Printed in the United States of America

A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences / edited by R. Keith Sawyer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978-0-521-84554-0 (hardcover) isbn-10: 0-521-84554-8 (hardcover) isbn-13: 978-0-521-60777-3 (pbk.) isbn-10: 0-521-60777-9 (pbk.) 1. Learning, Psychology of. 2. Cognitive learning. 3. Learning – Social aspects. I. Sawyer, R. Keith (Robert Keith) II. Title. lb1060.c35 2006 370.1523 –dc22 2005036463

isbn-13 978-0-521-84554-0 hardback isbn-10 0-521-84554-8 hardback isbn-13 978-0-521-60777-3 paperback isbn-10 0-521-60777-9 paperback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In memory of three learning sciences pioneers: Ann Brown, Robbie Case, and Jan Hawkins

Contents

Preface page xi R. Keith Sawyer Contributors xv

1. Introduction: The New Science of Learning 1 R. Keith Sawyer

part i FOUNDATIONS 2 . Foundations and Opportunities for an Interdisciplinary Science of Learning 19 John D. Bransford, Brigid Barron, Roy D. Pea, Andrew Meltzoff, Patricia Kuhl, Philip Bell, Reed Stevens, Daniel L. Schwartz, Nancy Vye, Byron Reeves, Jeremy Roschelle, and Nora H. Sabelli 3. Constructionism 35 Yasmin B. Kafai 4. Cognitive Apprenticeship 47 Allan Collins 5. Cognitive Tutors: Technology Bringing Learning Sciences to the Classroom 61 Kenneth R. Koedinger and Albert Corbett

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6. Learning in Activity 79 James G. Greeno 7. Knowledge Building: Theory, Pedagogy, and Technology 97 Marlene Scardamalia and Carl Bereiter

part ii METHODOLOGIES 8. Learner-Centered Design: Reﬂections on the Past and Directions for the Future 119 Chris Quintana, Namsoo Shin, Cathleen Norris, and Elliot Soloway 9. The Evolution of Design Studies as Methodology 135 Jere Confrey 10. Design-Based Research: A Methodological Toolkit for the Learning Scientist 153 Sasha Barab 11. Guiding Inquiry-Based Math Learning 171 Paul Cobb and Kay McClain 12. Analyzing Collaborative Discourse 187 R. Keith Sawyer 13. Assessing for Deep Understanding 205 Sharon M. Carver

part iii THE NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE 14. Case-Based Reasoning 225 Janet L. Kolodner 15. The Knowledge Integration Perspective on Learning and Instruction 243 Marcia C. Linn 16. A History of Conceptual Change Research: Threads and Fault Lines 265 Andrea A. diSessa 17. Spatial Representations and Imagery in Learning 283 Daniel L. Schwartz and Julie Heiser 18. Literacy and the Learning Sciences 299 Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar and Barbara G. Ladewski

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part iv MAKING KNOWLEDGE VISIBLE 19. Project-Based Learning 317 Joseph S. Krajcik and Phyllis C. Blumenfeld 20. Making Authentic Practices Accessible to Learners: Design Challenges and Strategies 335 Daniel C. Edelson and Brian J. Reiser 21. BioKIDS: An Animated Conversation on the Development of Curricular Activity Structures for Inquiry Science 355 Nancy Butler Songer 22. Cultivating Model-Based Reasoning in Science Education 371 Richard Lehrer and Leona Schauble 23. Exploring Mathematics Through Construction and Collaboration 389 Richard Noss and Celia Hoyles

part v LEARNING TOGETHER 24. Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning 409 Gerry Stahl, Timothy Koschmann, and Daniel D. Suthers 25. WILD for Learning: Interacting Through New Computing Devices Anytime, Anywhere 427 Roy D. Pea and Heidy Maldonado 26. Arguing to Learn 443 Jerry Andriessen 27. Learning in Online Communities 461 Amy Bruckman

part vi LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 28. Motivation and Cognitive Engagement in Learning Environments 475 Phyllis C. Blumenfeld, Toni M. Kempler, and Joseph S. Krajcik 29. Learning as a Cultural Process: Achieving Equity Through Diversity 489 Na’ilah Suad Nasir, Ann S. Rosebery, Beth Warren, and Carol D. Lee 30. Prospects for Transforming Schools with Technology- Supported Assessment 505 Barbara Means

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31. Internet Use in Schools: Promise and Problems 521 Janet Ward Schoﬁeld 32. Teacher Learning Research and the Learning Sciences 535 Barry J. Fishman and Elizabeth A. Davis 33. Scaling Up: Evolving Innovations Beyond Ideal Settings to Challenging Contexts of Practice 551 Chris Dede 34. Conclusion: The Schools of the Future 567 R. Keith Sawyer

581 Afterword: After How Comes What Seymour Papert Epilogue: The Fundamental Issue 587 in the Learning Sciences Roger C. Schank Author Index 593 Subject Index 609

Preface

R. Keith Sawyer

Learning sciences is an interdisciplinary field Journal of the Learning Sciences was first that studies teaching and learning. Learning published. scientists study learning in a variety of Learning sciences researchers have gener- settings, including not only the more formal ated an impressive body of scholarship since learning of school classrooms but also the 1991, and it’s time to share the research informal learning that takes place at home, with the rest of the world – education on the job, and among peers. The goal of researchers, teachers, administrators, policy the learning sciences is to better understand makers, consultants, and software designers. the cognitive and social processes that This handbook is your introduction to an result in the most effective learning, and exciting new approach to reforming educa- to use this knowledge to redesign class- tion and schools, an approach that builds on rooms and other learning environments so the learning sciences to design new learning that people learn more deeply and more environments that help people learn more effectively. The sciences of learning include deeply and more effectively. cognitive science, educational psychology, Learning sciences researchers often refer computer science, anthropology, sociol- to themselves as a community because ogy, information sciences, neurosciences, sometimes it seems like everybody knows education, design studies, instructional everybody else; only a few hundred schol- design, and other fields. In the late 1980s, ars attend the professional meetings that are researchers in these fields who were study- held each year. This is a relatively small ing learning realized that they needed to group in the context of education research; develop new scientific approaches that the American Educational Research Associ- went beyond what their own individual ation claims more than ten thousand mem- disciplines could offer, and they began to bers. But the learning sciences community collaborate with other disciplines. Learning is growing, and it is beginning to have sciences was born in 1991, when the first an impact on education far beyond its international conference was held, and the size. Between 2003 and 2006, the National

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Science Foundation funded nearly $100 mil- underused.” Learning scientists have discov- lion in grants to accelerate the development ered that computers only benefit learning of the learning sciences. More and more peo- when they take into account what we know ple are realizing that the approaches emerg- about how children learn, and when they ing from the learning sciences community are designed to be closely integrated with have great potential to contribute to improv- teacher and student interactions in the class- ing education. room. This handbook will introduce you to The National Research Council report the best of this new educational software. How People Learn (Bransford, Brown, & But computer software is only one com- Cocking, 2000) was the first overview of ponent of this handbook; various chapters the new sciences of learning. That book propose new teaching strategies, alternative provided an accessible introduction to the ways of bringing students together in collab- learning sciences for a broad audience. The orating groups, and new forms of curricu- Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences lum that cross traditional grades and disci- (CHLS) picks up where this NRC report plines. Some chapters even propose radical left off: CHLS shows how educators can new ways of thinking about schooling and use the learning sciences to design more learning. effective learning environments, including The thirty-four chapters of the CHLS are school classrooms, and informal settings organized into six parts. such as science centers or after-school clubs, In my own Introduction and Conclusion, I online distance learning, and computer- explain why the learning sciences are impor- based tutoring software. The chapters in tant not only to education but to our entire CHLS describe exciting new classroom envi- society. The major advanced nations and the ronments, based on the latest science about entire global economy are rapidly changing. how children learn. These classroom envi- In these two chapters, I draw on a large ronments combine new curricular materi- body of recent scholarship that describes als, new collaborative activities, support for the mismatch between the schools we have teachers, and innovative educational soft- today and the demands of the knowledge ware, often using the unique advantages of age. Because the learning sciences are dis- the Internet to extend learning beyond the covering how to teach the deep knowledge, walls of the school. CHLS is a true handbook skills, and attitudes required in the knowl- in that readers can use it to design the schools edge society, they are positioned to pro- of the future – schools that are based on vide the blueprint for the schools of the learning sciences research and that draw on future. the full potential of computer and Internet Part I, Foundations, introduces the reader technology to improve our students’ experi- to many of the big ideas that have been most ences. The learning sciences are supporting influential throughout the learning sciences. deep links between formal schooling and the Part II, Methodologies, describes the uni- many other learning institutions available que research approaches used by learning to students – libraries, science centers and scientists to study and to design new learning history museums, after-school clubs, online environments. Experiments are an impor- activities that can be accessed from home, tant research methodology, but they are typ- and even collaborations between students ically not useful in designing and engineer- and working professionals. ing classrooms, and learning scientists have Many of the cutting-edge classrooms developed a variety of new methodological described here make use of advanced com- tools. puter technology – but not just for tech- Part III, The Nature of Knowledge, pre- nology’s sake. Learning scientists are well sents new research on the kinds of deep aware that computers have generally failed knowledge that support expert activity. teachers and students; that they are, in Larry Learning scientists are not simply trying Cuban’s (2001) famous words, “oversold and to help students memorize textbook facts

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better, because memorizing isolated facts by any one researcher. By sharing openly and step-by-step procedures is not enough in and working collaboratively, learning sci- today’s knowledge society. Instead, learning ences researchers have made great strides in scientists study how to help students under- less than two decades. I hope that CHLS stand underlying explanations and causes functions as a resource that will allow a and how to solve complex, real-world significant expansion of this community of problems. practice, allowing everyone involved with Part IV, Making Knowledge Visible, education to tap into these new findings and shows how learning scientists are using these begin the task of designing the schools of the new discoveries about the nature of knowl- future. edge to design classroom activities that help I have many people to thank for their students learn by making visible the deep contributions to this project. Philip Laugh- knowledge they need to learn – often with lin, my editor at Cambridge University Press, sophisticated computer displays. was the original visionary who saw that read- Part V, Learning Together, emphasizes ers needed a book like this, and I thank him the important role of collaboration in learn- for his support throughout the project. I ing. A wide range of educational research am particularly grateful to the four advisory has found that collaboration contributes board members. They have gone far beyond to learning. Unlike an older generation of the call of duty, in devoting their time and educational software, where each student energy, responding vigorously whenever I worked in isolation at his or her own com- asked them for help concerning issues that puter, the advent of the Internet and of wire- arose during the project. less handheld devices supports students in I am grateful for the support I received learning collaborations, so that computers from Washington University. While working bring students together instead of pulling on the handbook, I was partially supported them apart. by the St. Louis Center for Inquiry in Science Part VI, Learning Environments, tack- Teaching and Learning (CISTL) and by the les the real-world problems that face any Washington University Department of Edu- educational reform – teacher professional cation. This support was due to the efforts development, equity for all students, and of Jere Confrey, project director at CISTL, scaling up innovations throughout school and to Bill Tate, Chair of the Department of districts and ultimately, throughout the Education. During the spring 2005 semester, country. students in a doctoral seminar at Washing- A book like CHLS is a massive under- ton University read many of the early drafts taking; more than sixty authors have con- of these chapters, and their suggestions were tributed, and many other members of the extremely helpful. During final editing in the learning sciences community have partici- summer of 2005, Stacy DeZutter provided pated indirectly, by reading and commenting invaluable editorial assistance, also with sup- on chapter drafts. As with any professional port from CISTL. community, the knowledge that emerges is And of course, I am grateful to each of collectively created by all of the participants. the authors for the hard work they invested. Many important scholars whose names do It was a true pleasure to work with such a not appear as authors nonetheless have con- deeply professional group of scholars, with tributed to the collective endeavor of the everyone delivering their chapters “on time learning sciences. While editing this hand- and under budget,” as they say. I am par- book, I have discovered that the members ticularly grateful that the authors were will- of this professional community are deeply ing to respond to my suggestions – in many aware that they are each only one partic- cases I offered detailed comments, and many ipant in a broad community of practice, authors invested a significant amount of time and that the knowledge generated cannot writing a second draft. Having worked so be considered to be owned or possessed closely with these scholars, I have a deeper

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understanding of why the learning sci- expressed in this publication are those of ences is having such a signiﬁcant impact on the authors and do not necessarily reﬂect the education. views of the National Science Foundation.

Acknowledgments References

Janet Kolodner provided valuable feedback Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. on an earlier draft of the ﬁrst half of this (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, Preface. mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: Editing of this handbook was supported National Academy Press. by the National Science Foundation under Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold and underused: Award No. ESI-0227619. Any opinions, ﬁnd- Computers in the classroom. Cambridge, MA: ings, and conclusions or recommendations Harvard University Press.

Contributors

Editorial Board Chapter Contributors

Allan Collins Jerry Andriessen Northwestern University Utrecht University School of Education and Social Policy Heidelberglaan 1 2120 Campus Drive Department of Educational Studies Evanston, IL 60208 (IPEDON) [email protected] Utrecht 3884 CS [email protected] Jere Confrey Sasha Barab Washington University Department of Education Indiana University, Learning Sciences 4066 Campus Box 1183 School of Education, # 201 St. Louis, MO 63130 North Rose Avenue 47405 [email protected] Bloomington, IN [email protected] Janet L. Kolodner Brigid Barron Georgia Institute of Technology Stanford University College of Computing School of Education 801 Atlantic Drive 485 Lausen Mall 30332 0280 Atlanta GA - Stanford, CA 94305-3096 [email protected] [email protected] Marlene Scardamalia Philip Bell Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Washington 252 Bloor Street West Cognitive Studies in Education Program Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6 312F Miller Hall, Box 353600 Canada Seattle, WA 98195 [email protected] [email protected]

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Carl Bereiter Chris Dede Ontario Institute for Studies in Harvard University Education Technology in Education Program 252 Bloor Street West 323 Longfellow Hall Toronto, ON M5S 1V6 Cambridge, MA 02138 Canada chris [email protected] [email protected] Andrea A. diSessa Phyllis C. Blumenfeld University of California University of Michigan 4533 Tolman Hall #1670 School of Education, 4124 SEB Berkeley, CA 94720-1670 Ann Arbor, MI 48109 [email protected] [email protected] Daniel C. Edelson John D. Bransford Northwestern University University of Washington School of Education and Social College of Education Policy Box 353600, 210 Miller Hall 2120 Campus Drive Seattle, WA 98195 Evanston, IL 60208 [email protected] [email protected] Amy Bruckman Barry J. Fishman Georgia Institute of Technology University of Michigan College of Computing School of Education 85 5th Street 610 E. University Ave., 1360B Atlanta, GA 30332-0760 Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259 [email protected] ﬁ[email protected] Sharon M. Carver James G. Greeno Children’s School University of Pittsburgh Carnegie Mellon University School of Education Pittsburgh, PA 15213 5524 Wesley Posvar Hall [email protected] Pittsburgh, PA 15260 [email protected] Paul Cobb Vanderbilt University Julie Heiser Department of Teaching and Learning Adobe Systems, Inc. 230 Appleton Place, Box 330 345 Park Avenue, E-11 Peabody College San Jose, CA 95110 Nashville, TN 37203-5721 [email protected] [email protected] Celia Hoyles Albert Corbett Institute of Education, University of Carnegie Mellon University London Human-Computer Interaction 20 Bedford Way Institute London WC1H 0AL 3605 Newell Simon Hall United Kingdom Pittsburgh, PA 15213 [email protected] [email protected] Yasmin B. Kafai Elizabeth A. Davis University of California University of Michigan Graduate School of Education & Information School of Education Studies 610 E. University Ave., Room 1323 2331 Moore Hall, Box 951521 Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1521 [email protected] [email protected]

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Toni M. Kempler Marcia C. Linn University of Michigan University of California School of Education Graduate School of Education 610 E. University Ave., Room 4041 4611 Tolman Hall Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Berkeley, CA 94720-1670 [email protected] [email protected] Kenneth R. Koedinger Heidy Maldonado Carnegie Mellon University Stanford University School of Computer Science Stanford Center for Innovations in 3601 Newell-Simon Hall Learning Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3891 Wallenberg Hall [email protected] 450 Serra Mall, Building 160 Stanford, CA 94305 Timothy Koschmann [email protected] Southern Illinois University Kay McClain Department of Medical Education P. O. Box 19681 Vanderbilt University Springﬁeld, IL 62794-9681 Peabody College, Department of [email protected] Teaching and Learning 230 Appleton Place, Box 330 Joseph S. Krajcik Nashville, TN 37203-5721 University of Michigan [email protected] School of Education Barbara Means 610 E. University Ave., Room 4109 Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259 SRI International [email protected] Center for Technology in Learning Patricia Kuhl 333 Ravenswood Ave University of Washington Menlo Park, CA 94025 Box 357988 [email protected] Seattle, WA 98195 Andrew Meltzoff [email protected] University of Washington Barbara G. Ladewski Institute for Learning and Brain University of Michigan Sciences School of Education Box 357920 610 E. University Ave., Room 4002 Seattle, WA 98195 Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259 [email protected] [email protected] Na’ilah Suad Nasir Carol D. Lee Stanford University Northwestern University School of Education School of Education and Social Policy Wallenberg Hall Annenberg Hall #331 450 Serra Mall, Building 160 2120 Campus Drive Stanford, CA 94305 Evanston, IL 60208-0001 [email protected] [email protected] Cathleen Norris Richard Lehrer University of North Texas Vanderbilt University College of Education Department of Teaching and Learning Department of Technology and 166 Wyatt Center, Box 330 Cognition Peabody College P.O. Box 311337 Nashville, TN 37235 Denton, TX 76203 [email protected] [email protected]

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Richard Noss Ann S. Rosebery Institute of Education, University of TERC London 2067 Massachusetts Avenue London Knowledge Lab Cambridge, MA 02139 23–29, Emerald Street Ann [email protected] 1 3 London WC N QS Nora H. Sabelli United Kingdom SRI International [email protected] Center for Technology in Learning Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar 333 Ravenswood Avenue University of Michigan Menlo Park, CA 94025 School of Education [email protected] 610 4121 E. University Ave., Room R. Keith Sawyer Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259 Washington University [email protected] Department of Education Seymour Papert Campus Box 1183 The Media Laboratory, MIT St. Louis, MO 63130 Building E15 [email protected] 77 Massachusetts Ave Roger C. Schank Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 Socratic Arts Roy D. Pea http://www.socraticarts.com/ Stanford University Leona Schauble Stanford Center for Innovations in Vanderbilt University Learning Department of Teaching and Learning Wallenberg Hall Box 330 Peabody College 450 Serra Mall, Building 160 Nashville, TN 37203 StanfordCA 94305 [email protected] [email protected] Chris Quintana Janet Ward Schoﬁeld University of Michigan University of Pittsburgh School of Education Professor, Department of Psychology 610 E. University Ave., 1360D SEB Senior Scientist, LRDC 3939 Ann Arbor, MI 48109 O’Hara Street 15260 [email protected] Pittsburgh, PA [email protected] Byron Reeves Stanford University Daniel L. Schwartz Department of Communication Stanford University Building 160, Room 229 School of Education Stanford, CA 94305 Stanford, CA 94305-3096 [email protected] [email protected] Brian J. Reiser Namsoo Shin Northwestern University University of Michigan Learning Sciences School of Education Annenberg Hall, 2120 Campus Drive, 610 E. University Ave., Room 4031 Room 339 Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Evanston, IL 60208-0001 [email protected] [email protected] Elliot Soloway Jeremy Roschelle University of Michigan SRI International Department of EECS, College of Center for Technology in Learning Engineering 333 Ravenswood Avenue, BN-376 2200 Bonisteel, 306 ERB Menlo Park, CA 94025 Ann Arbor, MI 48109 [email protected] [email protected]

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Nancy Butler Songer Daniel D. Suthers University of Michigan University of Hawaii School of Education Information and Computer Sciences 610 E. University Ave., 1323 SEB 1680 East West Road, POST 309B Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Honolulu, HI 96822 [email protected] [email protected] Gerry Stahl Nancy Vye Drexel University University of Washington College of Information Science & Technology College of Education 3141 Chestnut Street 210 Miller Hall, Box 353600 Philadelphia, PA 19104 Seattle, WA 98195 [email protected] [email protected] Reed Stevens University of Washington Beth Warren Educational Psychology TERC 406A Miller Hall 2067 Massachusetts Avenue Seattle, WA 98195-3600 Cambridge, MA 02140 [email protected] Beth [email protected]