Chapter 1, page 26
Developmental psychologists study cognitive and social growth in children as they grow older. Social
psychologists study processes by which people interact with each other in groups and how people think
about the social world (e.g., how and why people stereotype others). Cognitive psychologists study mental
processes of thinking and learning. Research in all these areas of psychology can inform our
understanding of learning and teaching.
The learning sciences is a relatively new field that has emerged in the past two decades. Learning
scientists use methods and concepts from a variety of different scientific disciplines (including psychology,
linguistics, and anthropology) to study how learning occurs in real settings (classrooms, museums, homes,
and so on) (Sawyer, 2006a, 2006b). Learning scientists emphasize the design of innovative learning
environments that they believe will be effective in helping students learn (A. L. Brown, 1992). They
frequently incorporate technological tools such as computers in the learning environments they design. For
example, a learning scientist might develop a web-based environment for helping students learn to think
about primary and secondary historical sources as the students work together to explain the causes of Irish
immigration to the United States in the 1800s. The researchers then investigate how students learn within
these environments.
The third broad area of research that has strongly influenced this text is research focused on
learning and teaching in different subject areas—such areas that include English as a second language,
foreign languages, literacy (including reading and writing), mathematics, science, and social studies. Much
of the research that has helped us learn about how to teach well in particular subjects has been conducted
by these researchers. Like learning scientists and some educational psychologists, these researchers
frequently design exemplary instructional interventions and then investigate how students learn using these
interventions. These researchers also study what practices are common in classrooms (e.g., how do
elementary school teachers typically teach reading?) and how these practices influence student learning.
There is no sharp distinction between the fields discussed above. A number of researchers--
including myself--see themselves as belonging to more than one field (for example, I consider myself both
a learning scientist and an educational psychologist). As a result, there is increasing convergence among
the theories and methods employed by researchers in these fields. Throughout this textbook, we will draw
eclectically on research in all of these fields to understand how students learn and how teachers can teach
effectively.