Learning Sciences

Jill Mason's picture
            As I was reading the definitions over the weekend, I commented to a friend that I needed a dictionary to find the definition of the definitions of Learning Sciences. It might just be that it was very late at night and I had been dealing with four children and housework and running errands all day, but exactly what we were looking at LS for was just not computing in my head! It then occurred to me that I should probably go to my other friend Google and figure out just what it is and share on my blog with you fine people.
            I came across a number of websites dealing with the subject, but when I saw a video on youtube.com offering a very simple explanation, I knew I had hit the jackpot! The video is actually a production of University of Illinois at Chicago promoting their Learning Sciences doctorate program, but as LS is a relatively new field, they did need to explain exactly what it means before they started advertising.
            The explanation began (and I’m very loosely quoting here) by James Pellegrino, (Learning Sciences Faculty and Co-Director), saying that our environments will continue to get increasingly complex in terms of information, and how much of our society is now dominated by a variety of media and technologies which demand a variety of literacy skills that span all disciplines. He and his co-director, Yolanda Majors, say that LS is all about how to think about the complexity of knowledge and to deal with that complexity across a range of different content areas. We also need to think about the design of teaching/learning environments that prepare individuals to function in a more complex information- and media-dominated society. We really need to understand what people DO in the process of learning and teaching in order to make both sides of the educational process more effective.
Ms. Majors said that people who study LS are usually those who are interested in understanding the processes of learning rather than just content, though they are generally proficient in their particular subject matter. LS tries to answer questions such as: How do people learn in any discipline? How do we improve learning? We have to identify in detail issues of learning a particular discipline as well as what is similar and different across the disciplines to better appreciate what the unique aspects are of trying to construct better learning environments to teach any discipline.
Another important part of LS research is that it makes the assumption that what and how a person learns is the result of social, cultural and environmental forces in addition to the characteristics of the individual. The end goal of LS is “the goal of understanding and improving educational opportunities and outcomes for diverse learners.”
We must be aware of what really affects learning, what students really know before we begin instructing them, what their various social, cultural and environmental factors might be, the best method of instruction, as well as thinking about how our subject is tied to other disciplines.
Anyway, my purpose wasn’t to make a long definition even longer, but rather to give a simpler explanation of what learning sciences might mean to us. I didn’t start out with the intent that I might find this field as interesting as I did, and it’s something I am definitely going to look into more as I study instructional technology and as I teach my students. I love the idea of instructing across the curriculum and helping my students in the manner best suited for them. I teach technology, but I don’t think I quite understand the impact of today’s various media and technology has on how these kids see the world and how that might affect what they see in what I teach. I think about assumptions I have made regarding how they learn and retain, what they already know and what other factors (social, cultural, etc) may affect their learning process, and know that a better approach is needed on my part.
 
The above information is referenced at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHQcXwhO7Jw which featured:
Susan Goldman, Learning Sciences Faculty and Co-Director
James Pellegrino, Learning Sciences Facutly and Co-Drector
Yolanda Majors, Learning Sciences Facutly
Josh Radinsky, Learning Sciences Faculty
Donald Wink, Learning Sciences Faculty
University of Illinois at Chicago
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Submitted by Jill Mason on Mon, 09/08/2008 - 10:25am

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Any opinions expressed here, except as specifically noted, are those of the individual authors or commenters and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences, the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, or Utah State University.