Learning sciences: The study of how to make novices into experts. | W2 Q1 | Discussion

The central concerns of the learning sciences all relate to addressing a practical problem: the instructional practices of traditional schooling, or instructionalism, are not effective in preparing students for today’s knowledge economy. Learning scientists address this problem by working to understand the experiences and conditions under which students move from their current state of knowledge to a state of knowledge similar to that of an expert in a particular field. Technology and learning environments play key roles, as learning scientists accomplish this largely by designing and testing environments, curricula, tools, and instructional techniques – often having technology elements – that can help prepare students for effective participation in a knowledge economy.

I base this characterization largely on three statements from Sawyer (2006). First, Sawyer states, “[W]hen learning scientists went into classrooms, they discovered that schools were not teaching the deep knowledge that underlies intelligent performance” (p. 4), indicating that lack of students’ preparation for the knowledge economy is the central problem learning scientists address. Sawyer also states, “One of the most important goals of the learning sciences research is to identify exactly what practices are appropriate for students… and how learning environments can be designed that are age-appropriate without losing the authenticity of professional practice” (p. 5), identifying the design of learning environments as an operationalized goal of learning sciences. Finally, Sawyer states, “[L]earning scientists often conceive of the problem of learning as a problem of transforming novices into experts…” (p. 7), identifying the manner in which learning scientists approach education.