The learning sciences is an interdisciplinary field that studies how people learn and how to design effective learning environments. Drawing from cognitive science, educational psychology, computer science, anthropology, etc., it seeks to understand the processes of learning in real-world contexts and to apply that understanding to improve education. My goal for this blog series is to provide an overview of topics in the learning sciences and help education researchers think systematically about how to apply its theory and methods. I hope it will help researchers think about how students engage with complex concepts and how we can design instruction that supports deeper, more meaningful learning.

This series will cover the following topics, which are the same as in the Intro to LS course that I teach:

• Theories of Cognition and Implications for Instructional Design
• Theories of Community and Implications for Community Building
• Theories of Motivation and Implications for Supporting Students
• Research Methods for Experimental and Ecological Validity

I originally created this material as a keynote for the CSEdGrad Conference (recording available). Since then, it has been one of the most requested talks in my repertoire when I visit CS education groups. The other is about research design, which I’ve shared in my Research Design blog series. These topics were the primary focus of my PhD coursework, so I want to share them with those in education research who received degrees in other disciplines. I will focus on CS education topics in the examples, as that is my area of expertise, but the concepts apply to all education research. For more specific information about the learning sciences in CS education, please see my chapter in The Cambridge Handbook of Computing Education, Learning Sciences for Computing Education.

When available, I provide links to article summaries I’ve written related to the theories, frameworks, and techniques discussed in the posts. These are to provide more information about the topic and what research on these topics looks like.

Whether you’re new to the learning sciences or looking to reinforce your foundation, this series will help you understand key theories, design principles, and research methods that can inform and improve your education research.