The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences

The interdisciplinary field of the learning sciences encompasses educational psychology, cognitive science, computer science, and anthropology, among other disciplines. The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences, first published in 2006, is the definitive introduction to this innovative approach to teaching, learning, and educational technology. This dramatically revised second edition incorporates the latest research in the field, includes twenty new chapters on emerging areas of interest, and features contributors who reflect the increasingly international nature of the learning sciences. The authors address the best ways to design educational software, prepare effective teachers, organize classrooms, and use the internet to enhance student learning. They illustrate the importance of creating productive learning environments both inside and outside school, including after-school clubs, libraries, museums, and online learning environments. Accessible and engaging, the Handbook has proven to be an essential resource for graduate students, researchers, teachers, administrators, consultants, educational technology designers, and policy makers on a global scale.

R. Keith Sawyer is Morgan Distinguished Professor in Educational Innovations at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education. He studies creativity, innovation, and learning, with a focus on collaborating groups and teams. He is the author or editor of thirteen books, including Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration (2007), Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation (2012) and Zig Zag: The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity (2013).

Advance praise: 'The first edition of this Handbook was outstanding. This second edition is even more inclusive and up to date, with a choice of chapters that nicely complement one another and are written with unusual clarity. I see this as a must-read that will help all of us interested in the learning sciences move toward new levels of synthesis and application, and discover previously hidden pathways toward exciting new research issues. We owe the editor and authors a great debt of thanks for their outstanding work.' John D. Bransford, Shauna C. Larson Professor of the Learning Sciences at the University of Washington, Emeritus Advance praise: 'The learning sciences is well exemplified in this very well-put-together book. There are excellent articles here about learning by argumentation, by collaboration, through projects, through cognitive apprenticeship, and in virtual words. This book demonstrates that learning scientists continue to make great progress on how learning works.' Roger Schank, Northwestern University, Illinois Advance praise: 'Too often, we educators teach in the ways that we have been taught, without regard to the research about how learning actually happens. This anthology is an invaluable contribution to a long overdue discussion about how best to 'reinvent' education for the twenty-first century.' Tony Wagner, Harvard University, Massachusetts, author of The Global Achievement and Creating Innovators Advance praise: 'In an academic landscape characterized by increasing specialization, the learning sciences stands out for its broad and interdisciplinary approach. In this highly readable and useful overview of the field, this outstanding group of authors demonstrates the power and promise of a field motivated not by the advance of a particular theory or paradigm but by a desire to understand and solve some of the most significant issues of our day - issues of education and learning in a socially and technologically complex world.' James W. Stigler, University of California, Los Angeles Advan