Learning the Learning Sciences: An Investigation of Newcomers’ Sociocultural Ideas

Abstract

The sociocultural perspective is one of the key ideas of the Learning Sciences. For the field to sustain and expand its collective knowledge and practices, it is vital to enculturate sociocultural thinking to new generations of scholars and practitioners. In this short paper, we advance this goal by investigating the way students who study the Learning Sciences come to view learning from a sociocultural perspective. Here, we focus upon one case study within the context of an affiliate of the Network of Academic Programs in the Learning Sciences. Our findings indicate three ideas that signify sociocultural thinking: (1) Collaboration-as-learning; (2) Culture as relevant to learning; and (3) Learning as a process.