Studying Learning in the "Real World”: How Learning Scientists Described Their Research Contexts, 1991-2023 (Poster 10)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Sunday 9:50 a.m.
  In Poster Session: Educators, Designers, and Researchers: Learning and Working With Learning Theories

Abstract

Learning sciences research has always aimed to study learning in “real world” contexts. However, the field continues to wrestle with how to describe these contexts to support cumulative research. We examined these efforts in the descriptions of research contexts in 39 empirical research articles published in JLS between 1991 and 2023. We charted the shift toward research in K-12 and non-school settings instead of labs, the adoption of a distinct article section titled “context” or “setting”, and the increasing description of communities with reference to socioeconomic status and racial mix. Our research informs learning scientists’ understanding of the progress of our field, and of how we might improve efforts to build a cumulative body of scholarship about “real world” learning.

Authors

• Kevin D. O'Neill, Simon Fraser University

• Dale R. Martelli, Vancouver School Board