Expanded Edition
How People Learn
Brain, Mind, Experience, and School
John D.Bransford, Ann L.Brown, and Rodney R.Cocking, editors
with additional material from the
M.Suzanne Donovan, John D.Bransford, and James W.Pellegrino, editors
Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 Constitution Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Grant No. R117U40001-94A between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Education. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
How people learn: brain, mind, experience, and school/John D. Bransford…[et al.], editors; Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning and Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council.—Expanded ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-309-07036-8 (pbk.)
1. Learning, Psychology of. 2. Learning—Social aspects. I. Bransford, John. II. National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning. III. National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice. IV. Title.
LB1060 .H672 2000
370.15’23–dc21
00–010144
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Copyright 2000 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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COMMITTEE ON DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING
JOHN D.BRANSFORD (Cochair),
Learning Technology Center, Vanderbilt University
ANN L.BROWN (Cochair),
Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley
JOHN R.ANDERSON,
Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University
ROCHEL GELMAN,
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
ROBERT GLASER,
Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh
WILLIAM T.GREENOUGH,
Department of Psychology and Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana
GLORIA LADSON-BILLINGS,
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Wisconsin, Madison
BARBARA M.MEANS,
Education and Health Division, SRI International, Menlo Park, California
JOSÉ P.MESTRE,
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
LINDA NATHAN,
Boston Arts Academy, Boston, Massachusetts
ROY D.PEA,
Center for Technology in Learning, SRI International, Menlo Park, California
PENELOPE L.PETERSON,
School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University
BARBARA ROGOFF,
Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz
THOMAS A.ROMBERG,
National Center for Research in Mathematical Sciences Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison
SAMUEL S.WINEBURG,
College of Education, University of Washington, Seattle
RODNEY R.COCKING, Study Director
M.JANE PHILLIPS, Senior Project Assistant
COMMITTEE ON LEARNING RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE
JOHN D.BRANSFORD (Cochair),
Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University
JAMES W.PELLEGRINO (Cochair),
Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University
DAVID BERLINER,
Department of Education, Arizona State University, Tempe
MYRNA S.COONEY,
Taft Middle School, Cedar Rapids, IA
ARTHUR EISENKRAFT,
Bedford Public Schools, Bedford, NY
HERBERT P.GINSBURG,
Department of Human Development, Teachers College, Columbia University
PAUL D.GOREN,
John D. and Catherine T.MacArthur Foundation, Chicago
JOSÉ P.MESTRE,
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
ANNEMARIE S.PALINCSAR,
School of Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
ROY PEA,
SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
M.SUZANNE DONOVAN, Study Director
WENDELL GRANT, Senior Project Assistant
Preface
This expanded edition of How People Learn is the result of the work of two committees of the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education of the National Research Council (NRC). The original volume, published in April 1999, was the product of a 2-year study conducted by the Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning. Following its publication, a second NRC committee, the Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice, was formed to carry that volume an essential step further by exploring the critical issue of how better to link the findings of research on the science of learning to actual practice in the classroom. The results of that effort were captured in How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice, published in June 1999. The present volume draws on that report to expand on the findings, conclusions, and research agenda presented in the original volume.
During the course of these efforts, a key contributor and one of the most eloquent voices on the importance of applying the science of learning to classroom practice was lost. The educational community mourns the death of Ann L.Brown, Graduate School of Education, University of California at Berkeley, cochair of the Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning and an editor of How People Learn. Her insight and dedication to improving education through science will be sorely missed.
John D.Bransford, Cochair
Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning
Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice
