Studying learners and assessing learning: A process-relational perspective on the learning sciences

Abstract

The field of the learning sciences appears to favor cognitive and social approaches to the study of human learning. In this article, the author proposes that a deep cognizance of cultural influences on learning is vital if formal and informal learning are to make vital connections to learners' lives and their personal need for meaning making in life. Drawing upon process philosophy, the author identifies and discusses three issues for the consideration of learning sciences researchers, namely, (1) the importance of relational thinking, (2) the centrality of approaching learning in terms of experience and becoming, and (3) the need to reframe causal analysis in assessing learning.