Educational Activity and the Psychology of Learning: Connecting Individual and Social Aspects of Learning and Development (Foundations and Futures of Education)

Learners, Learning and Educational Activity offers a new and creative approach to the psychology of learning. The central idea in the book is that learning in schools and other educational settings is best understood by paying attention to both individual learners and the educational contexts in which learning takes place. Providing an accessible introduction to new ideas and recent developments in cognitive and socio-cultural perspectives on learning, the book reviews advances in selected topics that are especially relevant for teachers and other educators. These include: learners’ conceptions of the nature of learning the development of advanced levels of learning and thinking the role of motivation and self-regulation in learning how learning and thinking relate to social and cultural contexts the ways in which these contexts influence interactions between teachers and learners. By illustrating connections between individual and social aspects of learning in educational settings in and out of school, the book encourages teachers, parents and other educators to think about learners and learning in new ways.