"Practicality Studies" (Janssen, Westbroek, & Doyle, 2015/this issue) starts with a critical commentary on "Principled Practical Knowledge: Not a Bridge but a Ladder" (Bereiter, 2014) but consists in the main of an essay on what the authors consider to be "really" practical knowledge for teachers. The gist of…

"The Journal of the Learning Sciences" has devoted this special issue to the study of embodied cognition (as it applies to mathematics), a topic that for several decades has gained attention in the cognitive sciences and in mathematics education, in particular. In this commentary, the author aims to address crucial questions in embodied…

For a long time, the body has had a bad rap among some big names in the Western philosophical tradition. Plato and Descartes come quickly to mind as particularly bad rappers. But it appears that the body is making a comeback in the cognitive and learning sciences. Long banished from the main stage by an idealized, inside-the-head…

The authors appreciate Professor Slotta's responding to their critique (Slotta, this issue). For their part, they believe that Professor Slotta has misinterpreted aspects of their position. In this commentary, the authors clarify two particular points. First, they explain their use of "static ontologies," which they maintain applies. Second, they…

This article responds to an article by A. Gupta, D. Hammer, and E. F. Redish (2010) that asserts that M. T. H. Chi's (1992, 2005) hypothesis of an "ontological commitment" in conceptual development is fundamentally flawed. In this article, I argue that Chi's theoretical perspective is still very much intact and that the critique offered by Gupta…

In a series of well-known papers, Chi and Slotta (M. T. H. Chi, 1992, 2005; M. T. H. Chi & J. D. Slotta, 1993; M. T. H. Chi, J. D. Slotta, & N. de Leeuw, 1994; J. Slotta & M. T. H. Chi, 2006; J. D. Slotta, M. T. H. Chi, & E. Joram, 1995) have contended that a reason for students' difficulties in learning physics is that students think about…

This commentary examines the rationale behind the use of participatory approaches to the design and development of educational interventions, particularly with respect to the inclusion of students in the process. The perspectives and claims put forth in this special issue are examined against an emerging approach to designing more usable…

Some researchers, including B. K. Hofer and P. R. Pintrich (1997) and W. A. Sandoval (2005), argue for defining "personal epistemology" as views about the nature of knowledge and knowing but not views about the nature of learning. Others continue using a more expansive definition of "personal epistemology" that includes views about learning. I…

Andrew Elby (this issue) argues that researchers in the field of personal epistemology should beware insistence on a narrow definition of epistemology to guide this work. His argument is a response to suggestions (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997; Sandoval, 2005) that the study of personal epistemology should focus on people's views about knowledge and…

The process of teaching and learning in school has a natural long-term trajectory and cannot be understood only as a series of discrete educational events. Classroom talk plays an important role in mediating this long-term process, and in this article I argue that more attention should be given to the temporal dimension of classroom dialogue, both…

Engle's (this issue) analysis of framing students' contributions in learning interactions to construct generality and Marton's (this issue) discussion of learning to discern differences make valuable contributions to the ongoing scientific effort to understand transfer. This commentary characterizes these articles as contributing to 2 valuable…

This special issue on the effects of constructivist learning environments is based on a symposium organized during the last annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in Chicago. The studies in this issue not only provide an overview of the multitude of forms a constructivist learning environment can take, they also provide…

Educational researchers are increasingly using design as a means of advancing their understanding. Historically design in educational research has served as a way to implement theories for testing. The emerging design research paradigm treats design as a strategy for developing and refining theories. In this article, I discuss the lessons that can…

Introduces a special issue on the ways in which symbolic tools enable, mediate, and shape mathematical thinking while being themselves a product of these processes. (Author/MM)

Introduces a special issue of the Journal of the Learning Sciences on methodology in learning sciences. Focuses on how one begins to account for learning and the potential of a learning context to support learning. (Author/MM)