◆From the laboratory to the classroom◆

 Psychological research moves from laboratory to classroom

 Learning psychology is science that seeks an answer to the question, "What are the mechanisms and principles that control human learning?" The purpose is to draw a conclusion from researches on a mechanism. Such researches are mainly conducted through "experiments," where Approach A that seems good, for example, is compared with Approach B that does not seem so good.

 A is called an experimental group and B a control group. When the difference between Group A and B is "statistically significant," then it is concluded that "A is superior to B as expected, claiming A makes mechanisms function better than B." This is a conventional method of "empirical science" where hypotheses are to be verified based on data. Of course, natural sciences adopt such a method. Learning psychology is also science-oriented.

 In the past decade, however, things have changed. While constructivism psychology has drawn attention, a question has arisen, asking "whether achievements produced in laboratories really provide applicable information for classroom instruction." It has been argued that research should be done in the classroom. If the findings of psychology researches are really useful, they must facilitate activities in the classroom. If more and more experimental instruction based on a hypothesis was successful, the hypothesis could become stronger. We should design instruction, implement it on an experimental basis, and confirm how it works. Instead of comparing method A with method B in a laboratory, we should find the reason why the method works well if it works well. We should confirm a hypothesis by building more and more similar work rather than by making a comparison with other methods. Not comparing methods A and B, make an instruction based on method A, then make it A+, then make it A++, by trying them out in the classrooms. Such an attitude emphasizing on-site research has been labeled the "Design Experiment Approach" in the field of psychology.

Isn't it the same as what educational technology has pursued for several decades? Those who think so, are smart. Actually the aim of the design experiment approach is the same as that of educational technology, but there is a gap which seems difficult to fill (Suzuki, 2005).

 Miwa and Saito (2004) illustrate a change occurring in Learning Sciences with two axes shown in Figure 1 in their paper in the Journal of the Japanese Society for Information and Systems in Education, featuring Learning Sciences and learning/Instruction Support Systems, Vol. 21 No. 3. Learning Sciences, which has aimed at comprehending learning scientifically, starts to put an emphasis on its practical aspect, that is, "support" for human learning. "Comprehension and support" are closely connected to each other. The horizontal axis represents a comparison between the laboratory and the classroom. Miwa and Saito claimed that the site of research is moving from the laboratory to the "classroom," in other words, from comparison of an experimental group with a control group to action research. They said that the "design experiment approach" symbolizes such a trend.

Fig.1: Plane of learning sciences categories (Miwa & Saito, 2004, quoted from p.146)