Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments

Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environmentsprovides students, faculty, and instructional designers with a clear, concise introduction to the major pedagogical and psychological theories and their implications for the design of new learning environments for schools, universities, or corporations. Jonassen and Land have assembled a group of leading experts to describe the most important contemporary theories that form the foundation of the conception and design of open-ended learning environments and new applications of educational technologies. This book is well suited as a textbook for courses in instructional design and theory, educational psychology, learning, theory, curriculum theory and design, and related areas. The recent rise of constructivism and its associated theories represented a paradigm shift for educators and instructional designers to a view of learning as necessarily more social, conversational, and constructive than traditional transmissive views of learning. This bestselling text was the first to provide a manageable overview of the altered field, and the second edition has been fully updated to include expert introductions to metacognition, model-based reasoning, and other key contemporary theories that all students, professionals, and researchers concerned with instructional design will need to comprehend.

David Jonassen is Curators' Professor of Educational Psychology and Learning Technologies at the University of Missouri. Susan Land is Associate Professor of Education in the Instructional Systems program at Penn State University.