The field of the learning sciences is concerned with educational research from the dual perspectives of human cognition and computing technologies, and the application of this research in three integrated areas:
*Design: Design of learning and teaching environments, tools, or media, including innovative curricula, multimedia, artificial intelligence, telecommunications technologies, visualization, modeling, and design theories and activity structures for supporting learning and teaching.
*Cognition: Models of the structures and processes of learning and teaching by which knowledge, skills, and understanding are developed, including the psychological foundations of the field, learning in content areas, professional learning, and the study of learning enabled by tools or social structures.
*Social Context: The social, organizational, and cultural dynamics of learning and teaching across the range of formal and informal settings, including schools, museums, homes, families, and professional settings.

Investigations in the learning sciences approach these issues from an interdisciplinary stance combining the traditional disciplines of computer science, cognitive science, and education. This book documents the proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on the Learning Sciences (ICLS 2000), which brought together experts from academia, industry, and education to discuss the application of theoretical and empirical knowledge from learning sciences research to practice in K-12 or higher education, corporate training, and learning in the home or other informal settings.