Broadening learning sciences theoretical lenses to understand young children’s sensemaking

If “the theories that we propose and the assumptions that we hold fundamentally shape the questions we ask, what we notice, and what we design for” (ICLS Call for Papers), we must understand the full diversity of human learning, including critically the learning of young children (ages 5-8). This session explores how several scholars have applied and pushed for revisions of existing theories as the Learning Sciences field seeks to better understand young children’s sensemaking. Each paper takes up two central questions: (1) How is existing LS theory drawn upon in each study? (2) How is new theory built or existing LS theory modified in each study? The goal of attending to these questions is that participants in this symposium might better understand the ways that existing theory does and does not work when studying young children.