Comparing the goals and methodologies of learning scientists and educational technology researchers

This chapter is intended to bridge a troublesome gap between those who identify themselves as learning scientists and those who identify as educational technology researchers. It describes the interesting strategies for bridging the generally weak collaboration between scholars and practitioners in these two educational research communities. The chapter presents a comparison of the research papers published in two reputable journals: one, the Journal of the Learning Sciences (JLS), strongly associated with the learning sciences field, and the other, Educational Technology Research and Development (ETRD), strongly identified with the field of educational technology. It discusses the goals and methodologies of the research studies published in JLS and ETRD are compared over a six-year period from 2009-2014. Better understanding of the differences and similarities between these two journals may provide insights into why there is insufficient cross-fertilization between learning scientists and educational technology researchers and enable this lamentable situation to be improved.