National Academy of Education
American Educational Research Association (AERA)
American Educational Research Association (AERA)
American Psychological Association, Division 15 (Educational Psychology)
Vanderbilt University
Software Publishers Association (CODiE Awards)
Technology & Learning Magazine
Professor of Learning Sciences and Psychology (Shauna C. Larson Endowed Chair), University of Washington
Founding Director, LIFE Center (Learning in Informal and Formal Environments), University of Washington
Centennial Professor of Psychology and Education; Co‑Director, Learning Technology Center, Vanderbilt University
Ph.D. Student (later Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Research in Human Learning), University of Minnesota
John D. Bransford (1943–2022) was an internationally influential cognitive psychologist and educational technologist whose work bridged learning sciences, cognition, and technology‑enhanced instruction. He served as Professor (and later Professor Emeritus) of Learning Sciences and Psychology at the University of Washington and earlier as Centennial Professor of Psychology and Education at Vanderbilt University, where he co‑founded the Learning Technology Center and led the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (CTGV). He co‑chaired National Academy committees that produced the landmark How People Learn volumes, created the Jasper anchored‑instruction projects, and co‑authored the IDEAL problem‑solving model.
A design framework that situates learning in rich, narrative problem contexts (“anchors”)—often video‑based—so learners must identify data, pose sub‑problems, and generate and test solutions collaboratively, supporting transfer and authentic practice.
Widely used learning‑environment framework emphasizing learner‑centered, knowledge‑centered, assessment‑centered, and community‑centered design, grounded in research on prior knowledge, expertise, and metacognition.
A five‑stage model—Identify, Define/represent, Explore, Act, Look back—that scaffolds individual and organizational problem solving, reflective practice, and transfer.
Simulation & Gaming • Journal
Argues for broader, multi‑dimensional operationalizations of engagement in games‑for‑learning research. Reviews affective, behavioral, and cognitive indicators; considers methodological trade‑offs; and recommends designs that align engagement constructs with learning outcomes in studies of video‑game‑based learning environments.
Educational Psychologist • Journal
Details the Jasper Woodbury series as a technology‑mediated macro‑context for mathematical problem solving. Presents the theoretical rationale, program components, and multi‑site assessment evidence showing gains in attitudes, word‑problem solving, planning skills, and generative activity when Jasper is implemented with guided instruction.
Educational Researcher • Journal
Introduces anchored instruction—rich, video‑based problem contexts that students explore to generate and solve complex problems—and situates it within theories of situated cognition. Explains how anchoring learning in authentic, narrative contexts can recreate benefits of apprenticeship and support transfer beyond traditional instruction.
Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior • Journal
Across recognition experiments, semantic processing produced better performance on standard tests, but rhyme processing produced better performance on rhyming tests. Findings challenge a simple depth‑of‑processing account and support the Transfer‑Appropriate Processing view: memory performance depends on overlap between encoding and retrieval demands.
Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior • Journal
Classic experiments showing that providing appropriate contextual information before hearing prose passages markedly improves comprehension ratings and recall, whereas providing the same information afterward yields much smaller benefits. The work demonstrates how topics activate cognitive contexts that guide understanding and memory.
National Academies Press • Book
Applies How People Learn principles to K–12 classrooms in history, mathematics, and science. Through classroom cases and design guidance, it demonstrates how to balance factual knowledge with conceptual understanding, structure learning environments around learner, knowledge, assessment, and community lenses, and design tasks that promote transfer.
Jossey‑Bass/Wiley • Book
Outlines an evidence‑based core for teacher education. Recommends that beginning teachers develop knowledge of learners and development, content and curriculum aligned to social purposes, and pedagogical knowledge integrating assessment, classroom environments, technology, and equity. Provides program design guidance and examples.
National Academies Press • Book
Expanded the original synthesis with guidance on translating learning sciences principles into practice. Highlights how learning changes the brain, how expertise develops, the role of culture and context, and how classroom design and assessment can promote transfer and deep understanding.
National Academies Press • Book
Translates core findings from How People Learn into action for schools and teacher education. Emphasizes three key principles—activating prior knowledge, organizing knowledge within conceptual frameworks, and fostering metacognition—and proposes a research and development agenda to inform classroom practice and policy.
National Academies Press • Book
Synthesizes research on cognition, neuroscience, and learning to show how prior knowledge, expert performance, and metacognition shape learning. The volume outlines implications for curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and teacher development, using case examples to illustrate learner‑, knowledge‑, assessment‑, and community‑centered design principles.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (Taylor & Francis) • Book
Reports a decade of CTGV’s Jasper Woodbury videodisc adventures for middle‑grade mathematics. Describes design principles of anchored instruction, classroom implementations across sites, formative and summative assessments, and the role of teacher learning communities. Argues for integrated curriculum and authentic problem contexts.
W. H. Freeman • Book
Presents the IDEAL model—Identify, Define and represent, Explore strategies, Act, and Look back—as a practical framework for problem solving and learning. Provides strategies for creativity, memory, evaluating ideas, communication, and organizational learning, with exercises for applying and refining problem‑solving skills.