Comments on four articles in a special issue of the Journal of the Learning Sciences on methodology in learning sciences. Analyzes the articles within a general model seeking to analyze human activity across multiple time scales. (Author/MM)

There has been much interest in using software tools to scaffold learners in complex tasks, that is, to provide supports that enable students to deal with more complex content and skill demands than they could otherwise handle. Many different approaches to scaffolding techniques have been presented in a broad range of software tools. I argue that…

Describes the provenance of the data used in this issue. Includes design of the instructional sequence, instructional activities, classroom structure, and classroom episodes. (Author/MM)