By its very nature the HoM framework focuses attention on the processes and strategies
that studentsí minds need to engage with for effective learning to occur. This focus on the
processes of the mind is not a new phenomenon. Rather, the nature of the human mind
has engaged thinkers through the centuries with early contributions by ancient
philosophers including Socrates, Plato and Aristotle (Bransford, Brown & Cocking,
2004). These philosophersí theories of wisdom, education, knowledge, intelligence and
learning have set the context for modern explorations into the emerging science of
learning. In more recent decades, researchers have developed a core body of knowledge
surrounding how learning occurs, how learning should be taught, and how learning
should be assessed (Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 2004).
The issue for this paper is that, despite its importance for understanding how successful
learners learn, HoM are presented as an a-theoretical body of knowledge, underpinned by
little more than ëintuitive common-senseí and expertsí testimonials. In this paper, the
theoretical underpinnings for HoM are explored and linked with existing learning
theories