Barbara Graves
Barbara Graves
Full Professor


Room
LMX 326
Phone
613-562-5800 ext. 2225


My central interest is in how we learn. In response to the question, "What is mind?" recent research examining the relation between culture and cognition talks about the social mind, the discursive mind, mind as action, the embodied mind and the metaphoric mind. While much of the early thinking about mind and learning took place within the theoretical framework of individual psychology, current research located within sociocultural theory, embodied cognition and complexity science challenges many of our longstanding and common sense views of the relation between mind and brain, and the role of language in human development. Educational research oriented within these perspectives focuses on the dynamic interactions emerging from diversity and variation, and suggests the value of viewing the interactions of teachers and learners as adaptive and co-emergent learning systems.

Research interests

  • Sociocultural theory, embodied cognition and complexity science
  • Mathematics teaching and learning
  • Children’s mathematical reasoning
  • Second language education