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We hope that the four primary goals of the Science of Learning field —determination of learning principles, correlation of learning principles with current practice, generation of novel practices, and elucidation of the biological processes of learning—suffuse this volume and not only serve as a source for validation and corroboration, but also inspire and empower the reader.

The term science of learning (SoL) encompasses a broad range of scientific disciplines, from basic neuroscience to cognitive psychology to computer science to social theory. Despite this wide array of interests, however, the goal of many SoL programs is the same, namely to determine and develop methods that teachers and students can use to improve the learning experience. As with any multidisciplinary endeavor with the ultimate aim of “application”, an important consideration concerns how the knowledge obtained from disparate research programs fits together to form a coherent and useful whole. As can be inferred, trying to determine how data obtained at micro-scales link to data obtained at macro-scales is not a trivial task. Furthermore, it is far from clear whether these types of links are meaningful or in any way beneficial for the larger goals of classroom education. For instance, what support is there to suggest that knowledge of calcium-driven potentiation at the neural synapse can influence a typical teacher trying to help a student to differentiate between the numerator and the denominator in a fraction?

Research relating to mentoring has burgeoned in the last two decades and as might be expected there is immense variation in the nature and rigour of this research. For some, mentoring seems to be a panacea for many societal problems as the studies have focussed on juvenile crime, teenage pregnancy, academic performance, drug usage, school dropout rates, teacher attributes, parental relationship, heightened self-confidence, general “at risk” children and issues of gender, ethnicity, socio economic status and equity. Rather than a panacea, it would be more accurate to suggest that in specific circumstances mentoring has the potential to be associated with beneficial outcomes.