The International Convention on Science of Learning ( Science of Learning:How can it make a difference? Connecting Interdisciplinary Research on Learning to Practice and Policy in Education ) was held on March 1-6 , 2014 in Shanghai, China. The Convention was co-organized by the National Science Foundation ( USA) , OECD and UNESCO, in collaboration with East China Normal University, Shanghai Normal University, and the University of Hong Kong. It provided a platform in which the education researchers, policymakers and practitioners all around the world discussed with each other about the recent research findings on how people learn and their implications for policy and practice. In this Convention, we found that social learning became a hot spot and was repeatedly men-tioned by many participants. They admitted that understandings of the role of social learning constituted the basis for the new Science of Learning and would be the research focus in this area. The purpose of the paper is to explore the im-pact of social experience and social interaction on learning. The paper first reviews the origin of the social learning studies, and points out that it is the investigation of the role of society in the learning process that has led to the birth of the Science of Learning. Major findings from the three levels of social learning research ( personal, interpersonal, group level) all imply that social factors could be powerful catalysts ( positive or negative) for learning. At the individ-ual level, neuroscientists discover that social interaction is necessary in infants’ language learning which means we, human beings are born with a social brain. At the interpersonal level, findings from the behaviors of infants indicate that social imitation and joint attention are the prerequisites of learning. At the group level, research on learner identi-ty implies the stereotype from the culture may have a great impact on learner’ s learning. Conversely, social support ( e. g. the high expectation from teachers and parents) is crucial for all learners, especially for those coming from dis-advantaged groups. Based on these findings, more and more learning technology developers realize that only those technologies which are integrated with social factors and designed to provide an interactive learning environment could lead to effective learning. Therefore, the further understandings of the characteristics of social learning and its impacts may lead to changes in educational theory and the design of learning environments.%本文通过梳理已有的社会性学习研究，探索学习科学视角下社会经验与社会交互对人类学习的深刻影响。文章首先追述了社会性学习研究的缘起与发展历史，指出对人类学习社会性机理的科学探索不仅促发了学习科学的诞生，也成为当下学习科学跨领域研究的共同核心；接着分别在个体、人际、群体和技术四个层面回顾当下社会性学习的研究成果，发现以前的研究从不同层面证明社会性因素能够成为学习的强效活性剂。在此基础上，本文提出未来学习科学研究需进一步探讨的问题：社会性大脑的研究发现如何更好地服务于教育实践？社会性技术的推广和应用需克服哪些难题？作为教育实践者的我们如何整合来自非正式与正式学习环境中的社会因素以促进学习发生？
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