Post on 27-Dec-2015
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Selected Research on the Emerging Theories of Knowledge: An Annotated Bibliography
In a post-industrial age ripe with the exponential growth of technologies, our social,
educational, and professional lives are changing unabatedly. As is often the case with
change, at times it happens so slowly one hardly notices, and at others it rolls over us like
a wave. The changing concept of what constitutes knowledge in today’s world has done
both. As we have moved from print to digital media, the shape, structure, and therefore
function and role of knowledge in society has changed. It is no longer confined to a
written text, a book, or a film produced by experts, filtered by experts. Everyone can
produce, and of course consume, huge amounts of information, which is not necessarily
synonymous with knowledge. This shift implies that as educators we should not lose our
footing, but rather ride the wave - but in a manner that is thoughtful and thought-through.
With knowledge no longer seen as compartmentalized and transmissible, nor solely
constructed by the individual, our traditional epistemologies need to be reviewed, and
possibly changed, to account for how knowledge is created, learned, and shared in the
digital age. The questions we should be asking revolve around how our changing
conceptions of knowledge, driven by developments in the digital age, should be affecting
curricula and practices in our learning institutions. The articles and books listed in this
bibliography explore this issue from a variety of perspectives.
Brown, J. S. (2002). Growing up digital: How the web changes work, education, and the
ways people learn. USDLA Journal, 16(2).
John Seeley Brown is an expert in organizational learning, particularly in how
to help businesses benefit from emerging opportunities offered through the
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leveraging of technology. His background as a scientist, educator, researcher,
and leader in Silicon Valley give him a grounded perspective on how
communities and individuals learn, and how they respond to evolving
technologies, as well as having the eye of a businessman. In this article Brown
describes the idea of a ‘learning ecology’, which resonates with David
Weinberger’s idea of “the smartest person in the room is the room itself”, an
idea that is worth exploring further, as at first glance it is not easily apparent
what is meant by Weinberger’s statement. The concept of a ‘learning ecology’
makes the concept of how a knowledge asset is formed by, and resides in, a
community clearer. The community holds the knowledge of the group, not just
of the individual. To use this concept for learning, Brown furthers the idea of
providing opportunities for cognitive apprenticeships, and argues for paying
attention to some of the natural learning processes that we engage in, but often
don’t pay attention to. An example of this is storytelling. Especially the idea of
learning in situ is important, as we are building 3-dimensional learning
communities, where the local and the virtual connect on a global scale. This
aligns with the theory of situated cognition, which is also explored by Brown
in other works. Lastly, Brown gives an interesting alternate viewpoint from de
Castell, for example, on the intersection between industry and education.
Brown sees the powerful benefits of this connection through the creation of
learning ‘parks’ where educational institutions and businesses produce and
consume knowledge interdependently, while de Castell sees the dangers of
business taking over control of learning environments, for profit, without
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having sufficient understanding of educational theories and how these, and the
resulting practices, are impacted by evolving digital media.
de Castell, S., Bryson, M., & Jenson, J. (2002). Object lessons: Towards an educational
theory of technology. First Monday, 7(1). Retrieved from
http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/923/845
In this article, de Castell, Bryson, and Jensen explore the conflict between the
power of digital media to transform education and the tendency we have to
keep things “comfortable”, even in times of dramatic change. Due to the influx
of so-called ‘miracle workers’ from corporations who sell educational products
designed to solve all our problems, educational institutions and teachers are
lured towards quick solutions and doing the same things they have always
done, but now with technology. This critical look at how even thoughtful
educators can be enticed out of their historical drive to question the impact of
changing technologies on epistemological beliefs and resulting practices, asks
of us that we continue to question why we doing things as we do, and for what
purpose. Further to this, de Castell draws a compelling comparison between an
‘educational theory of technology’ and a ‘theory of educational technology’.
This article is a critical perspective, as well as a reminder, on how important
the role of grounded design is for creating meaningful learning environments,
especially as digital media evolve and become more and more commercialized.
de Castell is Professor of Curriculum and Instruction in the Faculty of
Education at Simon Fraser University where she teaches qualitative research
methods, and courses in literacy, new media, and technology which gives her a
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good perspective on the issues surrounding emerging technologies and
learning.
Kop, R., & Hill, A. (2008). Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the
past? The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 9(3).
Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/523/1137
Rita Kop, as an Associate Dean of Education, has a particular interest in
exploring the intersection between learning and technology. Accordingly, this
article is written in response to propositions made by Siemens and Downes
about the need for a new learning theory due to the affects of evolving digital
media. She fairly explores various perspectives on the issue, with extensive
quotes from Siemens and Downes, as well as their opposers such as Kerr.
While she clearly sees a need for addressing the questions raised by Siemens,
she critically analyses whether connectivism can hold its own as a new theory,
or even needs to. She makes a point, with Kerr, that the intersections amongst
the principles on which connectivism is founded can be found in traditional
theories as well. She proposes that possibly it is just a new pedagogy, one that
is still grounded in existing theories, that is needed, rather than a new theory all
together. As the question of what knowledge really is and how the answer
affects our frameworks and practices is a pivotal one for modern educators, the
discussion, though not conclusive, is helpful in illuminating various
perspectives on the dilemma. Interestingly enough, educators must now engage
in constructing distributed knowledge ‘a la Siemens’ in order to come closer to
an answer - for the time being.
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Land, S. M., Hannafin, M. J., & Oliver, K. (2012). Student-centered learning
environments: Foundations, assumptions, and design. In D. H. Jonassen & S. M.
Land (Eds.), Theoretical foundations of learning environments (pp. 4-26). Oxon,
UK: Taylor and Francis Group.
In a postmodernist and postindustrial view of education, constructivist theories
are more relevant than ever. In this article, as the introduction to the book
Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments, Land, Hannafin, and
Oliver make a case for a constructivist epistemology as the underlying theory
for designing student-centered learning environments (SCLEs). Pivotal to this
view is the importance of learning for understanding within authentic social
and cultural contexts. The authors point out that the role that technology tools
can play in SCLEs is of great significance, as it is exactly these tools that can
support individuals and communities in manipulating resources and ideas to
construct individual and group knowledge. Examples of such environments
include PBLs, Learning Communities, Communities of Practice, gaming and
simulations, and digital repositories as resources. It is particularly Learning
Communities and Communities of Practice that resonate with the assertions
made by internet philosophers such as Brown and Weinberger, and support the
idea of distributed knowledge or ‘learning ecologies’. The need to scaffold and
support learners to have meaningful access to such communities and to be able
to go from novices to experts within them is one educational goal that should
be pursued by schools, with or without a new epistemology. These types of
SCLEs are central to navigating the changing landscape of the digital media
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world. Hannafin is well versed in making the claims he does, with a PhD in
Educational Technology from Arizona State University. He is currently
focusing his research efforts on exploring the impact of emerging technologies
for teaching and learning. After creating and validating frameworks for
teaching and learning, he now focuses specifically on open and student-
centered technology enhanced environments. He collaborates in this article
with Susan Land, who has a similar focus in her research as Associate
Professor of the Instructional Systems Program at Pennsylvania State
University.
Lankshear, C., Peters, M., & Knobel, M. (2000). Information, knowledge and learning:
Some issues facing epistemology and education in a digital age. Journal of
Philosophy of Education, 34(1), 17-39. Retrieved from
http://michaelbatie.com/papers/information_and_knowledge.pdf
Colin Lankshear is a freelance researcher who studies literacies and new
technologies from a sociocultural perspective. He has worked in countries
around the world, giving him a wider global perspective. Along with Michele
Knobel he is also co-editor of the New Literacies book series for Peter Lang
Publishing (New York). Like Brown, Lankshear and Knobel see the field of
education as a powerful contributor to the global economy and note the raised
status that is associated with this. As would be applauded by de Castell and
Siemens, Lankshear and Knobel also see the need for re-evaluating and
developing theories of learning and what constitutes knowledge. They argue
that we have moved from a knowledge economy to an ‘attention economy’,
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where few or many produce new knowledge and vie for attention as they
‘perform’ it. Key skills for developing this new knowledge are questioning and
searching, and how well a learner performs these will define the outcomes or
their product. With this also comes a call for perspective and balance as the
new knowledge is assembled. This reminds us of Brown’s idea of ‘bricolage’.
This article is particularly useful for guiding thinking about the implications of
the shifting terrain of what defines knowledge. Along with Weinberger, the
authors see knowledge as not only being that which comes from confirmed
experts. Rather, they say, we are all assembling knowledge, and educational
institutions should be leveraging this action to the greatest benefit of society
and businesses. This brings us back to the need for re-evaluating learning
theories and practices so that the learners are properly equipped with the skills
and attitudes to be successful in this endeavor.
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A theory for the digital age. Retrieved from
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
George Siemens, like Brown and Weinberger, is an educator and researcher
who specializes in learning, networks, and organizational structures within
digital environments. He explores, as do his colleagues, what the changing
nature of knowledge means for learning and for organizations. In this article
Siemens asks the reader to consider the need for a new theory of learning. He
posits that changes due to shifting digital landscapes require us to look at
learning in new ways, and that the traditional theories of behaviorism,
cognitivism, and constructivism no longer suffice in meeting our needs for
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designing effective modern learning environments. His solution is called
‘connectivism’, which lays its focus on the networks and connections that can
be found in ‘chaos’. Learning is the finding of patterns in these connections,
and learning is done by the individual and the group through something called
‘nodes’. Siemens explicitly addresses the ‘cycle of knowledge development’
which goes some length to answer the question of how individual and group
learning are connected. This is a question to explore further, as the overlap
here with social constructivism is apparent. Connectivism is not yet an
established theory, and it is questioned by others such as Kop and Kerr, who
wonder if connectivism is really necessary as a theory, or more useful as a
guide for developing new pedagogies which are still grounded in traditional
epistemologies.
Weinberger, D. (2011). Too big to know: Rethinking knowledge now that the facts aren’t
the facts, experts are everywhere, and the smartest person in the room is the
room. New York, NY: Perseus Book Group.
The idea that the structure of knowledge and how we perceive it is radically
changing is one that resonates throughout Weinberger’s latest book. Similarly
to John Seeley Brown, Weinberger asserts that the “smartest person in the
room is the room itself”. By this he means that knowledge is socially
constructed in diverse virtual networks, and that this knowledge has the power
to influence and change how people and institutions function. The sum of the
parts is greater than the parts themselves. Knowledge is not ‘owned’ or
created by the individual, but by the group. In this book, Weinberger takes use
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through the history of knowledge-creation, which historically has been
influenced by the form of how knowledge could be spread. Our conceptions
today, if they are still traditional, are formed by the fact that historically
knowledge was passed on in the form of written papers and books. It was
vetted and filtered by a critical few. With the advent of the internet and
hyperlinked media, the form, and therefore the function of knowledge
production has radically changed. The learners must do the vetting and
filtering themselves, and what they produce as a result becomes part of a larger
network of evolving knowledge, ideally created by a diverse audience, and
stored as ‘the room’. If this is the case, then the implications for education are
immense. Our whole paradigm of what constitutes ‘true knowledge’ must first
shift, and following this shift, we must restructure our approaches to
curriculum and pedagogy to enable postmodernist learners to function in this
rewarding, yet also challenging, new world. Weinberger is an internet
philosopher, and a senior researcher at Harvard’s Berkman Center for the
Internet and Society and the author of several books. His assertions are well
argued and logically built both from an historical, as well as a social
perspective.