Participatory learning environment
Definition
The Participatory learning environment can refer
- to any sort of environment where users can co-construct or at least communicate through some form of computer-mediated communication. This definition includes most modern educational technologies.
- to specific forms of advanced learning environments that are based on both situated learning and constructionist principles. Networked micro-worlds might be an appropriate description.
Barab et al.'s definition
Barab et al. (2001) define participatory learning environments (PLEs) as systems that:
- support natural complexity of content
- avoid over simplification of relations
They engage students in the construction of products requiring practices that embody complex concepts, necessitate collaboration, and contextualize learning within contexts in which problem solving and inquiry are fundamental aspects of the learning process (Barab, Hay, Barnett,&Keating, 2000; Barab, Hay, Squire, et al., 2000).
Predicated on a social constructivist philosophy, the role of teacher switches from one of telling students correct answers to guiding student activity, as students direct their own learning process (Bednar, Cunningham, Duffy, & Perry, 1992; Dewey, 1938/1963; Edwards, 1995; Prawat & Floden, 1994; Vygotsky, 1978). Consistent with Papert's (1991) constructionist pedagogical framework, PLEs frequently involve learners building understanding through the collaborative construction of an artifact or shareable product. Rather than presenting instructional treatments, the goal from this perspective is to establish rich environments that encourage explanation and discovery, nurture reflection, and support students in the carrying out of practices that embody personally meaningful and practically functional representations.
The focal point of PLE s is the learners' emergent practices in relation to the need at hand; it is a move from a 'teacher curriculum' to a 'learner curriculum' (Lave & Wenger, 1991), or from an acquisition metaphor to a participatory metaphor (Sfard, 1998). Such an emphasis shifts the focus from the individual as a 'person to be changed' to how to facilitate the emergent practices of learners working collaboratively, with particular emphasis on the learners' reasons for carrying out the activities and the context in which they are nested (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Roth, 1996, 1998). Learning is conceived of as a 'social process in which meaning is negotiated, goals emerge from social processes, and success is taken within context' (Young, Barab, & Garrett, 2000, p. 160). Learning, from this perspective, is not the acquisition of facts and skills, but an activity involving the appropriation and construction of socially negotiated practices, understanding, and meanings through participation in a trajectory of experience.
An activity group is a temporary coming together of people around a particular task (Barab & Duffy, 2000). When working as part of our activity groups, learners are frequently given a general description of a task (e.g., construct a virtual reality [VR] play or solar system) and expected to work collaboratively in determining how to best complete the shared task. Various activity groups might share a common goal and even participate under a common pedagogical framework but construct different final products, as well as procedures for getting there, and, reciprocally, have different group dynamics.b
Are technology-rich-integrating technology as a tool for facilitating inquiry,
other forms of authentic practice, or both.
- Provide opportunities for students to inquire into the phenomena they are
learning and not simply receive information about the phenomena.
- Support students in participating in, not didactically hearing about, domain-
related practices.
- Are designed to support the process of learning.
- Establish rich environments (studios, workshops, and construction spaces)
where students work collaboratively.
- Immerse students in a context that grounds their understanding to local environmental
particulars.
emerging technologies that function less like books, films, journals, and broadcasts and more like laboratories, workshops, offices, and studios in which students immerse themselves within contexts that challenge and extend their understanding?
Technology
- A lot ! (needs some expanding)
- Barab et al. worked (among others kinds) with some 3D interactive environment
References
Barab, Sasha A. ,Kenneth E. Hay, Michael Barnett and Kurt Squire (2001). Constructing Virtual Worlds: Tracing the Historical Development of Learner Practices, Cognition And Instruction, 19(1), 47-94. PDF