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The implications of social constructivism for technology-enhanced learning and potential lessons for public engagement with research
Public Engagement with Research Seminar Series
Dr Trevor Collins PhD

This event took place on 9th September 2013 at 1:15pm (12:15 GMT)
Knowledge Media Institute, Berrill Building, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, MK7 6AA

Social constructivism, an established theory within the learning sciences, argues that knowledge is constructed in groups that collaboratively create cultures of shared artifacts with shared meanings. The implications of this theory are significant and have transformed approaches to teaching from a process of transmission to a process of dialogue. Within the OU this is reflected in our 'dialogue in print' approach, which seeks to engage students in an active conversation with their learning resources and peers through a series of self-assessment questions, exercises and assignments that clarify understanding, encourage reflection and build motivation. In this seminar, we will explore the implications of social constructivism for technology-enhanced learning, drawing on examples from communications, technology and computing research. I will describe how these implications informed a recent collaboration with the Field Studies Council, in which we developed a system to support fieldwork learning. Finally, the lessons learned from this case study will be discussed with regard to the wider implications for public engagement with research.

The webcast was open to 100 users
Click below to play the event (81 minutes)
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