Educational data has been a recurring theme on this blog. In this post, I continue considering the nature of data in education and the nature of data in science… comparing and contrasting the two. Constructs and Instruments Scientists are always specific about what they are measuring, and there are accepted methods for measuring these quantities. Read More
For most of human history, communication was an aural or gestural activity. We spoke and we made gestures, other heard and saw our movements. In both cases, the communication was ephemeral. Unheard words and unseen gestures are lost. There is evidence of humans creating painting and other artifacts which presumably were intended for meaningful communication, Read More
Diffusion of Innovation (Rogers, 2003) is a well-known theory that predicts and explains who new ideas and practices spread through communities. The stages of adoption are perhaps the most widely used aspect of this theory, but other aspects are useful as well. Rogers identified several measurable factors that are associated with the diffusion of innovations Read More
Much of the science surrounding teaching and learning has occured in cultures that are white, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD). While I am not criticizing that focus, especially by researchers and practitioners who work in those cultures, I do suggest we must use care in extending what we “know” about teaching and learning from Read More
When authors, presenters, leaders, and others describing “paradigm-changing” practices and ideas, make sure to ask if they are talking about a Kuhnian paradigm. Here is my take on the four characteristics of paradigms: According to Kuhn (1970), paradigms are comprised of four components, and a paradigm shift requires new understanding be recognized and implemented within Read More
In biology, the Baldwin Effect was proposed in 1896 to suggest that learned behaviors could become a part of the biology of individuals and populations. Although this hypothesis did not stand the test of empirical observation and has been discredited as an effect in biology, it has been resurrected as a model helpful for understanding Read More
Claude Levi-Strauss (a French anthropologist who died in 2009 less than a month before he turned 101) introduced the term bricoleur to western thinkers to describe a “jackof- all-trades” approach to technology (and other practices). He suggested the term after observing individuals in other cultures who would explore the potential uses of various new tools Read More
Hermeneutic researchers fall into the hermeneutic cycle (see figure 1) in which an artifact is interpreted in light of the culture and then the culture is reinterpreted in light of the emerging understanding of the artifact. This cycle between the whole of the culture being reconstructed and the parts of the culture embodied in the Read More
Sherry Turkle, a sociologist from MIT studied computer users’ sense of identity early in the days of Internet-mediated communication. She observed that many users at the time were creating multiple online identities and that many users were exploring different senses of identity through those online spaces, and Turkel (1995) began her book Life on the Read More
141: Rogers’ Stages of Adoption Everett Rogers’ (2003) influential work on the diffusion of innovations explains much that we see on how new idea and practices spread throughout populations. This excerpt from my book Efficacious Technology Management which was released under a Creative COmmons license about a year ago is one summary I use when Read More