StanfordxNOTA Book

Reflection, etc. by StanfordxNOTA Book on NotaReflection, etc.Schon's piece reflects a situated cognition approach to learning, and emphasizes transactivity- the notion that individuals actions on the environment change the environment and potentially the individual. This is a different notion than interactivity, in that it implies a coconstitutive notion of reality rather than one where activity occurs in a static environment. Schon also chooses to present a situation which is discursively and actively scaffolded by an expert, who is able to fluidly understand the emergent situation which is being constructed through the architectural plan. Components of an Academic Play SpaceKnowledgeableParticipationTarget Concepts Legitimate Tasks Embedded ScaffoldsImmersive ParticipationDramatic StorylineParticipation RolesContested Space Transactive ParticipationInteractive Rules Achievement TrajectoriesConsequential OptionsReflexive ParticipationIdentity ScaffoldsArticulation EpisodesCollaboration StructuresTransmedia narratives are increasingly common and important for educators to consider. These narratives span multiple modes of storytelling, for instance movies, novels, and games. One educational example of this is the Quest: Atlantis narrative, similar transmedia narratives exist for Star Wars and many youth culture narratives, such as Pokemon.Quest: AtlantisSome educators have applied disciplinary methods like those of architects to children's learning. One particularly direct example of this is the work of David Williamson Shaffer on epistemic games. These games focus on encouraging children to think in the ways that professionals use in various fields, such as urban design, engineering, and jounalism.Epistemic GamesEpistemic Game Applet: http://sodaplay.com/creators/soda/items/constructorBasso insinuates that narrative has an important role in the learning of many cultures, as does place. For the Apache culture, in particular, learning places, and their stories is part of the path to wisdom. Even in American culture, stories, such as Aesop's fables are used to share wisdom with children. Others, such as Bruner, have addressed the role of narrative in culture and learning more broadly. Central to this is that stories are value-laden, or as Bruner put it stories take a moral stance. Further, Bruner contends, stories take an epistemic stance- that is they present a way of understanding the world, guided by the narrator, and often present multiple epistemologies through various characters, supporting metacognition. Use of narrative in formal education is often limited. Narratives are common in language classes and history, but rare elsewhere. In informal learning, on the other hand, stories are common. The fables mentioned before are one instance, but the use of television and other communication media is similarly centered around story telling. Even events such as sports are rendered by announcers into narratives for viewers.Narrative and LearningFurther Reading:Bruner, J. (1992) Acts of MeaningBruner, J. (1996) The Culture of EducationGee, J.P. (2007) What Video Games have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy(Enable JavaScript in your browser, please.)