Researching the Cognitive Cultures of eLearning 1

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Researching the Cognitive Cultures of e-Learning

• Andrew Whitworth
• University of Manchester, UK
• ALT-C, September 2005

2
Introduction

• E-learning innovations failure-prone (BJET July
  2005) Why?
• Studies done of e-L as technology sometimes even
  as pedagogy
• I want to study e-L as organised human activity
• This session presents one strand of that work

3
Structure

• Technology and organisations slides 4-6
• Cognitive biases and cognitive cultures slides
  7-10
• Some e-learning examples slides 11-15
• Research for education slides 16-18

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Technology as
from Carl Mitcham, 1994
Knowledge
Activity, process
Object, artefact
Volition

• All takes place within an environment which
  supplies resources and thus
• constrains the possible.
• The environment contains both material and
  cognitive resources.
• Examples existing technological infrastructure
  available research tools

5
A quote

• Computer-based packages are usually developed in
  the midst of the lively interplay of group life
  in organisations in which wants conflict, not all
  wants can be satisfied simultaneously, and in
  which key relationships are slowly changing.
• Rob Kling, 1987

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Organisations

• Organisations are essential parts of the
  infrastructure which supports technological
  development
• Computer-based packages are usually developed in
  the midst of the lively interplay of group life
  in organisations in which wants conflict, not all
  wants can be satisfied simultaneously, and in
  which key relationships are slowly changing.
• Rob Kling, 1987

7
Organisations and cognition

• Blaug (2005) has described how organisational
  life draws on certain tendencies in the way
  people process information
• Organisations affect the way we think!
• Research into e-learning must be sensitive to the
  issues about to be described

8
The Stroop Test
Please state the color of the text
Green
Blue
Red
Black
Green
Red
Blue
Black
Red
Black
Green
Blue
Black
Blue
Green
Green
9
Cognitive biases

• Because of our limited cognitive resources we
  cannot cope with all the data the world throws at
  us
• We select according to certain criteria
• Cognitive biases come into play (see printed
  paper for more details)
• We can learn our way past these biases
• But that has to be conscious. Usually we aim to
  save cognitive work .

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Cognitive cultures

• Organisations do part of our thinking for us.
• Organisations provide us with cognitive resources
  or tools which can save us cognitive work
  values, assumptions, goals, procedures,
  hierarchies etc.
• But no organisation is unitary (cf. earlier Kling
  quote).
• Think about the diversity within universities for
  example

11
The conflicts within HE

• Chronological
• overlapping phases in the history of HE
• 18th century humanist, classical
• 19th century professional, civic
• 20th century democratic, mass
• 21st century postmodern, commercial

• Internal
• faculty
• staff
• management
• students

THE UNIVER- SITY

• Personal
• everyone is different
• different departments, courses,
• managers, personalities
• diverse environmental contexts

• External
• government policy
• business pressures
• local communities
• other valid sources of knowledge (e.g. MSCE
  certificates)
• globalisation exacerbates all these

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And with e-Learning

• Increased division of labour e.g. use of
  software developers
• (note different kinds open source, in-house,
  external, ad hoc)
• Increased pace of change also competition
  reduces time available for study and analysis

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Examples

• TPI (Teaching Perspectives Inventory)

• 5 approaches to teaching
• surveyed
• transmission
• apprenticeship
• developmental
• nurturing
• social reform

while all developers and planners ranked
this one the highest or equal highest
Every instructor ranked one of these two highest
or equal highest
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Conflict

• One programme studied was more formalised than
  the other
• All contact between instructors and developers
  was mediated through planners first
• Remember the different assumptions How well were
  these negotiated?
• Mostly well, but on occasion there were
  blockages note case of Roxanne

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or shared understanding?

• The second programme, instead of isolating
  developers, had a laissez-faire approach
• Self-exploration and research into technology
  encouraged amongst all stakeholders
• Contributions to Moodle development
• Flexibility allowing for different approaches
• Organisational learning!

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Double-loop learning

• From Argyris (1999) questioning the premisses
  underlying a decision as well as just making the
  decision

1
2
3
2

• Learn way past cognitive biases creative
  transcendence of
• boundaries between cognitive cultures
• To transcend what was previously assumed is
  educational
• it may even be subversive

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Researching the cognitive culture

• Argues for a critical approach
• Action research methods self-reflection
• All researchers are providing new cognitive tools
  and resources
• in AR the users and designers of these tools
  work more closely together, or are the same
• But transcend the single (parochial) perspective
  observe interactions between all stakeholders and
  their environment
• participatory and inclusive development of the
  environment.

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Conclusion

• Technology as knowledge
• as activity or process
• and as volition
• All these are intertwined with organisational
  environments which influence everyday activities,
  and how we think about those activities
• E-learning researchers need an understanding of
  organisational politics
• Turn conflict into creativity for the benefit
  of all?

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The End
Thanks for listening.
If you want to contact me my e-mail address is
andrew.whitworth_at_manchester.ac.uk.