Coming into the site, I was initially interested to observe the social interactions that were taking place in the community discussions. Drawing upon the theories of collaborative learning (Camarero et al, 2011) and conversational learning (Thomas, 2002) where knowledge emerges through dialogues, offering ideas to others and expanding or criticizing upon each other’s perspectives, I had wanted to focus my investigation on discussion threads in which participants are sharing common interests, issues or inquiries regarding the course materials and discussions where contrasting opinions are taking place.
Learning In The Wild Research
Observing and analyzing how learning takes place in Khan Academy's 'Pixar in a Box' MOOC
How do we observe learning?
In a semester long project for our Foundations of the Learning Sciences class, I collaborated with a fellow NYU student to undertake an observational research on how people learn in a real world situation. My partner and I decided to focus our study on 'Pixar in a Box' - an online learning course by Pixar Animation Studios and Khan Academy.
Originally published in 2015 but still gaining traction until today, Pixar in a box is a masterclass in filmmaking for kids. While the course can be accessed by anyone on the web, the curriculum was designed primarily for school aged children. Official course description on its website states that the course has materials designed for grade 3 and up. The goal of Pixar in a box, according to its creators, is to get students to see how the various concepts they learn at school can be applied to the various challenges Pixar faces everyday in making movies.
Taking on the lens of Social Constructivism, I wanted to observe how people come to co-construct knowledge together in an open, online environment.
After going through multiple iterations, my final research questions were:
During the course of my 12 hours observations, some of the claims that I came to make about learning at Pixar in a Box:
Claim 1
Pixar in a Box Learners that engage in a more meaningful active behavior share two distinct characteristics: they internalize knowledge by drawing upon prior knowledge and then externalize knowledge by expressing ideas and providing or justifying reasons.
Claim 2
Pixar in a Box learners draw upon their prior knowledge and personal interpretations to contribute comments that help them construct a more specific understanding of the material they are learning.
Claim 3
There are three different profiles of learners in Pixar in A Box: help seekers, responders and more knowledgeable others. They can be identified by the transparency of their profile and the type of contribution that they made to the discussion forum.
Claim 4
Help seekers play a role in triggering co-construction of knowledge by posting content related questions that invite other participants to respond and engage in discussion beyond what was presented in the learning material.
Claim 5
Learners and more knowledgeable others function as co-equal agents in open learning environments. More Knowledgeable Others (MKO) can encourage peer learning without having to establish their positions to other learners.
Final Conceptual Model
Putting everything together, there are two conceptual frameworks that I’ve developed. One to illustrate how my interpretation of how knowledge, and the process of knowing (or learning) unfolds in Pixar in a Box based on my observations. The second is to illustrate how I see the relationship between the learning behavior and types of learners that I’ve identified.
To sum up, learning in Pixar in a Box begins with knowledge from industry experts (Pixar employees) being scaffolded into the MOOC in the form of chunkable modules and activities. The learning material, guided activity and discussion forum together becomes a technological artifact that learners can leverage on to construct knowledge. As learners engage with the course, knowledge is internalized and connected to prior knowledge or experiences. These coming to know processes and personal interpretations are then externalized by learners as they express ideas or justify reasons. Contributors and help seekers externalize knowledge to help them construct a better understanding of the subject they are learning. Their posts can come in the form of an inquiry, a statement or an invite for other users to share their opinions; thereby playing a role in group co-construction of knowledge. In contrast, responders and more knowledgeable others (MKO) contribute to the forum by providing constructive feedback and alternative approaches or ways to think about the task at hand. Both types of learners engage their individual cognitive process to contribute to the group cognition. The different types of learners function as co-equal agents in this group cognition process. This process is circular, and the circle in the framework represents the infinite temporal period in which these relationships can take place as well as the longevity others have to access the discourses.
Zooming into the bottom part of the framework, this is how I see the relationship between individual vs group cognition and learning behavior that can take place in the forum.
Acknowledgements:
Course
EDCT-2175 Foundations of the Learning Sciences
Professor
Juan Pablo Sarmiento
Team Members
Athia Fadhlina
Franchesca Frias