Abstract
The purpose of this study was to share our experiences using emerging technologies to create an authentic learning context where preservice teachers at a university and practicing K-12 teachers collaborate in the conduct of real-world (as opposed to “textbook”) tasks. In this paper, we demonstrate and evaluate the design of professional development that involved a partnership between two universities and eight surrounding K-12 schools. This partnership provides the foundation for supporting a learning community of preservice and practicing teachers that situates in collaborative practices that are both authentic and valuable to all involved. Specifically, we studied how issues of ownership, power, authenticity, and collaboration contribute to students' successes and the success of the program through four case studies. We also explored how asynchronous conferencing tools might be used to facilitate communication across geographic and chronological boundaries, breaking down traditional barriers to distributed communities of practice and making possible the creation of a co-evolutionary model for supporting the emergence of a context that was authentic to both preservice and in-service teachers. In contrast to claims that suggest authenticity for an individual can be prescribed to a learner by the instructor, we deny the legitimacy of preauthentication. Instead, an assumption underlying this research is that authenticity is an emergent process that is actualized through individuals' participation in tasks and practices of value to themselves and to a community of practice. The co-evolutionary model for supporting the emergence of authenticity described in this study provides a means of overcoming some of the challenges associated with simulation and participation models for establishing authentic learning experiences.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Banathy B.H. (1991).A systems view of education. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
Barab, S.A. (1999). Ecologizing instruction through integrated units.The Middle School Journal, 30, 21–28.
Barab, S.A., Cherkes-Julkowski, M., Swenson, R., Garrett, S., Shaw, R.E., & Young, M. (1999). Principles of self-organization: Ecologizing the learner-facilitator system.The Journal of The Learning Sciences, 8(3, 4), 349–390.
Barab, S.A., & Duffy, T. (2000). Architecting participatory learning environments. To appear in D. Jonassen & S. Land (Eds.),Theoretical foundations of learning environments. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Barab, S.A., & Hay, K. (in press). Doing science at the elbows of scientists: Issues related to the Scientist Apprentice Camp. To appear in theJournal of Research on Science Teaching.
Barab, S.A., Hay, K., & Duffy, T. (1998). Grounded constructions and how technology can help.Technology Trends, 43(2), 15–23.
Barab, S.A., & Kirshner, D. (in press). Introduction to the special issue: Methodologies for capturing learner practices occurring as part of dynamic learning environments. To appear in theJournal of The Learning Sciences.
Barab, S.A., & Landa, A. (1997). Designing interdisciplinary anchors.Educational Leadership, 54(6), 52–55.
Bertalanffy, L. (1952).Problems of life. London: Watts.
Brown, A.L., & Campione, J.C. (1990). Communities of learning and thinking, or a context by any other name.Contributions to Human Development, 21, 108–126.
Brown, J.S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning.Educational Researcher, 18, 32–42.
Case, C.W., Norlander, K.A., & Reagan, T.G. (1993). Cultural transformation in an urban professional development center: Policy implications for school-university collaboration.Educational Policy, 7(1), 40–60.
Cobb, P., & Yackel, E. (1996). Constructivist, emergent, and sociocultural perspectives in the context of developmental research.Educational Psychologist, 31, 175–190.
Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. (1990). Anchored instruction and its relationship to situated cognition.Educational Researcher, 19, 2–10.
Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. (1993). Anchored Instruction and situated cognition revisited.Educational Technology, 33, 52–70.
Collins, A., Brown, J.S., & Newman, S.E. (1989). Cognitive apprenticeship: Teaching the crafts of reading, writing, and mathematics. In L.B. Resnick (Ed.),Knowing, learning and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser (pp. 453–494). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Dewey, J. (1897). My pedagogical creed.The School Journal, 543, 77–80.
Dewey, J. (1963).Experience & education. New York: Collier MacMillan. (Original work published 1938)
Duffy, T.M., & Jonassen, D.H. (1992). Constructivism: New implications for instructional technology. In T. Duffy & D. Jonassen (Eds.),Constructivism and the technology of instruction (pp. 1–16). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Duffy, T.M., Lowyck, J., & Jonassen, D.H. (Eds.), (1992).Designing environments for constructivist learning. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag.
Edwards, L.D. (1995). The design and analysis of a mathematical microworld.Journal of Educational Computing Research, 12, 77–94.
Engestrom, Y. (1993). Developmental studies of work as a testbench of activity theory: The case of primary care medical practice. In S. Chaiklin & J. Lave (Eds.),Understanding practice: Perspectives on activity and context (pp. 64–103). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Evenson, D.H., & Hmelo, C.E. (Eds.). (in press).Problem-based learning: A research perspective on learning interactions. Mahway, NJ: Erlbaum.
Fodor, J. (1980).Language of thought. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Gardner, H. (1985).The mind's new science. New York: Basic Books.
Gibson, J.J. (1986).The ecological approach to visual perception. Hilisdale, NJ: Lawrence Eribaum Associates, Inc.
Glaser, B.G., & Strauss, A.L. (1967).The discovery of grounded theory. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine.
Green, K.C., & Gilbert, S.W. (1995). Great expectations.Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 27(2), 8–18.
Greeno, J. (1998). The situativity of knowing, learning, and research.American Psychologist, 53, 5–26.
Greeno, J.G. (1997). Response: On claims that answer the wrong questions.Educational Researcher, 36, 5–17.
Guba, E.G., & Lincoln, Y.S. (1983). Epistemological and methodological bases of naturalistic inquiry. In G.F. Madaus, M.S. Scriven, and D.L. Stufflebeam (Eds.),Evaluation models: Viewpoints on educational and human services evaluation (pp. 311–334). Boston, MA: Kluwer-Nijhoff Publishing.
Hannafin, M.J., Hall, C., Land, S.M., & Hill, J.R. (1994). Learning in open-ended environments: Assumptions, methods, and implications.Educational Technology, 34, 48–55.
Heath, S.B., & McLaughlin, M.W. (1994). The best of both worlds: Connecting schools and community youth organizations for all-day, all-year learning.Educational Administration Quarterly;30(3), 278–300.
Hmelo, C., & Evensen, D. (Eds.), (in press).Problem-based learning: Gaining insights on learning interactions through multiple methods of inquiry. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Eribaum Associates, Inc.
Hutchins, C.L. (1996).Systemic thinking: Solving complex problems. Aurora, CO: Professional Development Systems.
Hutchins, E. (1993). Learning to navigate. In S. Chaiklin & J. Lave (Eds.),Understanding practice (pp. 35–63). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kelso, S. (1995).Dynamic patters: The self-organization of brain and behavior. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Kirshner, D., & Whitson, J.A. (Eds.). (1997).Situated cognition: Social, semiotic, and psychological perspectives. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Kirshner, D., & Whitson, J.A. (1998). Obstacles to understanding cognition as situated.Educational Researcher, 27(8), 22–28.d
Knorr-Cetina, K.D. (1981).The manufacture of knowledge: An essay on the constructivist and contextual nature of science. Oxford, England: Pergamon.
Kommers, P.A.M., Grabinger, R.S., and Dunlap J.C. (Eds.). (1996).Hypermedia learning environments: instructional design and integration. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Koschmann, T. (Ed.). (1996).CSCL: Theory and practice of an emerging paradigm. Malwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Koschmann, T., Kelson, A.C., Feltovich, P.J., & Barrows, H.S. (1996). Computer-supported problem-based learning: A principled approach to the use of computers in collaborative learning. In T. Koschmann (Ed.)CSCL: Theory and practice of an emerging paradigm (pp. 83–124). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Lampert, M. (1990). When the problem is not the question and the solution is not the answer: Mathematical knowing and teaching.American Educational Research Journal, 27, 29–63.
Latour, B. (1987).Science in action: How to follow scientists and engineers through society. Milton Keynes, England: Open University Press.
Lave, J. (1988).Cognition in practice: Mind, mathematics and culture in everyday life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lave, J. (1993). Situating learning in communities of practice. In L.B. Resnick, J.M. Levine, & S.D. Teasley (Eds.),Perspectives on socially shared cognition (pp. 17–36). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Lave, J. (1997). The culture of acquisition and the practice of understanding. In D. Kirshner & J.A. Whitson (Eds.),Situated cognition: Social, semiotic, and psychological perspectives (pp. 63–82). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991).Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Levin, J.A., Riel, M., Miyake, N., & Cohen, M. (1987). Education on the electronic frontier: Teleapprenticeships in globally distributed educational contexts.Contemporary Educational Psychology, 12, 254–260.
Lincoln Y.S., & Guba, E.G. (1985).Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Milter, R.G., & Stinson, J.E. (1995). Educating leaders for the new competitive environment. In Gijselaers, G., Tempelaar, S., Keizer S. (Eds.),Educational innovation in economics and business administration: The case of problem-based learning. London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Nicaise, M., & Barnes, D. (1996). The union of technology, constructivism, and teacher education.Journal of Teacher Education, 47, 205–212.
Petraglia, J. (1998).Reality by design: The rhetoric and technology of authenticity in education. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Petrie, H.G. (Ed.). (1995).Professionalization, partnership, and power: Building professional development schools. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Prigogine, I. (1978). Time, structure, and fluctuations.Science, 201, 777–785.
Prigogine, I., & Stengers, I. (1984).Order out of chaos: Man's dialogue with nature. New York: Bantam.
Radinsky, J. Bouillion, L., Hanson, K., Gomez, L., Vemeer, D., & Fishman, B. (1998, April).A framework for authenticity: Mutual benefits partnerships. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association.
Resnick, L.B. (1987). Learning in school and out.Educational Researcher, 16, 13–20.
Richardson-Koehler, V. (1988). Barriers to effective supervision of student teaching.Journal of Teacher Education, 39, 28–34.
Rogoff, B., & Lave, J. (1984).Everyday cognition: Its development in social context. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Roth, W.-M. (1995). Knowledge diffusion in a grade 4–5 classroom during a unit of civil engineering: An analysis of a classroom community in terms of its changing resources and practices.Cognition and Instruction, 14, 170–220.
Roth, W.-M. (1998).Designing communities. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Roth, W.-M., & Bowen, G.M. (1996). Knowing and interacting: A study of culture, practices, and resources in a grade 8 open-inquiry science classroom guided by a cognitive apprenticeship metaphor.Cognition and Instruction, 13, 73–128.
Savery, J., & Duffy, T. (1996). Problem based learning: An instructional model and its constructivist framework. In B. Wilson (Ed.),Constructivist learning environments: Case studies in instructional design (pp. 135–148). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1994). Computer support for knowledge-building communities.The Journal of The Learning Sciences, 3, 265–283.
Schoenfeld, A. (1996). In fostering communities of inquiry, must it matter that the teacher knows the “answer”?For the Learning of Mathematics, 16(3), 11–16.
Schrum, L., & Dehoney, J. (1998). Meeting the future: A teacher educational program joins the information age.Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 6(1), 23–37.
Scriven, M.S. (1983). Evaluation methodologies. In G.F. Madaus, M.S. Scriven, and D.L. Stufflebeam (Eds.),Evaluation models: Viewpoints on educational and human services evaluation (pp. 229–260). Boston, MA: Kluwer-Nijhoff Publishing.
Senge, P. (1994).The Fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. New York: Doubleday.
Siegel, J. (1995). The state of teacher training: The results of the first national survey of technology staff development in schools.Electronic Learning, 14(8), 43–53.
Sloffer, S.J., Dueber, B., & Duffy, T.M. (1999, January). Using asynchronous conferencing to promote critical thinking: Two implementations in higher education.Proceedings of the 32nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Maui, Hawaii.
Swenson, R. (1996).Spontaneous order, evolution, and natural law: An introduction to the physical basis for an ecological psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.
Swenson, R. (1997a). Thermodynamics and evolution. In G. Greenberg and M. Haraway (Eds.),Handbook of comparative psychology (pp. 217–228). Garland Publishing, NY.
Swenson, R. (1997b). Autocatakinetics, evolution, and the law of maximum entropy production: A principled foundation toward the study of human ecology. In Lee Freese (Ed.),Advances in human ecology, Vol. 6 (pp. 1–46). Greenwich, CT.
Vera, A.H., & Simon, H.A. (1993). Situated action: A symbolic interpretation.Cognitive Science, 17, 7–9.
Wenger, E. (1998).Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Whitehead, A.N. (1929).The aims of education and other essays. New York: MacMillan.
Wilson, B. (Ed.), (1996).Constructivist learning environments: Case studies in instructional design. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
Young, M.F., Kulikowich, J.M., & Barab, S.A. (1997). The unit of analysis for situated assessment.Instructional Science, 25, 133–150.
Zammit, S.A. (1992). Factors facilitating or hindering the use of computers in schools.Educational Research, 34(1), 57–66.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barab, S.A., Squire, K.D. & Dueber, W. A co-evolutionary model for supporting the emergence of authenticity. ETR&D 48, 37–62 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02313400
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02313400