Andrea A. diSessa - Böcker

Decades of research in the cognitive and learning sciences have led to a growing recognition of the incredibly multi-faceted nature of human knowing and learning. Up to now, this multifaceted nature has been visible mostly in distinct and often competing communities of researchers. From a purely scientific perspective, "siloed" science—where different traditions refuse to speak with one another, or merely ignore one another—is unacceptable. This ambitious volume attempts to kick-start a serious, new line of work that merges, or properly articulates, different traditions with their divergent historical, theoretical, and methodological commitments that, nonetheless, both focus on the highly detailed analysis of processes of knowing and learning as they unfold in interactional contexts in real time.Knowledge and Interaction puts two traditions in dialogue with one another: Knowledge Analysis (KA), which draws on intellectual roots in developmental psychology and cognitive modeling and focuses on the nature and form of individual knowledge systems, and Interaction Analysis (IA), which has been prominent in approaches that seek to understand and explain learning as a sequence of real-time moves by individuals as they interact with interlocutors, learning environments, and the world around them. The volume’s four-part organization opens up space for both substantive contributions on areas of conceptual and empirical work as well as opportunities for reflection, integration, and coordination.

Decades of research in the cognitive and learning sciences have led to a growing recognition of the incredibly multi-faceted nature of human knowing and learning. Up to now, this multifaceted nature has been visible mostly in distinct and often competing communities of researchers. From a purely scientific perspective, "siloed" science—where different traditions refuse to speak with one another, or merely ignore one another—is unacceptable. This ambitious volume attempts to kick-start a serious, new line of work that merges, or properly articulates, different traditions with their divergent historical, theoretical, and methodological commitments that, nonetheless, both focus on the highly detailed analysis of processes of knowing and learning as they unfold in interactional contexts in real time.Knowledge and Interaction puts two traditions in dialogue with one another: Knowledge Analysis (KA), which draws on intellectual roots in developmental psychology and cognitive modeling and focuses on the nature and form of individual knowledge systems, and Interaction Analysis (IA), which has been prominent in approaches that seek to understand and explain learning as a sequence of real-time moves by individuals as they interact with interlocutors, learning environments, and the world around them. The volume’s four-part organization opens up space for both substantive contributions on areas of conceptual and empirical work as well as opportunities for reflection, integration, and coordination.

This book examines the kinds of transitions that have been studied in mathematics education research. It defines transition as a process of change, and describes learning in an educational context as a transition process. The book focuses on research in the area of mathematics education, and starts out with a literature review, describing the epistemological, cognitive, institutional and sociocultural perspectives on transition. It then looks at the research questions posed in the studies and their link with transition, and examines the theoretical approaches and methods used. It explores whether the research conducted has led to the identification of continuous processes, successive steps, or discontinuities. It answers the question of whether there are difficulties attached to the discontinuities identified, and if so, whether the research proposes means to reduce the gap – to create a transition. The book concludes with directions for future research on transitions in mathematics education.

Computers are playing a fundamental role in enhancing exploratory learning techniques in education. This volume in the NATO Special Programme on Advanced Educational Technology covers the state of the art in the design and use of computer systems for exploratory learning. Contributed chapters treat principles, theory, practice, and examples of some of the best contemporary computer-based learning environments: Logo, Boxer, Microworlds, Cabri-Géomètre, Star Logo, Table Top, Geomland, spreadsheets, Function Machines, and others. Emphasis is on mathematics and science education. Synthetic chapters provide an overview of the current scene in computers and exploratory learning, and analyses from the perspectives of epistemology, learning, and socio-cultural studies.