Designing Constructionist Futures The Art, Theory, and Practice of Learning Designs

by Holbert, Nathan; Berland, Matthew; Kafai, Yasmin B.

• ISBN13: 9780262539845
• ISBN10: 0262539845
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2020-10-27
• Publisher: The MIT Press

Summary

A diverse group of scholars redefine constructionism—introduced by Seymour Papert in 1980—in light of new technologies and theories.

Constructionism, first introduced by Seymour Papert in 1980, is a framework for learning to understand something by making an artifact for and with other people. A core goal of constructionists is to respect learners as creators, to enable them to engage in making meaning for themselves through construction, and to do this by democratizing access to the world's most creative and powerful tools. In this volume, an international and diverse group of scholars examine, reconstruct, and evolve the constructionist paradigm in light of new technologies and theories. Taken together, their contributions show that constructionism has advanced in educational research and practice—and also that, in turn, researchers and practitioners can learn from constructionism how to foster learning in ways that respect learners' creativity and communities.

The contributors examine how constructionist design can function within contexts ranging from school and home to virtual spaces; explore ways to support learners who have been under-resourced, overlooked, or oppressed; discuss learning by collaboration; and consider the implications of learning as a creative process of construction, exploring ways to support creative enterprises within the constraints of formal classrooms. Finally, leading visionaries imagine where constructionism, design, and research will go next

Contributors

Konstantin Aal, Dor Abrahamson, Edith K. Ackermann, Michael Ahmadi, Emma Anderson, Edward Baafi, Stephanie Benson, Laura Benton, Matthew Berland, Marina Umaschi Bers, Paulo Blikstein, Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, Karen Brennan, Leah Buechley, Angela Calabrese Barton, Teresa Casort, David Cavallo, Kiera Chase, Alison Clark-Wilson, Sequoia L. Dance, Joshua A. Danish, Sayamindu Dasgupta, Michael Eisenberg, Noel Enyedy, Deborah A. Fields, Andrea Forte, Gayithri Jayathirtha, Brian Gravel, Sara M. Grimes, Idit Harel, Erica R. Halverson, Nathan Holbert, Celia Hoyles, Raquel Jimenez, Yasmin B. Kafai, Ivan Kalas, Anna Keune, Susan Klimczak, Eric Klopfer, Maximilian Krüger, Chronis Kynigos, Tim Kubik, Breanne K. Litts, Benjamin Mako Hill, Amon Millner, Andrés Monroy-Hernández, Richard Noss, Seymour Papert, Kylie Peppler, Judy Perry, Mitchel Resnick, Rebecca Reynolds, Ricarose Roque, Piers Saunders, Kristin A. Searle, Kimberly M. Sheridan, Arnan Sipitakiat, R. Benjamin Shapiro, Gary S. Stager, Gunnar Stevens, Vanessa Svihla, Edna Tan, Orkan Telhan, Naomi Thompson, Nalin Tutiyaphuengprasert, Anne Weibert, Michelle Hoda Wilkerson, Volker Wulf, Uri Wilensky, Jianwei Zhang

Author Biography

Nathan Holbert is Assistant Professor of Communication, Media, and Learning Technologies Design at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Mathew Berland is Associate Professor of Design, Creative, and Informal Education in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Yasmin B. Kafai is Lori and Michael Milken President's Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, coauthor of Connected Gaming, Connected Code, and Connected Play (all published by MIT Press) and other books.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS FOREWORD: SEYMOUR *IS* A POWERFUL IDEA ix
Alan Kay
INTRODUCTION: FIFTY YEARS OF CONSTRUCTIONISM 1
Nathan Holbert, Matthew Berland, and Yasmin B. Kafai
I INCREASING SCALE
1. ENGAGING LEARNERS IN CONSTRUCTING CONSTRUCTIONIST ENVIRONMENTS 21
Sayamindu Dasgupta, Benjamin Mako Hill, and Andrés Monroy-Hernández
2. PLAYGROUNDS AND MICROWORLDS: LEARNING TO CODE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 31 Marina Umaschi Bers
3. MAKING CONSTRUCTIONISM WORK AT SCALE: THE STORY OF SCRATCHMATHS 39
Richard Noss, Celia Hoyles, Piers Saunders, Alison Clark-Wilson, Laura Benton, and Ivan Kalas
4. LESSONS LEARNED DURING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF GLOBALORIA, 2006–2017 53
Rebecca Reynolds and Idit Harel
5. HALF-BAKED CONSTRUCTIONISM: A STRATEGY TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGE OF INFUSING CONSTRUCTIONISM IN EDUCATION IN GREECE 61
Chronis Kynigos
6. WHY SCHOOL REFORM IS IMPOSSIBLE 73
Seymour Papert
7. THE SCRATCH EDUCATOR MEETUP: USEFUL LEARNING IN A PLAYFUL SPACE 85
Karen Brennan and Raquel Jimenez
8. APPLIED CONSTRUCTIONISM IN THAILAND: TWO DECADES OF A CONSTRUCTIONIST SCHOOL IN THAILAND 97
Nalin Tutiyaphuengprasert
9. CONNECTING MODERN KNOWLEDGE: CRAFTING THE NEXT GENERATION OF CONSTRUCTIONISTS 105
Gary S. Stager
II SUPPORTING EQUITY
10. CHEESEMAKING EMANCIPATION: A CRITICAL THEORY OF CULTURAL MAKING 115
Paulo Blikstein
11. RECLAIMING TRADITIONALLY FEMININE PRACTICES AND MATERIALS FOR STEM LEARNING THROUGH THE MODERN MAKER MOVEMENT 127
Kylie Peppler, Anna Keune, and Naomi Thompson
12. CONSTRUCTIONISM AS A PEDAGOGY OF DISRESPECT 141
Nathan Holbert
13. CULTIVATING COMMUNITY CHANGE WHILE CREATING CONSTRUCTION KITS: LAUNCHING SCRATCH, MODKIT, AND L2TT2L 151
Amon D. Millner, Edward Baafi, and Susan Klimczak
14. JEITISMO CONSTRUCIONISMO IN BRASILIAN LEARNING COMMUNITIES 159
David Cavallo
15. THE ROLE OF CRITICAL SCIENCE IDENTITY ARTIFACTS IN YOUTH CLAIMING A RIGHTFUL PRESENCE IN STEM 167
Angela Calabrese Barton and Edna Tan
16. INDIGENOUS YOUTH MAKING COMMUNITY TOURS 177
Kristin A. Searle, Breanne K. Litts, Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, Yasmin B. Kafai, Teresa Casort, Stephanie Benson, and Sequoia L. Dance
17. COMPUTATIONAL MAKING WITH CHILDREN IN INTERCULTURAL COMPUTER CLUBS 185
Anne Weibert, Konstantin Aal, Maximilian Krüger, Michael Ahmadi, Gunnar Stevens, and Volker Wulf
III EXPANDING THE SOCIAL
18. BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AND BUILDING PROJECTS: DESIGNING FOR FAMILY LEARNING 195
Ricarose Roque
19. PLAYFUL CONSTRUCTIONISM IN MUSEUMS, LIBRARIES, AND OTHER VOLUNTARY SPACES: CO-CONSTRUCTION, CO-FACILITATION, AND CO-DREAD 205
Matthew Berland
20. STORYTELLING AS A SUPPORT FOR COLLECTIVE CONSTRUCTIONIST ACTIVITY 213
Michelle Hoda Wilkerson and Brian Gravel
21. CONSTRUCTING SHARABLE TEXT: CONSTRUCTIONIST EXPERIENCES OF ONLINE WRITING 227
Andrea Forte
22. TAKING UP MULTILITERACIES IN A CONSTRUCTIONIST DESIGN CONTEXT 235
Breanne K. Litts, Erica R. Halverson, and Kimberly M. Sheridan
23. CONSTRUCTING WITH AND THROUGH THE BODY 245
Joshua A. Danish and Noel Enyedy
24. SHAPING LEARNING ONLINE FOR MAKING AND SHARING CHILDREN’S DIY MEDIA 255
Deborah A. Fields and Sara M. Grimes
25. REAL-WORLD CONSTRUCTIONISM: HOW VISION PERKS VS. HOW REALITY WORKS 265
Arnan Sipitakiat
IV DEVELOPING THE CREATIVE
26. EXPERIENCES OF ARTIFACTS: PEOPLE’S APPROPRIATIONS/OBJECTS’ “AFFORDANCES” 275
Edith K. Ackermann
27. RESTRUCTURATION THEORY AND AGENT-BASED MODELING: REFORMULATING KNOWLEDGE DOMAINS THROUGH COMPUTATIONAL REPRESENTATIONS 287
Uri Wilensky
28. HI-LO TECH CRAFTING: TINKERING WITH TEXTILES, PAPER, AND EVERYTHING ELSE 301
Yasmin B. Kafai and Gayithri Jayathirtha
29. SYNTONICITY AND EMERGENCE: A DESIGN-BASED RESEARCH REFLECTION ON THE PIAGETIAN ROOTS OF CONSTRUCTIONISM 311
Dor Abrahamson and Kiera Chase
30. CONSTRUCTIONISM IN ART STUDIOS 323
Kimberly M. Sheridan
31. CREATIVITY AS SUSTAINED SOCIAL PRACTICES: FOUR PILLARS FOR CREATIVE LEARNING DESIGN 331
Jianwei Zhang
32. SAILING IN OPEN WATERS: CHOOSING, CHARTING, AND NAVIGATING CONSTRUCTIONIST LEARNING EXPERIENCES 341
Vanessa Svihla and Tim Kubik
33. CONSTRUCTIONIST LEARNING GAMES IN SCHOOL 349
Eric Klopfer, Emma Anderson, and Judy Perry THE FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTIONISM
34. CONSTRUCTIONISM AND CREATIVE LEARNING: INTERVIEW WITH MITCHEL RESNICK 363
35. NEW AND FUTURE CODING PARADIGMS: INTERVIEW WITH R. BENJAMIN SHAPIRO 369
36. ADVANCING MAKING WITH BIOLOGY: INTERVIEW WITH ORKAN TELHAN AND YASMIN B. KAFAI 375
37. SELF-DIRECTED CONSTRUCTIONIST COMMUNITIES: INTERVIEW WITH LEAH BUECHLEY 381
38. EXAMINING CONSTRUCTIONIST BODIES: INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL EISENBERG 387 CONTRIBUTORS 393
INDEX 397