Shared Thinking and Group-

Oriented Generative Learning

Invited Online Seminar
Staffordshire University, UK
March 9th 2010

Nicholas Bowskill
Kelvin Smith Scholar
Faculty of Education
University of Glasgow

http://www.sharedthinking.info
 Background Influences
• Networked Learning (McConnell, 2006)
– Groups as a learning environment
– Public learning
• Mutual benefit from dialogue (Wegerif, Mercer &
Dawes, 1999)
• Groups as constructors of knowledge (Kilgore,
1999)
• Documentation facilitates participation and
learning – and research! (Richhart & Perkins,
2008)
 Central Role of Current Situation
• Your words - and that of the group
• Your experience - and that of the group
• Your current understanding (Flick, 1996)
– Shared
– As the basis for all that follows
– As part of socialisation and learning in the
domain
• “Group-situated learning” (Stroup et al,
2004)
 Generative Learning =
Communication
• Could be spoken or documents
– Or BOTH!
• It’s public
• It’s inward communication to yourself and
outward to others – simultaneously!
(Wittrock,1989)
 Network-based technologies &
Network-mediated Learning?
• A batch of interesting examples from Mathematics
(Stroup, et al)
• All share the idea of individual participation in relation to
the participation of others
– Made Public (Carmona & Dominguez, 2008)
– A move away from individualistic approaches to learning (Stroup
et al. 2004)
• Ideas could be applied more broadly to other disciplines
• Group-Oriented Generative Learning?
– Keeps the emphasis on the centrality of groups and their
experience
– Pedagogy first then technology
 Important Point – Diversity is
everything
• Displaying Diversity is the goal
– These are the multiple perspectives for learning
– This is the Content!
• For discussion
• For participation
• For thinking beyond
• Diversity is the “engine” (Stroup, et al. 2004)
– Creates the dialogical space (Mercer, 2000) and the
content
 Important Point Again –
Students own the session!
• Students have/own the conversation
• Others join it
• The participation of others is shaped by
the student conversation (Richhart &
Perkins, 2008)
Interaction gives rise to communication
at the whole group level
• This creates whole-group artefacts
– Supporting other generative activity
– Including research!
• Changes the learning disposition towards
cooperative inquiry
 Shared Thinking
• Inter-disciplinary PhD based in Education & with
Psychology and Computing Science, University of
Glasgow
• Shared Thinking started out as Student-Generated PDP
but the conceptualisation and practice became broader
• Collaborative Reflection
– Snowball Group discussion technique + voting technology &
interactive whiteboards
– Cooperative learning + Generative Learning (Kourilsky &
Wittrock,1992) + Network-based technology
• Generates a whole-group perspective
– (pie-chart) as a re-usable electronic artefact
Shared Thinking as a Group-Oriented
Generative Learning Environment
 Artefacts add Generativity
& New Possibilities
for Research & Development
Shared Thinking & Group-Oriented
Generative Learning
Nicholas Bowskill,
Faculty of Education, University of Glasgow
Email: Nicholas.Bowskill@Gmail.com

Web: http://www.sharedthinking.info

Acknowledgements to my PhD supervisors:

– Professor Vic Lally (Education)
– Stephen Brindley (Education)
– Dr Quintin Cutts, (Computing Science)
– Dr Stephen Draper, (Psychology)