Conversation As Inquiry: A Conversation With Instructional Designers

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Katy Campbell, Richard A. .Schwier and Richard F. Kenny[Edit][Delete]: Conversation As Inquiry: A Conversation With Instructional Designers, Journal of Learning Design [Edit][Delete] November 14, 2006
The authors write, "In this paper we offer instructional designers' stories of practice through which we explore two interconnected theoretical frames using four lenses: reflexivity, voice, strong objectivity, and power/authority. These lenses themselves are woven together by the idea of moral action." I'm not agreeing with everything in this paper - I certainly don't agree that "learning involves shared thinking or understanding" and would question the proposition that it is "most effective if embedded in social experience." I'm also not comfortable with the idea of theoretical 'lenses' you can just pick and choose like different settings on your microscope. I agree that the design is 'messy' and that "this 'messiness'should not be seen as a problem to be overcome, but as a stimulating and creative environment in which relationships, rather than content, are at the center of the action." But does this paper get at that? I'm not sure. More...