An ecological approach to educational technology: affordance as a design tool for aligning ...

525 Pages·2015·18.79 MB·English

by  Dr Richard Osborne

Title Page
An ecological approach to
educational technology:
affordance as a design tool for
aligning pedagogy and
technology

Submitted by Richard Osborne, to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Education, December 2014.

This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material
and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper
acknowledgement.

I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and
that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree
by this or any other University.

(Signature) ………………………………………………………………………………

Richard Osborne / PhD Thesis page 1 of 525
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements

My PhD journey has been a long one, and like any long journey it has been shared by
many others who have joined me along the way. I have been fortunate to have had so
many people willing to offer support and guidance, some of whom I would like to thank
personally.

I have had my fair share of supervisors over the years, perhaps more than some, and
they have all provided a rich contribution to the thesis in their own way. Patrick Dillon
and Penni Tearle, my first supervision team, were the ones who suggested I study for a
PhD. Without their confidence in my ability I would never have started, and they
ensured I set off on my journey down the right path, and with a mind-set that would
keep me heading in the right direction. Ben Williamson, although only a brief
companion, helped me to see the world in new ways, and led me to new concepts that
have proven central to the thesis. Taro Fujita joined my journey later, but without his
respectful but firm prompting, his diligent and timely feedback, and his insightful and
sharp thinking, this thesis would not have been completed. Finally Rupert Wegerif, who
has been my longest companion on this journey, and whose advice has shaped the
thesis into what you read today. When I look back at the individual who started this
journey, I can see enthusiasm and passion, but also naivety and ignorance. Some of
that naivety and ignorance has been replaced by a broader understanding of
pedagogy, and a deeper appreciation of the work of others, both of which to a large
extent are due to Rupert’s prompting and questioning over the many years we have
worked together.

To colleagues and students at the School (School A in this thesis) that supported my
research I would like to extend my thanks for the time and effort they spent working
Richard Osborne / PhD Thesis page 2 of 525
Acknowledgements
with me, allowing me to change so significantly their teaching and learning. Their
involvement in the research was not only central to its progression, but also fun and
engaging.

Many colleagues at the University of Exeter have helped me through this journey, and I
will always be grateful for those kitchen chats and corridor conversations which
seemed to spring from nowhere, but almost always led to new thinking and renewed
enthusiasm. I would like to single out in particular my colleagues from the Collaborate
project, Liz Dunne, Stuart Redhead and Charlotte Anderson. You not only endured my
endless ramblings about affordances, invariants, and the thinking of James Gibson, but
also embraced the concepts I was suggesting, and helped provide the professional
environment within which my research could flourish.

Most of all thanks to my family. For my partner, Benedetta, for always being there for
me. I will always fondly remember our Sunday lunchtime discussions over this theory
and that theory, rambling chats in the car about new ideas in teaching and learning,
and evening discussions over my latest draft chapter. You’ve been endlessly patient
with what must have at times seemed like the thesis that would never end. And many
thanks to my son Max, for getting in the way so often, and reminding me when to stop
studying and start playing.

Finally, thank you Marmite the cat. You kept me company on study days, and always
seemed to know which particular textbook it was most important to lay on. You started
this journey with me, sadly didn’t quite make it to the end, but will always be a hidden
part of this work.

Richard Osborne / PhD Thesis page 3 of 525
Abstract
Abstract

Digital technologies have for many years been acclaimed as tools that hold the power
to transform learning, yet educational research has so far failed to demonstrate the
transformative effects of these digital technologies on learning outcomes (Cuban, 2001;
Price and Kirkwood, 2011). Some research has even gone so far as to question this
underlying assumption regarding digital technologies ability to transform education,
suggesting that they do not in fact have any inherently positive benefits for learning,
and that perceived benefits are actually artefacts produced by other factors (Means et
al, 2009). Several potential causes have been proposed for the slow progress in
educational technology, including lack of time for staff development, unsuitability of
technologies, and cultural barriers within institutions (Laurillard, 2012a). A fourth
potential cause may lie with the lack of theory to explain technologies themselves
(Oliver, 2013). Different theoretical perspectives have been proposed as a way to
enhance our understanding of technologies, with one potential candidate being the
theory of affordances.

The theory of affordances has been used extensively within many fields, including
educational technology, but remains a divisive and often under-defined term
(Hammond, 2010). This thesis argues that this may in part be due to its distortion
through adoption in multiple disciplines, and its popular description as the ‘action
possibilities’ presented by an object or scenario, something not present in the theory’s
original conception. It is suggested that a return to the original theory of affordances as
proposed by Gibson (1979), which attempted to explain how individuals derive
meaning from the world around them, returns clarity to the theory. A particular focus on
the underexplored aspects of intention and invariant, together with a re-appreciation of
what it means to apply the theory of affordances to digital environments, to digital
Richard Osborne / PhD Thesis page 4 of 525
Abstract
spaces and places, provides a way of thinking about affordance that arguably can be
applied more constructively to the effective use of technology in education.

A design-based research approach was taken in order to research the original concept
of affordance, and its key components of intention and invariant, within learning
scenarios supported by digital technologies. Design-based research is an evolving
methodology, with no strict definition, but it has shown promise in both the design and
the research of technology-enhanced learning environments (Wang and Hannafin,
2005). A pilot phase at secondary school level demonstrated the potential for the
approach; multiple iterations at a higher education level developed and enriched these
findings into a stable model for the alignment of digital technologies with a particular
pedagogical scenario.

Findings suggest that affordances can be used to ‘explain’ educational technology, if
the concept is broadened to include the wider ecology of learning; digital technologies
not only as tools, but also as places. Extending the notion of affordances from ‘action
possibilities’ to ‘transaction possibilities’ gives agency to both learner and technology,
and recognises the important contribution of the digital environment to the learner
experience. A specific design framework is offered which uses this redefinition of
affordances as a design tool to align an authentic learning scenario with the digital
technologies that have the potential to support that learning scenario. A generic design
methodology is proposed, based on this framework, which has the potential to align
pedagogy and technology using this updated definition of affordance. To close, some
thoughts on the value of the design-based research approach are discussed.

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Structure of Thesis
Structure of Thesis

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Structure of Thesis

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List of Contents
List of Contents
An ecological approach to educational technology: affordance as a design tool for
aligning pedagogy and technology ................................................................................ 1
Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... 2
Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 4
Structure of Thesis ........................................................................................................ 6
List of Contents ......................................................................................................... 8
List of Figures .......................................................................................................... 14
List of Tables ........................................................................................................... 19
Author’s declaration ................................................................................................. 20
Chapter 1: Introduction and Background to the Research ........................................... 21
Beginnings .............................................................................................................. 21
The discussion forum phenomenon ..................................................................... 22
“There are no tabs” .............................................................................................. 23
Entrances and exits ............................................................................................. 25
Viewport or screen? ............................................................................................. 28
Relationship to education ..................................................................................... 29
Objective of the thesis ............................................................................................. 30
Structure of the thesis ............................................................................................. 31
Chapter 1: Introduction and Background to the Research .................................... 31
Chapter 2: Technology and Learning ................................................................... 31
Chapter 3: The Theory of Affordances ................................................................. 32
Chapter 4: The Digital Environment ..................................................................... 32
Chapter 5: Research Methodology and Design Overview .................................... 32
Chapter 6: Design Narrative, School A ................................................................ 33
Chapter 7: Design Narrative, University of Exeter ................................................ 33
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List of Contents
Chapter 8: Discussion and Interpretation ............................................................. 34
Chapter 9: Conclusion and Implications ............................................................... 34
Chapter 2: Technology and Learning .......................................................................... 35
Introduction ............................................................................................................. 35
The promise of technology ...................................................................................... 35
A brief history of educational technology ................................................................. 37
A need for theory ..................................................................................................... 42
The potential role of affordance ............................................................................... 44
Summary ................................................................................................................. 47
Chapter 3: The Theory of Affordances ........................................................................ 48
Introduction ............................................................................................................. 48
What is Affordance? The original concept ............................................................... 48
The structure of affordance ..................................................................................... 53
Invariants ............................................................................................................. 54
Intention ............................................................................................................... 57
Evolution of the concept .......................................................................................... 59
Affordances as ‘action possibilities’ ......................................................................... 65
Implications of ‘action possibilities’ .......................................................................... 67
Affordance of a clock ........................................................................................... 68
Affordance of a large flat rock .............................................................................. 69
Affordance of a tree ............................................................................................. 72
Affordance of a handrail ....................................................................................... 72
Affordance of a lightswitch ................................................................................... 73
Affordance of a lecture ......................................................................................... 74
Affordance of a hyperlink ..................................................................................... 75
Other examples ................................................................................................... 76
Weakness of ‘action possibilities’ ............................................................................ 76
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List of Contents
Affordance as meaningful consequence .................................................................. 78
Summary ................................................................................................................. 81
Chapter 4: The Digital Environment ............................................................................ 84
Introduction ............................................................................................................. 84
Arguments for the digital environment ..................................................................... 85
Understanding technology ................................................................................... 87
Technology as place ............................................................................................ 88
Distinguishing space and place ............................................................................ 93
The nature of digital space ...................................................................................... 95
Medium, substance and surface .......................................................................... 98
Interface vs place .................................................................................................. 104
Summary ............................................................................................................... 110
Chapter 5: Research Methodology and Design Overview ......................................... 112
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 112
Methodological approach ...................................................................................... 112
Positivism .......................................................................................................... 113
Interpretivism ..................................................................................................... 114
Post-positivism................................................................................................... 115
Research methodology ......................................................................................... 118
Research design ................................................................................................... 123
Goals ................................................................................................................. 125
Conceptual framework ....................................................................................... 127
Research questions ........................................................................................... 130
Methods ............................................................................................................. 132
Validity ............................................................................................................... 142
Reporting design-based research .......................................................................... 145
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