Exploring the education research implications of the
SocioCybernetic paradigm shift in educational systems
About the Seminar
Presenter
Dr Selby Markham
Date
Friday, 28 Aug 2009
Time
1400-1530
Location
Room H7.84, Building H, Level 7, Caulfield Campus
Title
Exploring the education research implications of the
SocioCybernetic paradigm shift in educational systems
Abstract
There is an on-going identifiable paradigm shift in
educational practice through the development of
'e-learning' methods and there are profound consequences
of this for the way in which education research is
carried out. In a previous seminar I have developed a
basic SocioCybernetic approach to educational systems
that helps explain this shift and I have also looked at
the consequence of this changing educational world on
epistemology, talking in terms of epistemological
anarchy. This seminar will explore how these changes
must influence the way in which education research is
carried out.
Given that most current education research thinking has
its origins in the blackboard and chalk era, we need to
look at the effects of an 'e-learning paradigm' on how
we do research. Even methodologies that appear to be
recent, such as ethnomethodologies, have their origins
in the 1960’s and 70’s. Much current epistemological and
pedagogical thinking is based upon Bruner’s work from
the 1960’s (and maybe Vistkovsky’s from the 1930’s) and
this influences the way in which research is
conceptualised.
Most aspects of education research are in need of
review: research design, data collection (qualitative
and quantitative), data modeling and evaluation of
educational activities. For example, any attempt to
define the way in which an educational program has
influenced student knowledge acquisition has, within the
SocioCybernetic world, to take into account the
influence of knowledge acquisition from ill-defined
sources. Similarly it has to take into account the
changing structure of student collaboration. At the
design level, the researcher has to redefine sampling
parameters as student expectations are changing.
Biography
Selby is the CERG Research Fellow, and has been since
1999. He is a psychologist with wide teaching and
consulting experience both in Australia and in the UK
and S.E. Asia. His involvement in education has ranged
from teaching in TAFE, through lecturing in various
university faculties, to workshops on everything from
career development to research methods.
Selby's array of interests include photography,
restoring cameras and Chinese brush painting. He is also
Webmaster and general factotum for the Akademos Tertiary
Education Cooperative (http://www.akademos.org.au).