Connectivism (learning theory)
Encyclopedia
Connectivism was introduced as a theory of learning based on the premise that knowledge exists in the world rather than in the head of an individual.
Connectivism proposes a perspective similar to the Activity theory
of Vygotsky as it regards knowledge to exist within systems which are accessed through people participating in activities. It also bears some similarity with the Social Learning Theory
of Bandura that proposes that people learn through contact.
The add-on "a learning theory for the digital age", that appears on Siemens paper indicates the special importance that is given to the effect technology has on how people live, how they communicate, and how they learn.
. This metaphor is directly borrowed from Connectionism
, "a paradigm in cognitive sciences that sees mental or behavioral phenomena as the emergent processes of interconnected networks of simple units" (reproduced from Connectionism
).
This network metaphor allows for a notion of "know-where" (the understanding of where to find the knowledge when it is needed) to supplement to the ones of "know-how" and "know-what" that make the cornerstones of many theories of learning.
In 2008, Siemens and Downes delivered an online course called "Connectivism and Connective Knowledge" . It covered Connectivism as content while attempting to implement some of their ideas. The course was free and open to anyone who wished to participate, with over 2000 people worldwide signing up. The phrase "Massive Open Online Course
" (MOOC) was coined to describe this open model. All course content was available through RSS
feeds, and learners could participate with their choice of tools: threaded discussions in Moodle, blog posts, Second Life
, and synchronous online meetings. The course was repeated in 2009 and in 2011.
Elaborations on Connectivism fail to include any review of the literature and no mention of prior work in this area. It is therefore quite difficult to evaluate how Connectivism, introduced in the mid-2005, relates to prior theories of social learning. In particular, the notion of Socially Distributed Cognition (Hutchins, 1995), which explored how connectionist ideas could be applied to social systems. But also other theories that adhere to more classical views of cognition. The Activity theory
(Vygotsky, Leont’ev, Luria, and others starting in the 1920s) that proposed that people are socio-culturally embedded actors, with learning considered using three features – involving a subject (the learner), an object (the task or activity) and tool or mediating artefacts. The Social cognitive theory
(Bandura, 1962) and the assumption that people learn by watching what others do which was elaborated further in the Social learning theory
(Miller and Dollard). The notion of Situated cognition
(Greeno & Moore, 1993), that all knowledge is situated in activity bound to social, cultural and physical contexts; knowledge and learning that requires thinking on the fly rather than the storage and retrieval of conceptual knowledge. The concept of Community of practice
(Lave & Wenger 1991) - it is through the process of sharing information and experiences with the group that the members learn from each other, and have an opportunity to develop themselves personally and professionally. Or even the idea of Collective intelligence
(Lévy, 1994).
The absence of reference to prior works makes it difficult to evaluate what their unique contribution is (if any). Bill Kerr, for instance, believes that, although technology does affect learning environments, existing learning theories are sufficient. The critique is further elucidated by Kop and Hill who concludes that while it does not seem that connectivism is a separate learning theory, it "continues to play an important role in the development and emergence of new pedagogies, where control is shifting from the tutor to an increasingly more autonomous learner."
Dr. Mohamed Ally at Athabasca University recognizes that world has changed and become more networked, so learning theories developed prior to these global changes are less relevant. However, he argues that, "What is needed is not a new stand-alone theory for the digital age, but a model that integrates the different theories to guide the design of online learning materials.".
Connectivism proposes a perspective similar to the Activity theory
Activity theory
Activity theory is a psychological meta-theory, paradigm, or theoretical framework, with its roots in Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky's cultural-historical psychology. Its founders were Alexei N...
of Vygotsky as it regards knowledge to exist within systems which are accessed through people participating in activities. It also bears some similarity with the Social Learning Theory
Social learning theory
-Theory:Social learning theory is derived from the work of Albert Bandura which proposed that social learning occurred through four main stages of imitation:* close contact* imitation of superiors* understanding of concepts* role model behavior...
of Bandura that proposes that people learn through contact.
The add-on "a learning theory for the digital age", that appears on Siemens paper indicates the special importance that is given to the effect technology has on how people live, how they communicate, and how they learn.
Aspects
One aspect of connectivism is the use of a network with nodes and connections as a central metaphor for learning. In this metaphor, a node is anything that can be connected to another node within a network such as an organisation: information, data, feelings, images. Connectivism sees learning as the process of creating connections and developing a network. Not all connections are of equal strength in this metaphor; in fact, many connections may be quite weak. The idea of organisations being cognitive systems where knowledge is distributed across a network of nodes can be traced back to the work on the PerceptronPerceptron
The perceptron is a type of artificial neural network invented in 1957 at the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory by Frank Rosenblatt. It can be seen as the simplest kind of feedforward neural network: a linear classifier.- Definition :...
. This metaphor is directly borrowed from Connectionism
Connectionism
Connectionism is a set of approaches in the fields of artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience and philosophy of mind, that models mental or behavioral phenomena as the emergent processes of interconnected networks of simple units...
, "a paradigm in cognitive sciences that sees mental or behavioral phenomena as the emergent processes of interconnected networks of simple units" (reproduced from Connectionism
Connectionism
Connectionism is a set of approaches in the fields of artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience and philosophy of mind, that models mental or behavioral phenomena as the emergent processes of interconnected networks of simple units...
).
This network metaphor allows for a notion of "know-where" (the understanding of where to find the knowledge when it is needed) to supplement to the ones of "know-how" and "know-what" that make the cornerstones of many theories of learning.
Principles of connectivism
- Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.
- Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
- Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
- Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
- Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
- Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
- Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.
- Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.
Connectivist teaching methods
Summing up connectivist teaching and learning, Downes states: "to teach is to model and demonstrate, to learn is to practice and reflect."In 2008, Siemens and Downes delivered an online course called "Connectivism and Connective Knowledge" . It covered Connectivism as content while attempting to implement some of their ideas. The course was free and open to anyone who wished to participate, with over 2000 people worldwide signing up. The phrase "Massive Open Online Course
Massive open online course
In the field of open education, one of the latest trends is that of open courses, called MOOCs . Such courses are founded on the theory of connectivism and an open pedagogy based on networked learning. Typically, participation in a MOOC is free; however, some MOOCs may charge a fee in the form of...
" (MOOC) was coined to describe this open model. All course content was available through RSS
RSS
-Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...
feeds, and learners could participate with their choice of tools: threaded discussions in Moodle, blog posts, Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
, and synchronous online meetings. The course was repeated in 2009 and in 2011.
Criticisms
The idea that connectivism provides a new theory of learning has not received wide acceptance. Verhagen, for instance, has argued that connectivism is not a learning theory, but rather is a "pedagogical view.".Elaborations on Connectivism fail to include any review of the literature and no mention of prior work in this area. It is therefore quite difficult to evaluate how Connectivism, introduced in the mid-2005, relates to prior theories of social learning. In particular, the notion of Socially Distributed Cognition (Hutchins, 1995), which explored how connectionist ideas could be applied to social systems. But also other theories that adhere to more classical views of cognition. The Activity theory
Activity theory
Activity theory is a psychological meta-theory, paradigm, or theoretical framework, with its roots in Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky's cultural-historical psychology. Its founders were Alexei N...
(Vygotsky, Leont’ev, Luria, and others starting in the 1920s) that proposed that people are socio-culturally embedded actors, with learning considered using three features – involving a subject (the learner), an object (the task or activity) and tool or mediating artefacts. The Social cognitive theory
Social cognitive theory
Social cognitive theory, used in psychology, education, and communication, posits that portions of an individual's knowledge acquisition can be directly related to observing others within the context of social interactions, experiences, and outside media influences.-History:Social cognitive theory...
(Bandura, 1962) and the assumption that people learn by watching what others do which was elaborated further in the Social learning theory
Social learning theory
-Theory:Social learning theory is derived from the work of Albert Bandura which proposed that social learning occurred through four main stages of imitation:* close contact* imitation of superiors* understanding of concepts* role model behavior...
(Miller and Dollard). The notion of Situated cognition
Situated cognition
Situated cognition poses that knowing is inseparable from doing by arguing that all knowledge is situated in activity bound to social, cultural and physical contexts....
(Greeno & Moore, 1993), that all knowledge is situated in activity bound to social, cultural and physical contexts; knowledge and learning that requires thinking on the fly rather than the storage and retrieval of conceptual knowledge. The concept of Community of practice
Community of practice
A community of practice is, according to cognitive anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, a group of people who share an interest, a craft, and/or a profession. The group can evolve naturally because of the members' common interest in a particular domain or area, or it can be created...
(Lave & Wenger 1991) - it is through the process of sharing information and experiences with the group that the members learn from each other, and have an opportunity to develop themselves personally and professionally. Or even the idea of Collective intelligence
Collective intelligence
Collective intelligence is a shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration and competition of many individuals and appears in consensus decision making in bacteria, animals, humans and computer networks....
(Lévy, 1994).
The absence of reference to prior works makes it difficult to evaluate what their unique contribution is (if any). Bill Kerr, for instance, believes that, although technology does affect learning environments, existing learning theories are sufficient. The critique is further elucidated by Kop and Hill who concludes that while it does not seem that connectivism is a separate learning theory, it "continues to play an important role in the development and emergence of new pedagogies, where control is shifting from the tutor to an increasingly more autonomous learner."
Dr. Mohamed Ally at Athabasca University recognizes that world has changed and become more networked, so learning theories developed prior to these global changes are less relevant. However, he argues that, "What is needed is not a new stand-alone theory for the digital age, but a model that integrates the different theories to guide the design of online learning materials.".
See also
- Constructivism (learning theory)Constructivism (learning theory)Constructivism is a theory of knowledge that argues that humans generate knowledge and meaning from an interaction between their experiences and their ideas. During infancy, it was an interaction between human experiences and their reflexes or behavior-patterns. Piaget called these systems of...
- Enactivism (psychology)Enactivism (psychology)Enactivism is a theoretical approach to understanding the mind proposed by Gregory Bateson, Humberto Maturana, Francisco Varela, Evan Thompson, and Eleanor Rosch. It emphasizes the way that organisms and the human mind organize themselves by interacting with their environment...
- Massive open online courseMassive open online courseIn the field of open education, one of the latest trends is that of open courses, called MOOCs . Such courses are founded on the theory of connectivism and an open pedagogy based on networked learning. Typically, participation in a MOOC is free; however, some MOOCs may charge a fee in the form of...
- Socially Distributed Cognition (Hutchins, 1995)
- Social development (Vygotsky) and Activity theoryActivity theoryActivity theory is a psychological meta-theory, paradigm, or theoretical framework, with its roots in Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky's cultural-historical psychology. Its founders were Alexei N...
(Vygotsky, Leont’ev, Luria, and others starting in the 1920) - Social cognitive theorySocial cognitive theorySocial cognitive theory, used in psychology, education, and communication, posits that portions of an individual's knowledge acquisition can be directly related to observing others within the context of social interactions, experiences, and outside media influences.-History:Social cognitive theory...
(Bandura, 1962) and the derived Social learning theorySocial learning theory-Theory:Social learning theory is derived from the work of Albert Bandura which proposed that social learning occurred through four main stages of imitation:* close contact* imitation of superiors* understanding of concepts* role model behavior...
(Miller and Dollard) - Situated cognitionSituated cognitionSituated cognition poses that knowing is inseparable from doing by arguing that all knowledge is situated in activity bound to social, cultural and physical contexts....
(Greeno & Moore, 1993) - Community of practiceCommunity of practiceA community of practice is, according to cognitive anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, a group of people who share an interest, a craft, and/or a profession. The group can evolve naturally because of the members' common interest in a particular domain or area, or it can be created...
(Lave & Wenger 1991) - George SiemensGeorge SiemensGeorge Siemens is a theorist on learning in a digitally based society. He is the author of the article and the book - an exploration of the impact of the changed context and characteristics of knowledge....
- Stephen DownesStephen DownesStephen Downes is a designer and commentator in the fields of online learning and new media. Downes has explored and promoted the educational use of computer and online technologies since 1995...
External links
- Connectivism: A learning theory for today's learner
- Web Presentation (Oral/Slide show) on Connectivism
- Connectivism and Connective Knowledge Online Course support wiki facilitated by George Siemens and Stephen Downes
- Connectivism: Learning Theory or Pastime for the Self-Amused?
- What Connectivism Is
- Spanish Translation of Knowing Knowledge