Shelley Goldman

The Cultural Work of Learning Disabilities

Culturally and educationally, the United States specializes in the production of kinds of persons described first by ethnic, racial, and linguistic lines and second by supposed mental abilities. Overlaps between the two systems of classification are frequent, systematically haphazard, and often deleterious. An examination of classrooms around the country shows shifting currents of concern and tension that invite the attribution of labels for mental and/or minority-group status. This article introduces a language for a cultural analysis—a language of people interpreting the interpretations of others—and pursues an example from a classroom where both the good sense and the dangers of categories for learning-disabled and minority-group status are on display.

VideoNoter: A productivity tool for video data analysis

The software described in this paper, VideoNoter, addresses the need for tools that support annotation and retrieval of video data and organize the presentation of multiple analyses of the same data. Video is widely perceived as an important medium for psychological research, because video recording makes the fleeting particulars of human interaction available as data for detailed analysis, while retaining much of the context of the event. Though the benefits of using video data are high, the process can be prohibitively time-consuming. We have developed a prototype computer-based video analysis tool that can enhance the productivity of the video analysis process. In this paper, we report on the design and implementation of VideoNoter, and we discuss how it facilitates video data analysis.

Computer resources for supporting student conversations about science concepts

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Computer Mediation of Collaborative Science Investigations

A prototype for the use of local area network (LAN) technology in schools was developed for the purpose of creating a microcosm of scientific activity in the classroom. Building on established classroom practices of cooperative learning groups and inquiry activities, Earth Lab developed a special sixth grade earth science curriculum and supporting network software. A year-long formative experiment in a public elementary school provided evidence that the network system helped to increase the amount of small group investigations that teachers organized both in earth science and in other parts of the curriculum. The network also helped to reorganize the group investigations so that groups contributed to a common database made available by the network. It was found that LAN technology can be used to coordinate small group investigations such that students contribute to classwide investigations and that these larger investigations can provide an interpretive framework which can be exploited in class discussions synthesizing the small group contributions.

Go Math! How Research Anchors New Mobile Learning Environments

A reciprocal research and design process (RR&D) became central to the development of mobile learning environments for families. Go Math! applications were developed to support families in the situations they face in their daily activities where problem solving involves mathematics. The RR&D process is effective for synthesizing design and development choices with consideration of the results of basic research on mathematics in everyday life, the voices of users, the social context of use, and mobile affordances. The RR&D process is described, and two mobile mathematics applications illustrate how the process maintains fidelity among research, the development of design criteria, and user voice and practice. We consider the process important in the development of mobile learning environments.

Assessing d.learning: Capturing the Journey of Becoming a Design Thinker

The research explored the relationship of learning design thinking and assessing that progress. It addressed the questions: How can we understand what is learned in design thinking classes, and how assessments might contribute to that process in authentic ways? The study followed a reciprocal research and design methodology where basic research and the design of assessment solutions were ongoing, reciprocal, and related to each other in organic ways. We learned that the learning of design thinking dispositions and mindsets is an emergent journey—with various levels of sophistication, transformation, application, and integration. We introduce the concept of mindshifts to represent the developing and nascent epistemological viewpoints and instincts that are strengthened while becoming a design thinker. We review designs for tools that were based on the concept of mindshifts that include reflective and performance assessments and an assessment dashboard.

Student Teams in Search of Design Thinking

The research explored student teams as they worked independently of instructors and coaches to understand how students learn the design thinking process. Two approaches to the research were explored: taking cues from team members’ reflections on their working sessions; and, analyzing communication bids made by students using interaction analysis techniques. Teams from two design thinking classes at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school) at Stanford were studied. Results indicate that groups struggled for sustained and focused talk and activity relating to their assigned tasks, yet ultimately, established ways to communicate and accomplish assigned tasks. The findings implicate course design, suggesting more attention to team process and communication.

Earth Lab: A Local Network for Collaborative Classroom Science

This article reports the implementation and research related to the first phase of the field test of a local area network system developed to support collaborative science activities in elementary school classrooms. The Earth Lab Project developed system and application software to run on a network of Apple II computers in a classroom or computer lab. The project also developed a sixth-grade science curriculum built around geographic issues, such as weather and climate. Observational research focused on issues such as classroom organization and the extent of collaborative planning among teachers. Preliminary results indicate that the network system is beginning to act as a catalyst for student collaboration and cross-curriculum integration.

The Tanda: A Practice at the Intersection of Mathematics, Culture, and Financial Goals.

We present an analysis and discussion of the tanda, a multiperson pooled credit and savings scheme (a rotating credit association or RCA), as described by two informants from Mexican immigrant communities in California. In the tanda, participants contribute regularly to a common fund which is distributed to participants on a rotating basis. We analyze the tanda at multiple levels (as a mathematical, cultural, and distributed practice) and identify points of intersection and conflict. Contrary to many formal or school-based conceptions of mathematics, mathematical work in the context of the tanda is in service of, and intimately tied up with, cultural goals and values. Likewise, cultural means and mathematics are employed to personal ends. We argue that the tanda should be of enduring interest, particularly among educators interested in bringing more authentic, culturally-relevant mathematics into classroom settings, because it so clearly illustrates how mathematical and cultural processes can interact in the context of personal goals, and provides a potentially valuable template for engaging, consequential, and successful mathematics.

Electronic Interactions: How Students and Teachers Organize Schooling Over the Wires

Abstract This article examines features of electronic mail discourse among sixth‐grade students and their teachers. Face‐to‐face and electronic interactions were observed at a school over a 2‐year period before and after the implementation of a local area network system that supported both local and long‐distance communication. Face‐to‐face and electronic conversations were often interwoven. Electronic mail shared many characteristics with other communication media such as the use of metacommunication, print genres, and the recognition of social status. Electronic mail discourse differed from face‐to‐face discourse in terms of who initiated turns and topics, the time frame for responses, privacy, and access to others. Taken together, these similarities and differences resulted in hybrid discourse features that hold promise for creating alternative classroom structures.