Joseph L Polman <jlpolman who-is-at artsci.wustl.edu>
Joseph L Polman (jlpolman who-is-at artsci.wustl.edu)
Sun, 20 Jul 1997 23:08:09 -0500
Hello All,
I recently completed my PhD at Northwestern. For my dissertation research,
I conducted a case study of a high school earth science teacher who was
involved with a reform project spearheaded by Roy Pea and Louis Gomez
(called CoVis). Specifically, I was concerned with how the teacher
provided support and guidance for students learning to conduct open-ended
research projects in an internetworked classroom. Some examples of what I
looked at were the activity structure, which was punctuated by interim
deliverables, the "transformative communication" between teacher and
student characterized by mutual appropriation, and how the traditional
culture of schooling undermined guided participation.
I have now begun a postdoc at Washington University in St. Louis with Jim
Wertsch. I will be starting an after-school club in which members get an
opportunity to develop computer-based history museum exhibits. As one
might guess, I am interested in sociocultural analysis of mediated action--
particularly in environments involving open-ended inquiry as well as
computer and networking tools.
As a former lurker on XMCA who fell off because of the weight of a
dissertation, I am glad to be rid of the weight and back on the list.