Hi, if anyone reads this, I'm Andy Johnson, a student in the Joint
Doctoral Program in Math and Science Education at San Diego State
University. I have a background in physics, and I'm interested in finding
ways to understand how students understand and learn about physics. To do
this takes understanding more about people than physicists are usually
taught. I've been influenced by a few books and courses- two books that
still keep me thinking are Thomas Kuhn's "Structure of Scientific
Revolutions" and Ed Hutchins' "Cognition in the Wild." I took Ed
Hutchins' "distributed cognition" class, in which Mike Cole participated,
and learned some more but not enough.
At this point I'm convinced that one can't understand a person's
cognition without understanding that person's setting, both cultural and
social. I'm _becoming_ convinced that what we call cognition is a complex
interaction within a system of person and setting. But I'm still a
beginner at thinking this way, and I'm hoping that being connected to this
listserv will help me to think more about the issues involved in taking
such a perspective.
Andy
Andy Johnson
Center for Research in Math and Science Education -- CRMSE
Math and Science Education Joint PhD. program at SDSU & UCSD
SDSU address: 6475 Alvarado Road Suite 128
San Diego, Ca 92120
(619) 594-2571
ajohnson who-is-at crmse.sdsu.edu
"If there is no other use discovered of electricity, this, however,
is something considerable, that it may help to make a vain man humble."
- Benjamin Franklin