polman@covis.nwu.edu (Joe Polman)

Joe Polman (polman@covis.nwu.edu)
Thu, 14 Sep 1995 18:05:19 -0500

Hello all,
My name is Joe Polman, and I am a PhD student working with Roy Pea and
Louis Gomez on the Learning Through Collaborative Visualization (CoVis)
project at Northwestern University. In CoVis, we are working with a number
of teachers on ways of implementing project-based approaches to high school
science, incorporating computing and telecommunications tools, such as
scientific visualization, electronic mail, shared workspaces, and the World
Wide Web. We hope to create a community of practice of students, teachers,
and researchers linked to practicing scientists and experts.

My view of learning has been influenced by Vygotsky and neo-Vygotskian
notions such as that of Pea. I find his notions of intelligence as enacted
and distributed (among persons and artifacts) particularly appealing, along
with the notion of transformative communication. In general, notions of
learning through participation in a community of learners are appealing to
me.

I am in the midst of putting together an ethnographic account of one
teacher's work in an earth science classroom trying to make all this
wonderful theory work on a daily basis. Thus, I'm also interested in
interpretive research methods, and the relations of theory and practice,
particularly as it relates to educational change.

-Joe

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Joe Polman polman@covis.nwu.edu
Graduate Student/Research Assistant
The CoVis Project
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School of Education and Social Policy, Rm 234
Northwestern University
2115 No. Campus Dr.
Evanston, IL 60208
(o) 708/467-1011 (h) 716/529-5884
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