Sarah Chauncey's List: Epistemic Frame

"Building on the theory of islands of expertise developed by Crowley and Jacobs (2002), in this paper I develop the concept of epistemic frames as a mechanism through which infusion environments can help students use experiences in one context to help them deal with new situations. I describe epistemic frames as the ways of knowing, of deciding what is worth knowing, and of adding to the collective body of knowledge and understanding of a community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991). I use data from two design experiments to extend the concept of islands of expertise, showing how the ability of students to incorporate epistemic frames into their identities suggests a mechanism through which infusion experiences and other rich learning contexts may support activity in novel situations. "

"[PDF] Epistemic games\ngooglepages.com [PDF]DW Shaffer - COMPUTER EDUCATION-STAFFORD- …, 2006 - zhou.eye8.googlepages.com\n... The connections between epistemology and practice that make up an epistemic frame are\npotentially quite powerful in the design of instructional ... adapt the reproductive practices of valued\ncommunities of practice-an idea I have described elsewhere as the theory and method ...\nCited by 73 - Related articles - View as HTML - BL Direct - All 5 versions"

"This paper, develops the concept of epistemic frames as a mechanism through which students can use experiences in video games, computer games, and other interactive learning environments to help them deal more effectively with situations outside of the original context of learning. Building on ideas of islands of expertise [Crowley, K., & Jacobs, M. (2002). Islands of expertise and the development of family scientific literacy. In G. Leinhardt, K. Crowley, & K. Knutson (Eds.), Learning conversations in museums. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum], communities of practice [Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press], and ways of knowing [Broudy, H. (1977). Types of knowledge and purposes of education. In R. C. Anderson, R. J. Spiro, & W. E. Montague (Eds.), Schooling and the acquisition of knowledge (pp. 1–17). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum], epistemic frames are described as the ways of knowing, of deciding what is worth knowing, and of adding to the collective body of knowledge and understanding of a community of practice. Data from two experiments [Shaffer, D. W. (2004a). Pedagogical praxis: the professions as models for post-industrial education. Teachers College Record, 106(7); Shaffer, D. W. (2004b). When computer-supported collaboration means computer-supported competition: professional mediation as a model for collaborative learning. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 15(2); Shaffer, D. W. (2005a). Studio mathematics: The epistemology and practice of design pedagogy as a model for mathematics learning (WCER Working Paper Series No. 2005-3). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Center for Educational Research] are used to show that students can incorporate epistemic frames into their identities when engaged in extended educational role-playing games. Epistemic frames are thus proposed as a possible mechanism through which sufficiently rich experiences in computer-supported games based on real-world p

"In this article we examine educational assessment in the 21st century. Digital learning environments emphasize learning in action. In such environments, assessments need to focus on performance in context rather than on tests of abstracted and isolated skills and knowledge. Digital learning environments also provide the potential to assess performance in context, because digital tools make it possible to record rich streams of data about learning in progress. But what assessment methods will use this data to measure mastery of complex problem solving—the kind of thinking in action that takes place in digital learning environments?"

"This article examines unifying factors among diverse problems of understanding in several fields. Certain misunderstandings in science, mathematics, and computer programming display strong structural analogies with one another. Even within one of these domains, however, not all misunderstandings are structurally similar. To explain the commonality and variety, four levels of knowledge are posited: (a) content, (b) problem-solving, (c) epistemic, and (d) inquiry. Through analysis of several examples, it is argued that misunderstandings have causes at multiple levels, with highly domain-specific causes predominant at the “content” level and somewhat more general causes at the other levels. The authors note that education characteristically neglects all but the content level, describe successful interventions at all levels, and urge more attention in education to integration across the levels. "

"In the Digital Zoo epistemic game, middle school girls work as engineers to design virtual, ambulatory creatures. The activities of the game were based on an ethnographic study of an undergraduate engineering design course. As a result of gameplay, the girls demonstrated an increase in thinking of themselves as engineers. Moreover, both the girls and undergraduates linked their engineering identity development to meeting with -- and getting feedback from -- external clients and experts. "

"Epistemic games are one approach to creating educational games that give players skills that transfer beyond the game world by helping young people become fluent in valuable social practices. Epistemic games are immersive, technology-enhanced, role-playing games where players learn to become---and thus to think like---doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, and other members of important practices and professions. In what follows we look at the design of Byline, an epistemic game engine behind science.net, an epistemic game of science journalism. In particular, we argue that rather than simply recreating the technological conditions of the profession, an epistemic game engine like Byline can encode key elements of a professional practicum and thus help young people learn through participation in simulations of the training practices of socially valued professions such as science journalism. "

"Engineering design courses are fundamental components of undergraduate programs. Students in these courses solve realistic design problems in an "authentic" setting. But do these adapted professional activities serve a more important pedagogical role than increasing authenticity? In this paper, we investigate this question by describing an ethnographic study of Biomedical Engineering (BME) 201, an engineering design course for sophomores at a large Midwestern university. We examine two activities for their pedagogical significance: the weekly design meeting and the student design notebook. We show how these activities develop both practical skills and reflective thinking of professional engineering"

We are currently at an exciting juncture in developing effective means for assessing socalled\n21st-century skills in an innovative yet reliable fashion. One of these avenues leads\nthrough the world of epistemic games (Shaffer, 2006a), which are games designed to give\nlearners the rich experience of professional practica within a discipline. They serve to\ndevelop domain-specific expertise based on principles of collaborative learning, distributed\nexpertise, and complex problem-solving. In this paper, we describe a comprehensive\nresearch programme for investigating the methodological challenges that await rigorous\ninquiry within the epistemic games context. We specifically demonstrate how the evidence-\ncentered design framework (Mislevy, Almond, & Steinberg, 2003) as well as current\nconceptualizations of reliability and validity theory can be used to structure the development\nof epistemic games as well as empirical research into their functioning. Using\nthe epistemic game Urban Science (Bagley & Shaffer, 2009), we illustrate the numerous\ndecisions that need to be made during game development and their implications for\namassing qualitative and quantitative evidence about learners' developing expertise\nwithin epistemic games.

The core idea of my account is the concept of a knowledgeoriented
mode of thinking, feeling, and acting: the ‘epistemic frame of mind’.

"This study describes Digital Zoo, an engineering learning environment that engaged girls in authentic engineering activity in order to link the development of engineering skills and knowledge to engineering ways of thinking. Digital Zoo was an educational design experiment based on a particular theory of learning, the Epistemic Frame Hypothesis. Specific activities from an engineering practicum were recreated in the learning environment, where ten middle school girls from diverse "