Materialist epistemology lends design wings: educational design as an embodied process
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Materialist epistemology lends design wings: educational design as an embodied process Mitchell J. Nathan1 · Michael I. Swart1 Accepted: 24 October 2020 © Association for Educational Communications and Technology 2020
Abstract Materialist design is presented as an embodied perspective on educational design that can be applied to redesign of classroom-based learning environments. Materialist design is informed by a framework of materialist epistemology, which positions material innovation on equal placement with symbol-based formal theory. Historical examples of Einstein’s conceptual reliance on trains for his Theory of Relativity and the Wright brothers’ use of wind tunnels in aeronautics illustrate how materialist design drives progress on complex design problems. A key aspect is the application of scale-down methodology, where complex systems are reconceptualized as interactions among nearly decomposable subsystems that can be redesigned and integrated back into the entire system. The application of materialist design is illustrated with the redesign of an embodied video game that uses realtime motion capture technology to promote high school geometry reasoning and proof, following its use in an ethnically and linguistically diverse classroom. Our embodied perspective offers particular insights for understanding and implementing designs of complex learning environments, and assessing their influences on educational practices and student outcomes. Keywords Complex systems · Educational design · Embodiment · Learning theory · Scaledown
Introduction We propose an embodied perspective on design. This embodied perspective frames technological design of learning systems as operating within complex systems that are deeply rooted in the workings of the material world. As abstractions of the patterns of behaviors observed in the world, scientific theories are often regarded as superior. In contrast, our embodied perspective places material innovation on equal placement with formal theory. We show how this embodied perspective on design offers novel insights for understanding, * Mitchell J. Nathan [email protected] Michael I. Swart [email protected] 1
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1025 West Johnson St, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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M. J. Nathan, M. I. Swart
implementing and redesigning learning environments, and for assessing their influences on educational practices and student outcomes.
Materiality in creativity and design We begin by delving into one of the most prominent innovative acts in science—Einstein’s (1916) formation of the Theory of Relativity. In its telling (e.g., Stachel 1982), the reasoning that formed the philosophical basis of Einstein’s landmark publication was far afield from the concrete experiences of daily life. Rather, it is often portrayed as the product of Einstein’s deeply theoretical mind and his highly abstract grasp of the current scientific theories. Einstein was motivated to resolve some of the most vexing paradoxes of classical physics formed centuries earlie
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