Designing Constructionist Futures

A diverse group of scholars redefine constructionism—introduced by Seymour Papert in 1980—in light of new technologies and theories.

Constructionism, first introduced by Seymour Papert in 1980, is a framework for learning to understand something by making an artifact for and with other people. A core goal of constructionists is to respect learners as creators, to enable them to engage in making meaning for themselves through construction, and to do this by democratizing access to the world's most creative and powerful tools. In this volume, an international and diverse group of scholars examine, reconstruct, and evolve the constructionist paradigm in light of new technologies and theories. Taken together, their contributions show that constructionism has advanced in educational research and practice—and also that, in turn, researchers and practitioners can learn from constructionism how to foster learning in ways that respect learners' creativity and communities.

The contributors examine how constructionist design can function within contexts ranging from school and home to virtual spaces; explore ways to support learners who have been under-resourced, overlooked, or oppressed; discuss learning by collaboration; and consider the implications of learning as a creative process of construction, exploring ways to support creative enterprises within the constraints of formal classrooms. Finally, leading visionaries imagine where constructionism, design, and research will go next

Contributors

Konstantin Aal, Dor Abrahamson, Edith K. Ackermann, Michael Ahmadi, Emma Anderson, Edward Baafi, Stephanie Benson, Laura Benton, Matthew Berland, Marina Umaschi Bers, Paulo Blikstein, Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, Karen Brennan, Leah Buechley, Angela Calabrese Barton, Teresa Casort, David Cavallo, Kiera Chase, Alison Clark-Wilson, Sequoia L. Dance, Joshua A. Danish, Sayamindu Dasgupta, Michael Eisenberg, Noel Enyedy, Deborah A. Fields, Andrea Forte, Gayithri Jayathirtha, Brian Gravel, Sara M. Grimes, Idit Harel, Erica R. Halverson, Nathan Holbert, Celia Hoyles, Raquel Jimenez, Yasmin B. Kafai, Ivan Kalas, Anna Keune, Susan Klimczak, Eric Klopfer, Maximilian Krüger, Chronis Kynigos, Tim Kubik, Breanne K. Litts, Benjamin Mako Hill, Amon Millner, Andrés Monroy-Hernández, Richard Noss, Seymour Papert, Kylie Peppler, Judy Perry, Mitchel Resnick, Rebecca Reynolds, Ricarose Roque, Piers Saunders, Kristin A. Searle, Kimberly M. Sheridan, Arnan Sipitakiat, R. Benjamin Shapiro, Gary S. Stager, Gunnar Stevens, Vanessa Svihla, Edna Tan, Orkan Telhan, Naomi Thompson, Nalin Tutiyaphuengprasert, Anne Weibert, Michelle Hoda Wilkerson, Volker Wulf, Uri Wilensky, Jianwei Zhang

Nathan Holbert is Assistant Professor of Communication, Media, and Learning Technologies Design at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Mathew Berland is Associate Professor of Design, Creative, and Informal Education in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Yasmin B. Kafai is Lori and Michael Milken President's Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, coauthor of Connected Gaming, Connected Code, and Connected Play (all published by MIT Press) and other books.