Prior to reviewing the OECD Conference and collaborating with my team; AI was something I had not investigated. The chosen learning event of the webinar, I certainly had extensive experience in not only viewing webinars, but also creating them. The content of the chosen learning event afforded our team extensive information on various topics within the larger framework of AI. During the viewing of these webinars, we were not given the opportunity to interact socially with the presenters or audience as the webinar was viewed after the event had taken place. However, as a team the social learning occurred after we had viewed our selected webinars. Our thoughtful discussions were essential to “make meaning” (Woo & Reeves, 2007, p.18). As a team, we tried to make sense of what we had consumed in terms of the learning event. It was through this process that my learning took place.

Based on our team’s chosen technology and learning event, my critical inquiry will focus on how learners will “make-meaning” (Woo & Reeves, 2007, p.18) from interactions with AI. More specifically, how this meaning, and thus, learning will be made using a social constructivist approach.  Woo & Reeves (2007) discuss Vygotsky’s interest “not only in the role of inner speech on the learning concepts but also on the role of the adult learners’ peers as they conversed, questioned, explained, and negotiated learning” (Fosnot, 1996, p.20). Sharing various perspectives and experiences in [our] community of practice, therefore [lead] to meaning making (Woo & Reeves, 2007).

I can certainly relate to this process since that is how I made meaning within our learning event and chosen technology. By having informative discussions of information sharing, I learned using this social constructivist approach. I learned through my team. I am interested in how this social interaction can be fostered in our interactions with AI.

Could our dialogue in a learning language model (LLM) such as ChatGPT or OpenAI be afforded the same opportunities to the take the output from the technology and make meaning using the same type of experience that I had with my team? I intend to see how these meaningful interactions can be utilized in the pedagogy and aid learners in their quest for knowledge.

 

References

 

Fosnot, C. T., & Perry, R. S. (1996). Constructivism: A psychological theory of learning. Constructivism: Theory, perspectives, and practice, 2(1), 8-33.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher mental processes (E. Rice, Ed. & Trans.).

Woo, Y., & Reeves, T. C. (2007). Meaningful interaction in web-based learning: A social constructivist interpretation. The Internet and higher education, 10(1), 15-25.