Gideon Dishon

Post doc

It’s not (just) the technology, stupid:
Reimagining collaboration and transfer in higher education

Today more than ever, universities are challenged to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape in light of the prominence of digital media. In response, various technology rich learning environments (e.g., MOOCs, personalized learning platforms, gamified environments) are being integrated into higher education institutions. We propose that digital tools should not be used solely to offer students more approachable, stimulating and up-to-date academic content (an important venture in itself). Instead, we reverse the common application of technology in higher education, stressing its capacity to support collaboration and position students as authoritative contributors to out-of-class contexts.

This project brings into dialogue two interrelated strands of research within the learning sciences: studies on the transfer of learning, and research on the affordances of computer supported collaborative learning. By conducting digitally mediated research collaborations between students and researchers, we will examine (i) the influence of positioning students as contributors to ongoing research on the transfer of learning, and (ii) develop a more nuanced theoretical model of the dynamics of virtual collaboration.

Gideon Dishon

Gideon Dishon holds a Ph.D. in education from the University of Pennsylvania. An M.A. in the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas and a B.A. in Philosophy and Comparative Literature, both from Tel Aviv University. His research centers on conducting empirical and philosophical inquiries on how explicit and implicit forms of learning in educational settings relate to students’ behavior in other contexts.