Deliberative/instrumental actions vs phronetic actions in learning digital environments

Emanuele Bardone

Overview1) Distinction first-order/second-order in the study of digital learning environments/learning digital ecosystem

2) Chance-seeking and personal learning environments

3) A discussion about phronetic actions

An ambiguity in the study of learning digital ecosystems/environments

First-order & second-ordercf. Cowley, 2007; Hodges and Fowler, 2010, Van Orden et al. 2010, Thibault, 2011

First-order refers to the way the learner enacts, exploits, responds to, and attunes to resources and to engage with others.

Bodily resources plus situations, environmental affordances, technologies, artifacts exploited in different timescales

First-order

Second-order refers to stabilities and patterns that emerge in some community over time.

The aim is to figure out those principles governing the evolution of the digital ecosystem as a whole

It is related to longer, slower, cultural historical timescales

Second-order

First-order and personal learning environment

engagement

personalresistant to reificationnot objects but “interactional dominants”partly scalabledifferent timescales, but mostly short onespriority to online cognition over offline cognition...

The way the learner engages a digital environment/ecosystem can be described in terms of chance-seeking

chance-seeking

a chance is an unanticipated and contingent event conveying an opportunity for action, which appears to have some strategic value in pursuing one’s goal but indirectly.

What is a chance?

What is chance-seeking?

Chance-seeking is not about predicting chance events.

It’s about recognizing and amplifying the potential positive significance of chance events.

Correct translation

CC recognitionrecognitionan action is taken to amplify an action is taken to amplify

potentials of positive potentials of positive significancesignificance

possibilities of possibilities of unanticipated unanticipated observationsobservations

iterative circularity

The whole process is not deliberative but phronetic

What does “phronetic” mean?“Phronetic” refers to the Aristotelean concept of “phronesis”.

“Phronesis” means practical wisdom/intelligence or the capacity of making practical judgments

Kessels and Korthagen, 1996; Dunne, 1992; Flyvbjerg, 2001; Woodhouse, 2007; Chia and Holt, 2009; Garud, 2010, Flyvbjerg et al, 2012

It deals more with “practice” than “theory”

It’s not subjected to scientific demonstration/precision

The body of knowledge it produces is more related to rules of thumbs than general laws or rules

The domain of application is related to complex, variable matters.

Phronetic actions & Personal learning environments

Phronetic action is a particular way in which the learner as a chance-seeker engages a digital learning environment and builds his or her own personal learning environment

Which is then not an application but a process.

What phronetic action is not:it’s not deliberative (instrumental) action

A negative definition

Deliberative/instrumental actions in the digital

an explicit need

A conceptual characterization of Deliberative action

There is a plan stating how to achieve the goal directly

The agent is an executor of the plan

The goal is well-defined

Focus on capacity of using a feature/application effectively

Full purposiveness (purposiveness comes with predictability)

Clear distinction between means and ends, and between processes and outcomes

Habitual action (no creativity involved)

Problem-solving not problem-finding

Strategies addressing overall concerns (bird’s eye point of view)

The features of an app/device provide affordances as capabilities (that’s what we can design)

Phronetic actions

An example: using a blog

I’ve realized quite recently that I can use my study blog to have a better vision of my study load. It’s easier to keep track of my progress and I can see how much time I have dedicated/am dedicating to each course.

a student said:

How did that happen?

How did that happen?

The student is a freelance designer and illustrator blogging for promoting and selling her artwork

I don’t like blogs that are not alive

She decided to post all other assignments that were shared using other applications (email or dropbox).

She spent some time on extra-curricular activities. She "pushed blogging even further" and started posting "everything" related to her studies and university life.

In December all university-related activities wrapped up, so no new assignments.

By using my blog I have now a better vision of study load,it’s easier to keep track of my progress,I see how much time I have dedicated to each course.

That was not the product of deliberative actions, but phronetic ones

problem-solving problem-finding

the goal is well-defined and impersonal No specific goals

Planning Tinkering

Strategic Priority to overall concernsStrategic Priority to Immediate and

marginal concerns

clear distinction means and ends No clear distinction between Ms&Es

clear distinction processes and outcomes No clear distinction between Ps&Os

purposive and predictive Purposive without being predictive

The agent is an executorThe agent steps in the process along with

his/her identity, values, knowledge and ignorance, experience and inexperience

Focus on the capacity of using things Focus on the capacity of acting in situation

affordances as actual capabilities Affordances as latent opportunities

Habitual responseAppropriative and re-appropriative

response

deliberative a. Phronetic A.