SELF-MANAGED LEARNING IN OUT-OF-SCHOOL CONTEXTS

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1.6 Identify MAPs

The last identification step of the brainstorming phase of the EoR Design Framework is to identify available MAPs (More Able Partners). A MAP is a special kind of resource. It may be a person or an object, e.g. a piece of technology. The idea is that within the emerging ZAA (which frames all of the resources available to assist the learner), at least some of these resources will take the form of a more concrete support in relation to the learner's learning need.

MAPs help the learner to seek appropriate support from their learning context (environment) by helping the learner to identify or possibly by introducing appropriate forms of assistance from the available resources. Part of this support process relies on the MAP being able to identify the learner resources (1.5), EoR resources (Step 1.1), potential influences affecting these resources (Step 1.4) and to relate these to the learner's learning need (Step 1.2).

In response to a particular Focus of Attention (Step 1.2) there may, of course, be multiple MAPs and multiple resources. It may also be the case that there is a lack of suitable MAPs (people), which may in turn, highlight opportunities for alternative MAPs (e.g. technologies).

The aim of this step is to bring together the preceding steps of the brainstorming phase, in preparation for a move from the generation of a learner's ZAA (Zone of Available Assistance) towards the generation of the learner's ZPA (Zone of Proximal Adjustment).

In the Planetarium example explored in the later stages of Step 1.1 of this study, a range of potential MAPs were able to be identified in situ during the trip. Examples are illustrated below.

In this selection of images, we can see a range of potential MAPs for the learner (described in Step 1.5) who indicated an interest in astronomy. A, C and D (various types of display at the Planetarium) are not really MAPs, although they could act as MAPs for a generic type of learner. For example, each of these represents a different form of textual support which may contribute to the learner's existing knowledge or understanding of astronomy. These three are, however, different insofar as A is a passive text, it informs. C and D also inform but they simultaneously invite learner participation with available technologies. B and E, by contrast depict a range of potential MAPs, both people and tools. For example, in B the learner may act as a MAP to his learning mentor, e.g. in explaining how the technology works; the learning mentor may act as a MAP to the learner by scaffolding his existing knowledge of astronomy vis-a-vis the astronomy dialogue being shared on-screen; the astronomy experts on-screen may act as MAPs for the learner at a generic level. The probe is a technological MAP, it supports the learner's learning by enabling him to interact with the information on-screen and to direct the ways in which he accesses that information, via sensors in the tabletop. In E, there is no learning mentor available to act as MAP, but there are multiple learners. In this scenario, the learners may act as MAPs to each other. Once again, they also have access to technological MAPs - in the form of the probe (handset) and on-screen dialogue of astronomy experts. Next section: Iterating the process.