Cross-Case Analysis

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: Understanding Youth Engagement in Digital Media Production Within and Across Complex Learning Environments

Abstract

Findings. Technology mediates the overarching object of each activity system, which, in turn, supports the development of agency as well as the ability to transform signs and modify contexts in ways that led to the emergence of unexpected meanings. The cross-case analysis will focus on the conditions, affordances and constraints of different types of settings. In particular, findings related to the following will be shared: (1) how space was constituted through interactions and interrelations (Massey, 2005); (2) how the use of time differed by settings and in pursuit of different objects; (3) the role of mentors in communicatng, modeling, and reaffirming learning assumptions; (4) the important roles of imagination, speculation, and play; (5) revision and feedback connected to imagining the future; and (6) the important role of critical and specific feedback from the facilitator and peers in developing analysis, expertise, and a sense of being a part of something important.

Significance. Deep examinations of technology-mediated learning settings such as this one can inform both within and cross-setting knowledge, fuel potential collaborations, and enable educators to better support urban youth. In their report on connected learning, Ito et, al. (2013) assert that without “a proactive reform agenda that begins with questions of equity, leverages both in-school and out-of-school learning, and embraces the opportunities new media offer for learning, we risk a growth in educational alienation by our most vulnerable populations” (p. 7). In closely examining settings that work well to engage youth in learning, we hope our research provides a roadmap for such reforms.

Author

• Cynthia J. Lewis, University of Minnesota