What Did the Pen Do: Exploring the Role of Nonhuman Actant in Collaborative Drawing

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Cooperative Learning: Theory, Research and Practice Roundtable Session (Table 2)

Abstract

Although the affordances of collaborative drawing have increasingly been recognized, few studies have noticed how pens as actants have influenced students' distribution of responsibilities and their expression of ideas. Informed by actor-network theory(ANT), this study investigates how postgraduates' decisions during collaborative drawing is mediated by the material inscriptions, specifically, pens. Through interviewing with eight postgraduates attending a course that adopted group drawing, we found pens were able to mobilise people and allocate responsibilities. It acted as an ally for pen holders to express their views and also contributed to the “fixation” of the distribution of responsibilities. Exploring how material inscriptions affect learners’ intellectual mobility will provide an insight into the explanations for collaborative creativity in pedagogical context.

Authors

• Xu xiaoqi Zhou, East China Normal University

• Sihan Xiao, East China Normal University