C2ALM 2013 - The Second International Workshop on Connecting Analyses of Learning across Levels and Modalities (C2ALM-2013)

Human learning phenomena spans a continuum of spatial and temporal scales, ranging from genes/cells to communities/cultures and from the order of micro-seconds to centuries. However, within the tradition of educational psychology, the de facto unit of analysis is the individual and the focus is on how that individual’s behavior changes as a function of instruction. The traditional approach can be critiqued for not giving adequate consideration to the socially-situated, embodied, tool-mediated, cultural-historical and practical nature of learning, and the neurophysiological basis of learning and other related higher-order cognitive processes.
Recent innovations in learning technologies have allowed researchers to capture and study learning phenomena at various levels of granularity ranging from biological to socio-cultural levels. In particular, innovations in ICT have led to new ways to engage learners with the subject matter as an individual, as part of a small group, or as a member of a virtual online community. Moreover, innovations in neuro-imaging, eye-tracking, multimedia and social networking have opened up new ways to capture and study what is going on during technology-mediated learning activities at multiple levels.
This workshop aims to bring researchers who study learning from different levels of analysis and by employing a variety of methodologies. The goal of the workshop is to provide a venue for:
presentation of alternative methodological and theoretical positions in the analysis of technology-mediated learning
discussion of mutually informing connections among different approaches and levels of analysis
Some guiding questions for the workshop include (but not limited to):
How learning manifest itself at different levels of analysis?
How can we coordinate findings from different levels of analysis with different methodological insights?
What are the commensurate/incommensurate themes across levels and approaches?
What are some key mechanisms for bridging multiple modalities and analytical scales?