Interrogating and Recoupling Learning and Knowledge with Networks and Power: Exploring Sociomateriality as a Foundational Theory for Research in the Learning Sciences

Abstract

With increasing understanding of the inextricable connections between learners and the tools that facilitate their learning within complex social systems, new theoretical and methodological developments have emerged to allow us to explore the materiality in learning environments. Sociomateriality (Fenwick, 2015) urges us to consider the interdependence of social and material elements in learning. Rather than viewing classroom spaces and educational tools as static, inert material objects, sociomateriality posits them as capable of exerting force by the way they are acted on or by. This approach has the potential to help respond to the global crises by interrogating and recoupling learning and knowledge with networks and the power relationships inherent in all learning. To this end, this symposium aims to bring researchers together around a common theme of unpacking how sociomateriality might be used as a theoretical foundation or analytical approach for Learning Sciences research.