Face to Face Interaction • Productive Agency

This effort is working towards the theory that a basic drive for learning is the effort after shared meaning. People can make the effort through conversation and through the creation and sharing of artifacts. The work builds on the philosophy of Karl Marx that begins with the assumption that people are builders, and the most important element for realizing themselves and their society is access to the means of production (as opposed to a welfare model in which the most important element is access to the end-products of culture). In the context of productive agency, this translates into access to the means for producing shared meaning. Alienation occurs when people are told what meaning or products they have to make, when they do not have an opportunity to share their productions to shape their environment, or when they are denied feedback about the meanings that others construct from their efforts. The work includes an empirical agenda that examines the conditions that affect the motivation to produce, learn, and share meaning both in face-to-face and audience-level learning interactions. For example, we have found that novices are more likely to be productive agents when interacting with experts, if they have resources that help them articulate their partial understandings so they can participate in a shared effort after meaning (rather than simply listening to the expert). Productive agency differs from constructivism because it begins with an emphasis on producing shareable knowledge and artifacts. It is also in a position to inform theories of motivation, because it proposes that an important motivator is the attempt to share meaning, whether in conversation or through the production of artifacts and performances. The section on hobbies in the Teachable Agent section provides evidence in this regard.