Constructionism and Authorship Learning

Constructionism holds potential for educational research. The qualitative research study presented here investigated learning experiences in a collaborative authorship project designed according to the principles of constructionism. We found a set of three characteristics at the core of constructionist learning: learner agency, focused tinkering, and artifact creation. We also developed an emergent conceptual framework. The "Authorship Learning" conceptual framework leverages the agency and ownership inherent in the metaphor of authorship to describe learning as a process in which learners author their own meaning through the act of authoring authentic artifacts. The authorship of meaning is facilitated through authorship of goals, processes, roles, and artifacts. Furthermore, learning entails the authorship of self, authorship of group, and authorship of society.