Collaborative Research: Learning from Near and Distant Others

合作研究：向远近的他人学习

• 批准号: 1349054
• 负责人: Cheryl Wakslak
• 金额: $ 22.54万
• 依托单位: University of Southern California
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-06-01 至 2018-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1349054&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Learning; Near; Distant

People constantly learn from those in their social worlds. Although these teachers are often close to their students (similar to themselves, living nearby, located in the same time period, etc.), they can also be far away: socially distant, spatially distant, and even temporally distant. This research tests the hypothesis that concrete knowledge is more easily learned from nearby teachers, while abstract knowledge is more readily learned from distant teachers. To accomplish this, the PIs will examine the role of proximity on the conceptualization of knowledge and on the effectiveness of different types of learning. The proposed research has practical implications for teaching in a wide variety of contexts; from parents teaching children, to schools looking to foster abstract thinking. A practical and policy implication of this work is that there may be types of knowledge (e.g., abstract concepts) in which students may actually learn better when an instructor is distant (e.g., distance learning or online courses). Overall, the societal benefits of the proposed research will provide clear guidance on future innovations in America's educational system.This research is based on Construal Level Theory which posits that people's ability to conceptualize objects and events varies by the psychological proximity of this information. The researchers will investigate, in addition to proximity, whether the effectiveness of an instructor will also vary by the types knowledge gained: 1) concrete knowledge (i.e., "volunteering at the animal shelter"); or 2) abstract knowledge (i.e., "caring about the well-being of abandoned cats and dogs"). The researchers will examine the role of proximity (social, spatial, or temporal distance) and the level of abstraction of knowledge gained on two modes of instruction: 1) learning through imitation or modeling; and 2) learning transfer. The results will contribute to a broader understanding of how people learn from those around them and how the effects of psychological distance on social learning depend on the nature of what is learned and how it is learned.

人们不断向社会世界中的人们学习。尽管这些老师经常与他们的学生接近（类似于自己，住在附近，位于同一时期等），但他们也可以遥不可及：社会遥远，在空间上遥远，甚至在时间上遥远。这项研究检验了以下假设：具体知识更容易从附近的教师那里学到，而抽象知识则更容易从遥远的教师那里学到。为此，PI将研究接近性在知识概念化以及不同类型学习的有效性上的作用。拟议的研究对在各种环境中的教学具有实际意义。从父母教孩子到希望培养抽象思维的学校。这项工作的实用和政策含义是，当讲师遥远（例如，远程学习或在线课程）时，学生可能会有一些类型的知识（例如抽象概念），其中学生实际上可以学习得更好。总体而言，拟议研究的社会利益将为美国教育系统中未来的创新提供明确的指导。这项研究基于约束水平理论，该理论认为人们概念化对象和事件的能力会因这些信息的心理接近而有所不同。研究人员除了邻近之外还将调查教师的有效性是否会因获得的类型而有所不同：1）具体知识（即“在动物庇护所志愿服务”）；或2）抽象知识（即“关心废弃猫和狗的福祉”）。研究人员将研究接近性（社会，空间或时间距离）的作用，以及在两种教学模式上获得的知识的抽象水平：1）通过模仿或建模学习； 2）学习转移。 结果将有助于更广泛地了解人们如何从周围的人那里学习，以及心理距离对社会学习的影响如何取决于学到的知识和学习方式的性质。