Representational Bias as Guidance for Learning Interactions: A

The author hypothesizes that variation in features of representational tools can have a significant effect on collaborative learning discourse, and hence on learning outcomes. Representational tools mediate collaborative learning discourse by providing learners with the means to express their emerging knowledge in a persistent medium, where the knowledge then becomes part of the shared context. The representational bias of these tools constrains the knowledge that can be expressed, and makes some of that knowledge more salient and hence a likely topic of discussion. This paper sketches a theoretical analysis of the roles of constraint and salience in the effect of representational bias on collaborative learning discourse, and suggests a research agenda for systematic investigation of these claims.