Here are some definitions that may help you to participate and have fun learning.
Complexity Pedagogy Terms and Definitions
DAAGU Theoretical Framework: Mitchell, G., et al (2016). DAAGU: Complexity Pedagogy and e-Learning: Emergence in Relational Networks, International Research in Higher Education Vol. 1, No. 1; 2016.
Recursion: An iterative process of revisiting what one knows in order to see with new eyes. Recursion is a looping back with intent to discover again.
Emergent Learning: As students and teachers inter-relate, offering different views and posing different questions, new learning emerges in the shifts of understandings and perspectives. All students and teachers can create teachable moments by introducing different ways of thinking about things and posing alternative ways of acting in various situations.
Perturbations: Disrupt the status quo by challenging assumptions, providing alternative views, asking different questions that expand understandings. Perturbations may point out paradox, ambiguity, and critical aspects of familiar ways of knowing.
Diversity: Difference is needed for deep thinking and critical understanding. Seeing only one way does not represent the complexities of life and learning. When diverse views are shared new insights often surface and propel thinking and problem-solving in new ways that surface as difference is considered and conversed.
Non-linearity: Life, living systems, thinking, responses are all evolving historically, experientially, reflectively and non-reflectively in stops and starts, transformative leaps, and sometimes with unexplainable emergence. Change in living systems and processes cannot be controlled with simple formula or directives. Living systems are continuously evolving in unpredictable ways.
Relationality: Reflects the ways people, things, ideas, preferences, patterns connect and interrelate. An idea can link with many different experiences, an event might link with many memories, a concept can connect with particular ideas across multiple contexts in a web of relationality.
Remember, complexity pedagogy needs different views and experiences to be considered. There is not right or wrong way to think and the teacher is not the authority in complexity thinking. We are all searching for new understanding and insights that emerge when different views are considered.
Below you will find outdated references to our old DAAGU system. If you are curious, take a look, but this system is currently offline and is no longer supported.
First time connecting with to our Forum.
Once logged in you will see the bar along the top of the Daagu screen that has the following sections:
DAAGU Theoretical Framework: Mitchell, G., et al (2016). DAAGU: Complexity Pedagogy and e-Learning: Emergence in Relational Networks, International Research in Higher Education Vol. 1, No. 1; 2016.
The Daagu platform is comprised of five key components:
The DASHBOARD
The dashboard is a portal through which teachers and students can access the entire Daagu platform. Direct access to the user’s courses, profile information, key discussions the user highlights within Daagu, and draft discussions created by the user are accessed from the dashboard. In addition, users can access their most recent activity directly.
My Course Discussions
From the Dashboard, a user can drill down into different sections within the platform. The first key section is “My Course Discussions”. Users can click on the menu item at the top of the page “My Courses” to view all discussions within all courses in which they are registered. This view can be filtered by course, level of activity, or learning moments. Alternatively, users can click on a particular course from the dashboard view, to automatically limit the discussion view to only that course.
Discussions are presented in the form of tiles; the users can immediately see which discussions have been more active based on the size of the tile.
The parameters for each course and by default the related discussions are set by the instructor. The parameters are called perspectives, which are course-specific ideas or constructs that represent themes relating to a course. Perspectives are meant to create a direction for the course and related discussions, but may also be used to search and filter resources and discussions in the Global Network in the same way as tags. The perspectives used will depend on the content and format of the course. An example of a set of perspectives for a course being taught on Global Health would be: health and poverty, health and gender, health and politics.
In addition to setting perspectives, an instructor will also monitor conversations in order to ensure the perspectives are continually applied, as well as acting as a provocateur, suggesting new ways to look at existing ideas and presenting new ideas.
The Discussion Tool
Within each course on Daagu, is a set of discussions. Each discussion is the place within the course where students can discuss, share, and debate ideas, as well as direct other students and the instructor to key resources. A resource is any form of media that can be accessed by teachers and students via the internet. Resources are provided through links/URLs to texts, YouTube videos, Ted Talks, and other public information and are linked to discussions.
When a resource is referenced within Daagu, the learner must include a rationale. A rationale is the information provided by the learner which describes the significance of a resource to the learner. A rationale is an explanation for why a paper, video, image, etc. is or may be interesting or important to the conversation.
When reading the discussions, you can click on the sticky note function in the second box from the right to make a note about something you are thinking or connecting with and the sticky note will be saved on your dashboard.
Discussion Visualization Tool
Each time you visit Daagu, your dashboard will let you see where most discussion is happening. The larger the tile, the greater the discussion. Also, the number in the upper right corner tell you how many entries since the last time you were in the course.
Remember, complexity pedagogy needs different views and experiences to be considered. There is not right or wrong way to think and the teacher is not the authority in complexity thinking. We are all searching for new understanding and insights that emerge when different views are considered.
Aha Moments / Emotion Icons
Daagu enables you to document moments of emotional learning, ‘aha’ moments/insights, and notes related to any thought or learning moment. Simultaneously, the documentation of these moments provides the instructor with insight into the learning processes of the students, as well as obtaining insight into the content and direction for the course. Through analysis, Daagu can assist teachers in evaluating their course and shaping its future direction.
Emotional learning can be recorded based on the emotion and the degree to which an emotion is felt at any moment during the learning process. Research links emotions with the learning, exploring and creating, and these emotions help us to deepen our own reflections and engagement with ideas and how we learn