Trialogical learning: promoting object-

oriented collaboration in education

A lecture in Section 4
The Online Teacher Training Package / KNORK project

Author: Sami Paavola, University of Helsinki

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 Is education transformed by new
technology? How should it be transformed?
• How to use digital technologies in pedagogically
meaningful way?
• What are knowledge practices needed, i.e. ways
of working with knowledge in today’s - or
tomorrow’s - world?

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 Trialogical approach to learning
• Collaborative learning where activities are organized for
developing shared objects (documents, models, project
plans, ways of working) for some subsequent use
• Difference to monological view of learning (individual’s
solo performance) but also to dialogical and participatory
approaches
• Trialogues: social interaction focused on jointly developed
and versioned concrete products and ways of working
• Developed in the Knowledge Practices Laboratory (KP-Lab),
a large EU-funded project (2006-2011) for higher education
and workplace learning

(Paavola & Hakkarainen 2009; Moen et al. 2012)

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 Metaphors of learning and
the Trialogical approach - a framework for developing
secondary and university education
Emphasis on sustained
(Paavola et al. 2004; co-development of
Hakkarainen et al. 2004; Learning as shared object and
Tynjälä & Häkkinen 2005; knowledge creation practices
cf. Sfard 1998)
”Trialogical” for some relevant
purpose
Developing shared objects
and practices

Emphasis on
Emphasis on
Learning as cultural
Learning as
individuals and knowledge practices
participation
conceptual acquisition as well as
”Dialogical” material
knowledge ”Monological”
interaction, situated and social
processes within
cognition interaction
mind

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 Trialogical learning – design principles
rather than a pedagogical model
• Not a pedagogical model but rather general guidelines for
emphasizing object-oriented collaboration (to organize
work around shared object, support personal and collective
agency, foster long term work, promote cross-fertilization,
etc.)
• Gives means and inspiration for reflecting and transforming
ways of organizing courses and pedagogical settings
• A continuum of object-oriented collaboration: giving
focused comments to a document <--> versioning and
modifying a document together
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 References
• Moen A., Morch, A., & Paavola S. (Eds.) (2012) Collaborative Knowledge
Creation: Practices, Tools, Concepts. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
• Paavola, S. & Hakkarainen, K. (2009). From meaning making to joint construction
of knowledge practices and artefacts – A trialogical approach to CSCL. In C.
O'Malley, D. Suthers, P. Reimann, & A. Dimitracopoulou (Eds.), Computer
supported collaborative learning Practices: CSCL2009 conference Proceedings
(pp. 83–92). Rhodes, Creek: International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS).
• Paavola, S., Lakkala, M., Muukkonen, H., Kosonen, K., & Kalgren, K. (2011). The
roles and uses of design principles in a project on trialogical learning. Research in
Learning Technology, 19(3), 233-246.
• Sfard, A. (1998) On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just
one. Educational Researcher 27: 4–13.
• Tynjälä, P. & Häkkinen, P. (2005) E-learning at work: theoretical underpinnings
and pedagogical challenges. The Journal of Workplace Learning 17(5/6), 318-336

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