Dialogism

Abstract

Dialogism offers a theoretical framework for understanding computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). This framework begins with Mikhail Bakhtin’s claim that meaning making requires the interanimation of more than one ‘voice’ as in polyphonic music. Dialogism offers an approach that leads to understanding through the juxtaposition of multiple perspectives. As well as having implications for how we research CSCL, dialogism also has implications for how we conceptualise the goal of CSCL, suggesting the aim of deepening and widening dialogic space. This chapter reviews research within a dialogic CSCL frame, offers a cutting-edge example and presents predictions and suggestions for the future of dialogism within CSCL