Serial theorists
Wasn’t planning to go to ALISE in Boston this January, as I’ve been to the previous two ALISE conferences (Denver and Philly) and travel funds are tight right now … until I found out that the keynote speaker will be Tom Malone of MIT. Dr. Malone was one of the theorists I studied for my diss, and he was amazingly generous with his time and recollections during the interview I was lucky enough to snag with him. He’s been invited to speak becaue the ALISE conference theme is “collaboration,” and I’m sure he’ll be brilliant. So I’ll be saving my pennies for a plane ticket, I think!
The most interesting thing about Dr. Malone, however, is that he’s what is called a “serial theorist”: he is not only known for coordination theory, but for the “electronic markets and hierarchies” theory (developed with Bob Benjamin and JoAnn Yates, both of MIT) that preceded it, and for his dissertation work on “what makes things fun to learn?” back in the 1970s, which remains a classic theory in the instructional design field as well. (He’s probably done even more, but those are the ones that I happen to know about.)
So… what makes someone a “serial theorist”? It wasn’t my dissertation topic, but I wish it had been! 
Recent Comments