A Brief Biography

Dr. Barab is a professor in Instructional Systems Technology and Cognitive Science at Indiana University. Before becoming a professor at Indiana University, he worked as a computer teacher in an urban high school. During this period, he became interested in using the computer both as an instructional tool and as an assessment device. Since that period, he has been designing rich learning environments, frequently with the aid of technology, that are both engaging and complex. These environments are designed to assist students in learning the "whats" in a manner that provides insights into the "whys." Since arriving at Indiana University, he has worked to advance pedagogical models that are consistent with his philosophical commitment of a relational ontology and situative epistemology. He has created software applications, redesigned entire courses in the School of Education and with the Astronomy and History departments. He has developed project-based interventions for K-12 learners, supported K-12 teachers in developing interdisciplinary curriculum and is currently involved in multiple projects to establish communities of learners.

Two projects that he has been working on and that are illuminative of his commitments and interests are the Inquiry Learning Forum and Quest Atlantis. The Inquiry Learning Forum is an NSF-funded project targeted toward building and researching the salient features of an electronic knowledge network to support a virtual community of in-service and pre-service mathematics and science teachers sharing, improving, and creating inquiry based pedagogical practices (see http://ilf.crlt.indiana.edu/). Quest Atlantis is a community-based after school program also funded by NSF that includes a Website being built using 3D technologies and a series of Centers through which children gain access to the Website and can work directly with peers and mentors on educationally grounded activities. In addition to this design focus, he has also developed innovative methodologies for capturing cognition in situ, including the use of log files (time-stamped records of computer user's navigational choices) to understand navigational performance profiles of computer users and the use of multimedia databases to trace the historical development of student learning. His research has resulted of dozens of peer-reviewed articles, numerous chapters in edited books, and he is currently editor of a book exploring the topic of designing for online communities in the service of learning to appear in Cambridge University Press next year.