Manu Kapur
 
 
 
Position
Assistant Professor
 
Telephone
(65) 6 790 3277
 
Fax
(65) 6 896 8038
 
Email address
 
URL
 
 
 
 
Biographical Sketch
 

 
 

Dr Manu Kapur is an Assistant Professor in the Learning Sciences and Technology (LST) Academic Group and a researcher at the Learning Sciences Lab (LSL) at the National Institute of Education (NIE) of Singapore. He received his doctorate in instructional technology and media from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York where he also completed a Master of Science in Applied Statistics. He also has a Master of Education from the NIE and a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Honors) from the National University of Singapore.
His research applies the laws of self-organization and complexity to study the ontology of individual and collective cognition. In his doctoral work, he conceptualized the construct of productive failure and used it to explore the hidden efficacies of seemingly unproductive production in unscaffolded, ill-structured, problem-solving activities. He is currently working on extending his work on productive failure in Singapore schools.
 
 
Education
 
 

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Instructional Technology & Media
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, USA
 
 

Master of Science (M.S.) in Applied Statistics
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, USA
   
 

Master of Education (M.Ed.)
National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
 
 

Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary)
National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
 
 

Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Honors)
National University of Singapore
   
   
 
 
Selected Publications
 
 
 
 
- Kapur, M. (under review). Productive failure. Manuscript submitted for publication.
 
 
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 Kapur, M., & Kinzer, C. (under review). The effect of problem type on interactional activity, inequity, and group performance in a synchronous computer-supported collaborative environment. Manuscript submitted for publication.
 
 
  
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Kapur, M., & Kinzer, C. (under review). Sensitivities to early exchange in synchronous computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) groups. Manuscript submitted for publication.
 
 
 
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Kapur, M. (2006). Creating authentic, interactive ICT-based learning resources: Multimedia design principles, learner-controlled hypermedia. In Khine, M. S. (Ed), Teaching with Technology: Strategies for Engaging Learners. Singapore: Prentice Hall.
 
 
 
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Kapur, M. (2006, July). Productive failure: A hidden efficacy of seemingly unproductive production. Proceedings of the Cognitive Science Conference, Vancouver, Canada.
 
   
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Voiklis, J., Kapur, M., Kinzer, C., & Black, J. (2006, July). An emergentist account of collective cognition in collaborative problem solving. Proceedings of the Cognitive Science Conference, Vancouver, Canada.
 
   
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Kinzer, C., Kapur, M., Lohnes, S., Cammack, D. W., Kontovourki, S., Hoffman, D., & Turkay, S. (2006, July). Assessing pres-service teachers’ conceptual change in an internet-based case instructional environment. Proceedings of the Cognitive Science Conference, Vancouver, Canada.
 
 
 
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Petrosino, A., Svihla, V., & Kapur, M. (2006, July). Calculating expertise in bioengineering education. Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Education, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA.
 
 
 
 
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Voiklis, J., & Kapur, M. (2006, June). Two walks through problem space. Poster presented at the International Conference on Complex Systems, Boston, MA, USA.
 
 
 
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Kapur, M. (2006, June). Productive failure. Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
 
 
  
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Kapur, M., Voiklis, J., Kinzer, C., & Black J. (2006, June). Insights into the emergence of convergence in group discussions. Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
 
   
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Kinzer, C., Kapur, M., Cammack, D. W., & Lohnes, S. (2006, June). Assessing conceptual change in an anchored, case-based environment. Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
 
   
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Kapur, M., & Kinzer, C. (2006, April). Interactional predictors of group performance. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, USA.
 
   
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Kapur, M., Voiklis, J., & Kinzer, C. (2005, July). Problem solving seen through the lens of complex evolutionary activity: A novel theoretical and analytical framework for analyzing problem-solving processes. Proceedings of the Cognitive Science Conference, Stresa, Italy.
 
   
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Kapur, M., Voiklis, J., & Kinzer, C. (2005, June). Problem solving as a complex, evolutionary activity: A methodological framework for analyzing problem-solving processes in a computer-supported collaborative environment. Proceedings the Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) Conference, Taipei, Taiwan.
 
   
   
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Kapur, M., & Kinzer, C. (2005, April). The effect of problem type on collaborative problem solving in a synchronous computer-mediated environment. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada
 
   
 
Research Interest
 
 
Productive failure
 
 
Laws of self-organization and complexity
   
 
Ontology of individual and collective problem solving
 
 
Agent-based modeling
 
 
Applied statistics
 
 
Projects
 
Principal investigator of Project LSL 13/06 MK :“Scaffold Less, Learn More”: Exploring Productive Failure in Complex, ill-structured Learning and Performance Spaces.
 
Co-Principal investigator of Project LSL 12/06 LCK :Engaging secondary school students with the mathematics of change
   
Collaborator of Project LSL 07/05 MJ :Teachers' Beliefs, Leadership, and Technology Use in Singapore Schools: An Exploratory Study
 
 
Professional Services
 
 
 

Reviewer for The Journal of the Learning Sciences (JLS) and The International Journal of Computer-supported Collaborative Learning (ijCSCL)
   
 

Member of International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) and American Educational Research Association (AERA)
 
 
 
Awards
 
 

Teachers College, Columbia University Education Policy Research Fellowship 2005

 
 

Teachers College, Columbia University Spencer Dissertation Research Grant 2005

 
 

3-year National Institute of Education (NIE) of Singapore Overseas Graduate Scholarship for pursuing doctoral study at Teachers College, Columbia University 2003

 
 
The Educational Research Association of Singapore GOLD Medal for outstanding M.Ed. Research 2003
 
 

Post-graduate Diploma in Education 'Best Student' Rotary Club GOLD Medal 1999

 
 

Post-graduate Diploma in Education SINDA Academic Excellence Award 1999

 
 
4-year Singapore Airlines Undergraduate Scholarship for reading Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore 1993
 
 
2-year Singapore Airlines Youth Scholarship for reading Singapore-Cambridge A-levels at the National Junior College, Singapore 1991
 
 
National Talent Search Examination Scholarship (in Mathematics & Physics) in India 1990