Lernende sind zunehmend herausgefordert ihren Lernprozess selbstständig zu steuern, zu organisieren und zu gestalten. Die vorliegende Arbeit geht von diesen Erwartungen aus und fragt nach den kreativen Prozessen in der Lerntätigkeit. Dazu wird eine kritische Prüfung von Lerntheorien hinsichtlich ihrer Berücksichtigung von Kreativität und Materialität unternommen. Durch Entwicklung eines Designbegriffs, der die scheinbar selbstverständlichen Techniken und Strategien im Lernalltag als Alltagsdesign erfasst, wird ein wenig berücksichtigtes Forschungsgebiet eröffnet, das in qualitativen Untersuchungen medienübergreifend analysiert wird. Die verschiedenen Aspekte des Alltags­designs in der Lerntätigkeit – die Einrichtung des Arbeitsplatzes, das Aufgabenmanagement, die Aufbewahrung und die Verarbeitung von Lernmaterial werden detailliert beschrieben und analysiert. Resultat ist eine gegenstandsbezogene Theorie des Alltags­designs in der Lerntätigkeit, die einen Beitrag zum Verständnis von Wissensarbeit als materiale Praxis liefert. / This thesis is a contribution to current debates about technology enhanced learning – namely “web 2.0” and “e-learning 2.0” where learners are expected to be active creators of knowledge. The figure of the learner as creative designer is addressed in this work, which concentrates on learners’ individual activity. The focus on the individual contrasts with many current studies about learning which center on collaborative aspects in knowledge building. First a review of learning theories is undertaken to examine their contributions to questions of materiality and creativity in learning activities. Turning to design research, a notion of design as practice is developed, which here complements and enhances current learning theories. Adopting notions of “use” and “user” the everydayness of design is reconstructed, leading to a conceptualization which is suitable to everyday activities of learners. From this everyday design perspective, the research question is formulated: How is learning activity accomplished as design activity? This question is tackled through several ethnographically oriented studies that focus on the individual everyday practices of students in their natural working environments. The analysis of the ethnographic data is developed using a Grounded Theory approach. A descriptive story is developed that analyzes arrangements of workplaces and objects, storage and task management, and the production of personal learning material as design. From these concepts four core aspects of everyday design in learning activities are developed: The design of the environment, “becoming designed”, designing oneself, and designing the design process. A model of the everyday design process is proposed which reveals both its creative and persistent side. The notion of everyday design in learning activities is an important concept to understand learners’ difficulties in knowledge building and to advance the development of learning strategies.

<p>New parents often experience significant stress as they take on new roles and responsibilities. Personal informatics practices have increasingly gained attention as they support various aspects of wellness of individuals by providing data-driven self-insights. While several PI systems have been proposed to support mental wellness of individuals not only by providing self-knowledge but also by helping individuals deal with negative emotions, few studies investigated how parenting stress can be managed through PI practices. In this paper, I set out to investigate how new parents make use of flexible self-tracking practices in the context of stress management. The findings of this study indicate that flexible self-tracking practices enable individuals to develop self-knowledge as well as to better communicate with their spouses through data. Based on the findings, I discuss how the self-tracking experiences for the mental wellness of parents can be better designed and provide some considerations for future research and design for parenting stress management.</p>

Lernende sind zunehmend herausgefordert ihren Lernprozess selbstständig zu steuern, zu organisieren und zu gestalten. Die vorliegende Arbeit geht von diesen Erwartungen aus und fragt nach den kreativen Prozessen in der Lerntätigkeit. Dazu wird eine kritische Prüfung von Lerntheorien hinsichtlich ihrer Berücksichtigung von Kreativität und Materialität unternommen. Durch Entwicklung eines Designbegriffs, der die scheinbar selbstverständlichen Techniken und Strategien im Lernalltag als Alltagsdesign erfasst, wird ein wenig berücksichtigtes Forschungsgebiet eröffnet, das in qualitativen Untersuchungen medienübergreifend analysiert wird. Die verschiedenen Aspekte des Alltags­designs in der Lerntätigkeit – die Einrichtung des Arbeitsplatzes, das Aufgabenmanagement, die Aufbewahrung und die Verarbeitung von Lernmaterial werden detailliert beschrieben und analysiert. Resultat ist eine gegenstandsbezogene Theorie des Alltags­designs in der Lerntätigkeit, die einen Beitrag zum Verständnis von Wissensarbeit als materiale Praxis liefert. / This thesis is a contribution to current debates about technology enhanced learning – namely “web 2.0” and “e-learning 2.0” where learners are expected to be active creators of knowledge. The figure of the learner as creative designer is addressed in this work, which concentrates on learners’ individual activity. The focus on the individual contrasts with many current studies about learning which center on collaborative aspects in knowledge building. First a review of learning theories is undertaken to examine their contributions to questions of materiality and creativity in learning activities. Turning to design research, a notion of design as practice is developed, which here complements and enhances current learning theories. Adopting notions of “use” and “user” the everydayness of design is reconstructed, leading to a conceptualization which is suitable to everyday activities of learners. From this everyday design perspective, the research question is formulated: How is learning activity accomplished as design activity? This question is tackled through several ethnographically oriented studies that focus on the individual everyday practices of students in their natural working environments. The analysis of the ethnographic data is developed using a Grounded Theory approach. A descriptive story is developed that analyzes arrangements of workplaces and objects, storage and task management, and the production of personal learning material as design. From these concepts four core aspects of everyday design in learning activities are developed: The design of the environment, “becoming designed”, designing oneself, and designing the design process. A model of the everyday design process is proposed which reveals both its creative and persistent side. The notion of everyday design in learning activities is an important concept to understand learners’ difficulties in knowledge building and to advance the development of learning strategies.