scholarly journals Improving Students’ Understanding and Explanation Skills Through the Use of a Knowledge Building Forum

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-199
Author(s):  
Christine Hamel ◽  
Sandrine Turcotte ◽  
Thérèse Laferrière ◽  
Nicolas Bisson
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Student Understanding ◽  
Knowledge Forum ◽  
Collaborative Discourse ◽  
Written Explanations ◽  
Use Of Knowledge

Education research has shown the importance of helping students develop comprenehsion skills. Explanation-seeking rather than fact-seeking pedagogies have been shown to warrant deeper student understanding. This study investigates the use of Knowledge Forum (KF) in K-6 classrooms (n = 251) to develop students’ explanation skills. To this end, we conducted pre- and post- activity interviews with students who used KF to investigate various topics. Their online collaborative discourse was also analyzed. Our results show that: 1) students’ explanations improved significantly between pre- and post-activity interviews, 2) active KF users scored higher than less active users on the post-activity interviews, and 3) students who had the best written explanations on KF scored much higher on the post-activity interviews even when they had scored much lower than less active students in the pre-activity interviews.

scholarly journals Participation in Knowledge-Building Discourse: An Analysis of Online Discussions in Mainstream and Honours Social Studies Courses

2009 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Niu ◽  
Jan Van Aalst
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Nous Avons ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Collaborative Group ◽  
Knowledge Forum ◽  
Nous Pensons ◽  
Tenth Grade ◽  
Use Of Knowledge ◽  
Sciences Sociales

Questions about the suitability of cognitively-oriented instructional approaches for students of different academic levels are frequently raised by teachers and researchers. This study examined student participation in knowledge-building discourse in two implementations of a short inquiry unit focusing on environmental problems. Participants in each implementation consisted of students taking a mainstream or an honours version of a tenth grade social studies course. We retrieved data about students’ actions in Knowledge Forum® (e.g., the number of notes created and the percentage of notes with links), and conducted a content analysis of the discourse by each collaborative group. We suggest the findings provide cause for optimism about the use of knowledge-building discourse across academic levels: there was moderate to strong evidence of knowledge building in both classes by Implementation 2. We end with suggestions for focusing online work more directly on knowledge building. Résumé Les enseignants et les chercheurs soulèvent fréquemment des questions quant au caractère approprié des approches pédagogiques cognitives pour les élèves de différents niveaux scolaires. La présente étude a examiné la participation des étudiants à la coélaboration des connaissances lors de la formation, à deux reprises, d’une unité d’enquête de courte durée axée sur les problèmes environnementaux. Pour chacun des deux essais, les participants étaient des élèves qui suivaient un programme d’études de dixième année, soit général, soit spécialisé en sciences sociales. Nous avons récupéré des données sur les actions des élèves dans le Knowledge Forum (par exemple, le nombre de notes créées et le pourcentage de notes avec des liens) et nous avons analysé le contenu du discours de chaque groupe de collaboration. Nous pensons que les résultats incitent à l’optimisme et qu’il est possible de parler de coélaboration des connaissances entre les niveaux scolaires : des données probantes moyennement rigoureuses ou rigoureuses montrant la coélaboration des connaissances ont été obtenues dans les deux classes lors du deuxième essai. Nous concluons avec des suggestions pour orienter plus directement les travaux en ligne sur la coélaboration de connaissances.

scholarly journals Knowledge Building and Mathematics: Shifting the Responsibility for Knowledge Advancement and Engagement

2010 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Moss ◽  
Ruth Beatty
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Solutions ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Early Algebra ◽  
Epistemic Agency ◽  
Knowledge Forum ◽  
Low Achieving Students ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Building Culture ◽  
And Mathematics

Three classrooms of Grade 4 students from different schools and diverse backgrounds collaborated in early algebra research to solve a series of linear and quadratic generalizing problems. Results revealed that high- and low-achieving students were able to solve problems of recognized difficulty. We discuss Knowledge Building principles and practices that fostered deep understanding and broad participation. Students used the online Knowledge Building environment Knowledge Forum® to conduct their work and we illustrate how Knowledge Forum supported a Knowledge Building culture for mathematical learning and problem solving. Analyses of participation patterns and note content revealed practices consistent with Knowledge Building principles, specifically democratization of knowledge, with students at all achievement levels participating, and epistemic agency, with students providing evidence and justification for conjectures and generating multiple solutions to challenging problems.

Innovations for Online Collaborative Learning in Mathematics

2005 ◽  
pp. 1529-1534
Author(s):  
Rodney Nason ◽  
Eearl Woodruff
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Knowledge Forum ◽  
Online Collaborative Learning ◽  
Intractable Problem ◽  
Knowledge Building Communities

The field of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has been growing in a number of areas and across a number of subjects (Koschmann, 1996; Koschmann, Hall, & Miyake, 2002; Wasson, Baggetun, Hoppe, & Ludvigsen, 2003). One of the most promising pedagogical advances, however, for online collaborative learning that has emerged in recent years is Scardamalia and Bereiter’s (1996) notion of knowledge-building communities. Unfortunately, establishing and maintaining knowledge-building communities in CSCL environments such as Knowledge Forum® in the domain of mathematics has been found to be a rather intractable problem (Bereiter, 2002b; Nason, Brett, & Woodruff, 1996). In this chapter, we begin by identifying two major reasons why computer-supported knowledge-building communities in mathematics have been difficult to establish and maintain.

Supporting Online Collaborative Learning in Mathematics

2011 ◽  
pp. 1725-1731 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rod Nason ◽  
Eearl Woodruff
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Knowledge Forum ◽  
Online Collaborative Learning ◽  
Intractable Problem ◽  
Knowledge Building Communities

One of the most promising pedagogical advances for online collaborative learning that has emerged in recent years is Scardamalia and Bereiter’s (1996) notion of knowledge-building communities. Unfortunately, establishing and maintaining knowledge-building communities in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments such as Knowledge Forum® (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1998) in the domain of mathematics has been found to be a rather intractable problem (Bereiter, 2002a; Nason, Brett, & Woodruff, 1996).

scholarly journals Beyond Learning Management Systems: Designing for Interprofessional Knowledge Building in the Health Sciences

2010 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Lax ◽  
Marlene Scardamalia ◽  
Judy Watt-Watson ◽  
Judith Hunter ◽  
Carl Bereiter
Keyword(s):  
Management System ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Learning Management System ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Learning Management Systems ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Health Science ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Knowledge Forum ◽  
Learning Management

This paper examines theoretical, pedagogical, and technological differences between two technologies that have been used in undergraduate interprofessional health sciences at the University of Toronto. One, a learning management system, WebCT 2.0, supports online coursework. The other, a Knowledge Building environment, Knowledge Forum 2.0, supports the collaborative work of knowledge-creating communities. Seventy students from six health science programs (Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacy and Physical Therapy) participated online in a 5-day initiative to advance understanding of core principles and professional roles in pain assessment and management. Knowledge Forum functioned well as a learning management system but to preserve comparability between the two technologies its full resources were not brought into play. In this paper we examine three distinctive affordances of Knowledge Forum that have implications for health sciences education: (1) supports for Knowledge Building discourse as distinct from standard threaded discourse; (2) integration of sociocognitive functions as distinct from an assortment of separate tools; and (3) resources for multidimensional social and cognitive assessment that go beyond common participation indicators and instructor-designed quizzes and analyses. We argue that these design characteristics have the potential to open educational pathways that traditional learning management systems leave closed.

scholarly journals Young Children's Knowledge Building and Literacy Development Through Knowledge Forum®

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janette Pelletier ◽  
Richard Reeve ◽  
Cindy Halewood
Keyword(s):  
Literacy Development ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Knowledge Forum

scholarly journals Assessing Student Learning

2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marshall D. Sundberg
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Biology Education ◽  
Student Understanding ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Assessment Data ◽  
Affective Outcomes ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Assessment Techniques

Biology education research has now reached a level of maturity where the expectation is that researchers will assess the effectiveness of their innovation on student learning. This may include an examination of affective outcomes, such as student attitudes and beliefs, as well as student understanding of discipline-based content. A variety of tools are available to generate assessment data, each with certain advantages and disadvantages. They include not only quantitative measures, which lend themselves to familiar statistical analyses, but also qualitative techniques that can provide a rich understanding of complex outcomes. This article describes some of the most commonly used assessment techniques, their advantages and disadvantages, and typical ways such information is reported.

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