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

Leila Lax,Judith Hunter,Marlene Scardamalia,Carl Bereiter,Judy Watt-Watson

doi:10.21432/t23g61

Leila Lax, Judith Hunter + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.21432/t23g61

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Abstract

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.

Highlights

A number of studies and reports have begun to identify educational innovations for Knowledge Building, no known studies compare existing technologies from the standpoint of their favouring or impeding Knowledge Building
A study was conducted in an interprofessional health sciences curriculum at the University of Toronto that assigned some students to use of Knowledge Forum 2.0 while others used WebCT 2.0
After describing the nature of the course, we consider three Knowledge Forum affordances that could enrich the course’s Knowledge Building potential: (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 Beyond Learning Management Systems: Designing for Interprofessional Knowledge Building in the Health Sciences multidimensional social and cognitive assessment that go beyond common participation indicators and instructor-‐designed quizzes and analyses

Summary

Introduction

A number of studies and reports have begun to identify educational innovations for Knowledge Building (see articles throughout this special issue; Lee, Chan, van Aalst, 2006; Scardamalia, Bransford, Kozma, & Quellmalz, in press; Zhang, Scardamalia, Lamon, Messina, & Reeve, 2007), no known studies compare existing technologies from the standpoint of their favouring or impeding Knowledge Building. To support knowledge creation it is essential to support emergence and opportunism rather than work in contexts where the problems and means of approaching them are predetermined and closed In line with this challenge, and to support sustained knowledge work, it is important to (a) ensure real ideas, authentic problems reflect the core work of the organization, the ideas of its creators, and their capacity as designers to establish meeting spaces for people and ideas; (b) ensure that community knowledge advancement becomes the norm, by creating emergent hyperlinked media-‐rich community-‐ designed spaces that represent collective, not just individual knowledge and accomplishment; (c) support recursion in all functions so that rise above notes and views support unlimited embedding of ideas with a higher, more integrative level of work always possible; (d) ensure every object can be an object of discourse, fostering pervasive Knowledge Building and constructive uses of authoritative sources; and (e) provide seamless integration with WWW in the Health Sciences resource and presentation possibilities. Each note was scored by a pain expert according to the scheme set out in the following inventory of misconceptions found in the database (Table 1)

Frequency of

13. Misinterpreted

Discussion