Collaborative Knowledge Construction in Study Teams of Professionals

Abstract

In this article knowledge productivity is used to investigate the outcomes of collaborative inquiry-oriented activity among professionals. Knowledge productivity is believed to create conceptual artifacts, and is conceptually associated with a motivation to learn (self-regulation), the use of different professional perspectives (reflection on action), and a way to share knowledge while working towards the construction of new knowledge and understanding (conceptual change). A study team approach was adopted to examine how (teaching) professionals worked together as a team to become knowledge-productive learners in their own work environment. The outcomes of the study team process were evaluated against three different evaluative criteria: a) improving knowledge and understanding; b) shifting individual perspectives c) commitment to the outcomes for professional practice. Evaluations of knowledge productivity by the study teams themselves revealed insights about ways the professionals accepted the study team's (collaborative) outcomes, especially their initial (un)easiness and (un)certainties about practicing the results of their collaborative inquiry. The results of the study suggest that meeting all three evaluative criteria creates a favorable condition for collaborative inquiry. The teams can be described as helping to establish progressive discourse to improve understanding through joint inquiry and exploration of dispositions, as well as personal involvement in a continuous implementation of practices.