Community-Level Design Considerations in Creating Communities of Inquiry

Abstract

A major emphasis in contemporary inquiry models is on creating learning contexts that mirror disciplinary cultures. Socializing students into ways of talking, thinking, and acting as a community of inquiry provides a means for developing a deeper understanding of the nature of knowledge creation through disciplinary norms and practices. Knowledge creation is a collective endeavor, extending beyond individual inquiry. Thus, in order to fully understand how to cultivate community-based models in classrooms, it is critical to look beyond engaging students in inquiry at the individual level (e.g., positioning a student as a biologist or an historian) to also consider educational implications at the community level (e.g., students participating in collective practices and social interactions across a community of biologists or historians). This chapter highlights four central community-level design considerations of use to teachers and designers in creating communities of inquiry: (1) cultivating a social identity of a collective enterprise, (2) attending to communal knowledge spaces, (3) framing social interactions using multiplayer epistemic games, and (4) supporting metalevel reflections on the community inquiry. Each is elaborated with detailed examples drawn across various subject matter areas and grade levels in order to support theoretical understanding and practical application.