Collaborative Knowledge Construction Research Articles

Learning mediation via Web 2.0 tools in the context of school health and safety

This collaborative project-based learning (CPBL) study concerns the design and development of educational material set by preservice teachers. During the study, Web 2.0 technologies were used as tools to support collaborative knowledge construction in terms of school health and safety. Based on the purpose of the study, mixed method was employed. Qualitative results indicated that CPBL was an appropriate choice for studies aiming to increase awareness and knowledge in a special context. Preparing an educational material set with a wide variety of Web 2.0 tools based on predetermined criteria through CPBL strategy can enable participants to enhance their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Moreover, CPBL was effective in increasing the participants' motivation and self-regulation towards technology learning.

Cognitive Presence in Online Learning: A Systematic Review of Empirical Research from 2000 to 2019

This systematic review synthesized research on cognitive presence– the process of collaborative knowledge construction–in online learning to identify trends from two decades (2000 to 2019) of scholarship. A total of 30 articles on cognitive presence were analyzed to gain deeper understanding of the current state of research and identify the gaps in literature. The distribution of publishing years, countries, instructional setting, disciplines, research methods, data collection and data analysis methods, research topics and cognitive presence phases were reviewed. The review shows that the majority of the studies were carried out in higher education in the United States and Canada within the field of education. More than half of the studies used quantitative research methods, of which discussion transcripts were the prominent method for data collection and content analysis was used the most to analyze data. Research focus of these studies was mainly on instructional strategies and learning outcomes in the online courses. Among instructional strategies, reflection on practice, case-based learning, inquiry-based learning, and peer facilitation were most researched strategies. For learning outcomes, levels of cognitive presence (triggering, exploration, integration, and resolution), critical thinking, and interaction were examined the most. In addition, the frequency of students' contributions to online discussion were categorized using the Practical Inquiry Model and revealed that the highest contributions fell within the exploration and integration phases with a small percentage in triggering and resolution phases of cognitive presence. These results provide insights for educators, researchers, and instructional designers into the cognitive presence research trends to improve the quality of online learning.

Promoting Collaborative Pedagogy in Classrooms: Challenges and Solutions

<p><em>Collaborative pedagogy appears to be productive among students and thereby adopted in many classrooms to ensure that students are active participants in the knowledge production process. However, challenges exist among students, alongside their instructors, which hinders the active involvement of students in the collaborative knowledge production process. In the same vein, the study also examines the possible ways to navigate the challenges. The argument is located within social constructivism and conceptual analysis of collaborative pedagogy to explore the trajectories of collaborative classrooms in schools. In response to the challenges, the study proposed solutions that include promotion of unity in diversities among students, the introduction of cultural variations in classrooms, and instigation of student’s readiness to interact. The study concludes that collaborative knowledge construction is worthy of being promoted with the recommendation that schools should ensure that students are taught to be united in the process of generating knowledge and that there must be concerted efforts to teach different cultures in the system with student motivation for natural interest. </em></p>

Investigation on graduate students\u2019 social presence and social knowledge construction in two online discussion settings

Online discussions have become important educational activities through which collaborative learning and knowledge construction can be facilitated. This study explores the use of two online discussion tools, online discussion board and VoiceThread, for supporting online course discussion activities among a group of graduate students and investigates the differences in the levels of social presence and social knowledge construction in the two discussion settings. Meanwhile, the participants’ posting behaviors and interaction patterns were also examined. Results reveal that the participants contributed more words when using the audio and video features of VoiceThread. Additionally, the graduate students tended to create more contents and demonstrated more social presence behaviors when interacting with others in the VoiceThread discussion platform. However, the participants exhibited fewer social knowledge construction behaviors than they did in the text-based online discussion board.

The flipped classroom model potential in online learning: an assessment focused on pedagogical interactions

This work evaluates an educational proposal, based on the Flipped Classroom principles, implemented in online learning during the lockdown caused by Covid-19 pandemic. The proposal was implemented in a Portuguese secondary school class and combines asynchronous classes (ASC) with synchronous classes (SC). We collected data using quantitative and qualitative methods, to characterise the learning environment, and its influence on the students’ engagement. The integrated analysis of the data reveals that the proposal created an adequate learning environment, organised, and supported by a robust social presence of the teacher. The design of the ASC enhanced student-content interactions leading to high rates of commitment to the tasks, which ensured an efficient preparation of the ASC. The SC division into learning episodes allowed us to understand the influence of episode design on the interaction patterns developed. The dynamic and interactive approaches of SC allowed the development of subject contents initiated in ASC. Despite the design of some episodes it has allowed measurable improvements in the number of student-student interactions it has also conditioned the collaborative construction of knowledge based on research processes.

Examining knowledge construction in three social interactive learning environments: a comparison of knowledge networks, social networks, and social knowledge networks

ABSTRACT Knowledge construction can be facilitated through different types of social interactive environment. A knowledge network environment (KN) develops a knowledge-centered network visualizing the structure of collective knowledge. A social network environment (SN) creates a people-centered network visualizing the social relationships among people. Considering the connectedness of knowledge and people, this study moves the conversation forward by introducing an integrated environment of both knowledge- and people-centered network, a social knowledge network environment (SKN). The study aimed at comparing the three types of environments and investigated their effect on collaborative knowledge construction processes and individual learning outcomes. The quasi-experiment results indicated that these three environments differed in their effects on learners' knowledge construction levels, the sequential patterns, as well as individual learning outcomes. Learners in SN had a highest rate of social interaction than the learners in the other environments. KN learners had a higher rate of allocentric elaboration than SN learners. SKN learners showed a higher level of surface and elaborative application, reflection, and knowledge construction outcomes than KN and SN learners. The different roles of social interactions were further discussed across three environments.

Changing participation in web conferencing: the shared computer screen as an online sales interaction resource

Abstract This article explores the increasing digitalization of workplace communication. Drawing on the material environment in a complex, technology-mediated workplace environment, the article investigates how remote sales interaction is constructed and managed by its participants. The data consist of web conferences conducted in Finland between a salesperson (SP) and a prospective customer (C). During the meeting, SP delivers a software solution demonstration on a shared computer screen on which only SP is able to take actions. Deploying the method of multimodal conversation analysis, the research focuses on how the shared computer screen is used as an interactional resource to achieve joint attention and to direct participants’ focus during the sales meeting. First, the shared screen view is SP’s resource; for instance, when SP describes the functionalities of the software, he/she recurrently uses deictic expressions and other linguistic means in combination with coordinated keyboard activity. Later, the shared screen view evolves into a medium for both participants’ actions. The findings suggest that, as the negotiation gets closer to the context of the customer organization’s business, C may use the screen as a vehicle for his/her own interactional purposes. Through a gradual growth in understanding of the software, C begins commenting on the screen view or guides SP’s actions on the shared screen, enabling both a collaborative sales interaction and knowledge construction in a complex technological environment. Unlike previous studies on technology-supported institutional telephone interactions, SP’s screen view in the present study is a resource shared by both the professional and the client. The study contributes both to the field of technology-mediated workplace studies as well as to the field of sales and marketing research.

A Novel Teaching Approach for Mobile Internet-Based Collaborative Knowledge Construction in "Teaching Management"

With the development of education, teaching, as the basic and central work at school, is conducted most frequently with the largest workload. In simple words, teaching management for the purpose of the management of teaching work is an essential content of school management, as well as a basic activity of school leaders. Therefore, more than just the basis and guarantee for the normal operation of school teaching, teaching management course plays a critical role in teacher growth and education reform, has great significance for schools. However, problems in current teaching management courses, such as lack of teacher-student interaction, single teaching content, and simple teaching methods have hindered students to develop interest in learning, and impede teachers to give full play to their educational personality. In this paper, a new collaborative knowledge construction teaching approach was applied in mobile Internet technology environment, and a blended teaching model of students’ online autonomous collaborative learning before class, knowledge internalization in class, and leak filling after class was proposed. At the same time, the personalized recommendation technology based on collaborative filtering algorithm was applied. Firstly, mobile terminal core information was collected from the mobile Internet learning platform for preprocessing, and then the processed data were identified by the collaborative filtering algorithm to recognize the intrusion data, thereby realizing the quick screening and accurate pushing of learning resources. It was found from the teaching practice that this model can effectively enhance students' interest in learning, improve learning effects and independent innovation capabilities.

Staying at the front line of literature: How can topic modelling help researchers follow recent studies?

Staying at the front line in learning research is challenging because many fields are rapidly developing. One such field is research on the temporal aspects of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). To obtain an overview of these fields, systematic literature reviews can capture patterns of existing research. However, conducting systematic literature reviews is time-consuming and do not reveal future developments in the field. This study proposes a machine learning method based on topic modelling that takes articles from a systematic literature review on the temporal aspects of CSCL (49 original articles published before 2019) as a starting point to describe the most recent development in this field (52 new articles published between 2019 and 2020). We aimed to explore how to identify new relevant articles in this field and relate the original articles to the new articles. First, we trained the topic model with the Results, Discussion, and Conclusion sections of the original articles, enabling us to correctly identify 74% (n = 17) of new and relevant articles. Second, clusterisation of the original and new articles indicated that the field has advanced in its new and relevant articles because the topics concerning the regulation of learning and collaborative knowledge construction related 26 original articles to 10 new articles. New irrelevant studies typically emerged in clusters that did not include any specific topic with a high topic occurrence. Our method may provide researchers with resources to follow the patterns in their fields instead of conducting repetitive systematic literature reviews.

Constructivist Teachers Beliefs, Instructional Practices and Students’ Mathematics Performance

This study determined the role of teachers’ constructivist beliefs in the teaching and learning mathematics and the use of instructional practices in the mathematics performance of Grade 7 secondary students in the Pacific Towns of Northern Samar for the school year 2016-2017. This study utilized the descriptive-correlational research design.
 The demographic profile of teachers in mathematics such as constructivist beliefs, constructivist instructional practices and performance of students was described as it exists at the present time. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between the beliefs in mathematics and students’ mathematics performance. Similarly, statistical analysis was used to determine the relationship between instructional practices and mathematics performance of the students.
 The findings showed that more than 50% of the mathematics’ teachers are aged less than 30 suggesting that most of the teachers are neophyte in the teaching career. As to educational attainment, most of the respondents are enrolled in master’s program. Only one-third have already completed master’s degree. In terms of relevant trainings, almost a half of the respondents have attended one to two trainings.
 Most of the teachers believe that teaching should involve real world connections. Teachers believe that they should create real-world environments that employ the context in which learning is relevant. Beliefs about emphasizing prior knowledge were also manifested by the teacher-respondents. Highly demonstrated beliefs include encouraging the use of multiple modes of representation to facilitate easy understanding and recall and the learner's previous knowledge constructions, beliefs and attitudes are considered in the knowledge construction process. In terms of social interaction beliefs, teachers manifested support for collaborative construction of knowledge through social negotiation.
 Result of the test conducted in mathematics by the researcher showed that more than half of the students got fair performance. Only one performed satisfactorily. Beliefs about emphasizing prior knowledge and beliefs in social interaction significantly predicted mathematics performance of students. Real world connection did not significantly predict mathematics performance.
 Respondents’ constructivist instructional practices did not offer a significant role in developing the mathematics ability of the students. Teachers did not play an active role in assimilating knowledge into students’ existing mental framework and reconstructing new knowledge.

Students’ perceptions of online learning in teacher training and education faculty

This research aimed at describing students’ perceptions of online courses. This present study used a survey approach. The data were collected using a questionnaire that distributes in online form. This research used a public opinion survey that classifies purpose-based classification. The researcher made five-stage model, according to the theory of Salmon. Stage 1 found that the most of respondents had access the Internet for study (44.6%) and capably using the keyboard (45.5%) or compose text on a computer/gadget (46.7%), but they lack motivation in online learning (93.4%). Stage 2 involved individual participants establishing online socialization, the respondents felt uncomfortable doing online communication (80.1%), but they were still active in the online classroom in interaction with lecturers (96.4%). After that, the data showed they preferred working in a group in offline (75.3%) rather than online class (47.3%). At stage 3 related to information exchange, the respondents needed to review the material (84.2%) due to remind the advanced material, made a priority to manage self-disciplined (65.2%) and time effectively (71.4%). At stage 4, course-related group discussions developed and the interaction becomes more collaborative (knowledge construction). In online learning, the respondents preferred to work independently (67.8%) rather than in groups (47.3%) or collaborate (52.7%) during learning activities. Stage 5, about the experience of offline and online learning showed that they had a benefit to studying. The similar results about students’ motivation, they lacked motivation and assumed that offline and online learning activity had different situations and goals.

Indigenous Territoriality: External Discourses and Native Perspectives on the Space Inhabited by Tegria’s U’wa Community

Tegria’s community is part of the U’wa indigenous people, who have inhabited the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy since the pre-Hispanic period, in the jurisdiction of the current municipality of Cubara in Boyaca (Colombia). However, this region known as Sarare has been described from anthropological, ethnohistorical, linguistical, and to a lesser extent, geographical approaches, which have generated representations of territory that ignore the historical process of indigenous people. To account for the present territoriality, it was proposed to contrast these external discourses with the community’s visions on its history of occupation and the transformations of the inhabited space, compiled through participatory methodologies that sought the collaborative construction of knowledge based on joint recognition of the place, the participant observation and the constant dialogue between indigenous and researchers. In this way, it was established that the external discourses show a territory that does not correspond to the processes of appropriation, adaptation, and reconfiguration of the space that the U’wa indigenous community has lived through and are evident in everyday settings such as the cultivation plot and the school. Therefore, it is only possible to recognize indigenous territoriality by exploring other alternatives, expressions, and perspectives that involve directly the communities and are not external to the context of the inquiry itself.

Supporting interdisciplinary collaborative concept mapping with individual preparation phase

Concept mapping facilitates the externalisation and internalisation of knowledge by individuals during collaborative knowledge construction. However, not much is known about the individual and collaborative learning processes during collaborative concept mapping (CCM) in interdisciplinary knowledge construction. Premised on literature on collaboration scripts to scaffold the collaboration process, this study investigates the effect of an individual preparation phase prior to collaborative work on the epistemic and social processes of knowledge co-construction, as well as the degree of interdisciplinary knowledge integration in collaborative concept mapping. A total of N = 42 third year university students were put into one of the two experimental conditions: with individual preparation phase (WIP) and without individual preparation phase (WOIP). Students worked on a collaborative assignment to integrate interdisciplinary knowledge in collaborative concept mapping. Data for analysis was derived from audio recordings of the collaborative discourse in both experimental conditions. Chi-square test was conducted to investigate if there were significant differences between the effects of WIP and WOIP on the epistemological and social dimension. Findings showed that groups in the WIP condition showed significantly more verification, clarification and positioning statements in the epistemic dimension and also significantly more integration-oriented and conflict-oriented consensus building in the social dimension as compared to groups in the WOIP condition. On the degree of interdisciplinary knowledge integration, independent sample t-tests showed that there was no significant difference for concepts, domains and cross-links between the two experimental conditions. However, there was significant difference in types of cross-links for the CCMs in the WIP condition.

Designing a Preliminary Model of Coaching Pedagogy for Synchronous Collaborative Online Learning

In recent years, webinar platforms have been broadly utilized in online learning where students meet one another synchronously online. This research’s underlying value is its recognition of the utmost importance of the awareness that online learning is a social process, as is all learning. This study aims to find out what kinds of synchronous collaborative online coaching pedagogy models have been used in previous research and proceeds to construct a preliminary pedagogical model for a coaching pedagogy for synchronous collaborative online learning (CPSCOL). The methods comprise a systematic literature review and qualitative-data and theory-driven content analysis. Through the systematic literature review, peer-reviewed articles spanning 2014–2018 are carefully examined. The results identify the following pedagogical framework, theory, and model combinations for synchronous collaborative online learning: the Community of Inquiry framework, including social, cognitive, and teaching presence; social presence in conjunction with the media synchronicity theory or the broaden-and-build theory, or the 4E Learning Cycle (engagement, exploration, explanation, and extension); no specific pedagogy; problem-based learning with Community of Inquiry framework or FISh (focus, investigate, and share); collaborative learning and collaborative learning connected to social presence; Carpe Diem with the Five-Step Model; and coaching pedagogy. The preliminary results indicate a scarcity of research on synchronous coaching pedagogy in online education. Consequently, the CPSCOL model for collaborative online learning, including cognitive, social, and teaching presence, is introduced to formulate a new perspective regarding webinar pedagogy. The process of learners, skills, and competences should factor in the pedagogical methods designed by a coach (teacher), and the results show that webinar pedagogy enables and enhances active collaborative learning and knowledge construction in groups. In addition, 18 CPSCOL principles of practice have been developed to support the practical implementation of the CPSCOL model.

Students, social network technology and learning in higher education: Visions of collaborative knowledge construction vs. the reality of knowledge sharing

Despite visions of social network technology (SNT) for collaborative knowledge construction, recent research in secondary schools suggest that students use these tools mainly for knowledge sharing of study-related artifacts. We extend these findings to higher education settings and report on two survey studies that map characteristics of students' self-directed use of SNTs for study purposes, in undergraduate university programs (N = 264) and teacher training colleges (N = 449). The combined findings confirm that students use SNTs extensively for uploading, linking and downloading study-related artifacts in peer-directed SNT groups. They regard these practices positively and believe they improve academic achievements. Sharing was predicted by positive attitudes toward sharing and collectivist value orientations, motivated overall by prosocial reasons and less frequent in competitive study programs. Use of shared materials was associated with performance-avoidance achievement goals and lower GPA. Findings, directions for future research and implications are discussed in the context of learning theories, as well the knowledge sharing literature.

Free Cartography Workshops for the Comprehensive Education of Engineering Students: A Methodological Proposal for Their Development and Systematization

This paper presents a methodology for conducting and systematizing educational activities to accomplish two objectives: (a) disseminate the role of free technologies in society among primary school children through the implementation of free cartography workshops; (b) contribute to the comprehensive formation of Computing Engineering students, specifically in the development of soft skills and social context awareness. The free cartography workshops are performed by university students and are aimed at primary school children. Concepts like local knowledge and collaborative knowledge construction, as well as basic cartography terminology are constructed through playful activities. Cartography related tasks are completed through the use of the free software Open Street Maps and Field Papers. The proposed methodology has been designed based on the results of a previous experience, carried out in 2016 in rural areas of the country, in the context of the celebration of the Science and Technology Month, an event organized by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Telecommunications (MICITT). The paper also describes the experience provided by using this methodology in two free cartography workshops held in communities with a lower social development index. Finally, the workshops methodology is enriched with a proposal for an experience systematization process aiming at acknowledging learning, evaluating results and identifying possible improvements to the workshops methodology.

Fatores críticos de sucesso percebidos por estudantes na adoção de disciplinas semipresenciais em cursos presenciais

Blended learning has been a short term trend and its wide range of applications has aroused the interest of researchers. Therefore, this research aims to identify which are the critical success factors for adoption of blended learning subjects in traditional classroom courses, from the students' perspective. The investigation took place in a private Higher Education Institution, in south Brazil, through the application of questionnaires to 331 students taking courses in the blendend learning modality. The analysis was performed in a qualitative way, through content analysis, and quantitative way, with the comparison of categorical variables through calculations of the statistics of the relationship between them. The results point to the following critical success factors: first, teachers 'digital competence must be developed, as they need to be well prepared to help in the development of students' digital competence. From this, other factors become decisive, such as technology, which must have a friendly interface, be easy to navigate, promote interaction and collaborative construction of knowledge. In addition, the disciplines must be structured with the application of active learning methodologies and with the adoption of a variety of activities that have, mainly, visual stimulus. All the factors raised are interdependent and need continuous improvement.

Escribir para convencer: experiencia de diseño instruccional en contextos digitales de autoaprendizaje

El objetivo de este articulo es analizar la experiencia de diseno, implementacion y evaluacion del curso abierto Escribir para convencer de edX, para contribuir a la discusion sobre nuevas formas de ensenar y aprender en contextos digitales. El diseno instruccional se sistematizo con base en el modelo ADDIE, que integra los principios del Paradigma Pedagogico Ignaciano. El estudio fue descriptivo e incluyo informacion cuantitativa retomada de la herramienta edX Insights y de encuestas de satisfaccion aplicadas en el curso, asi como informacion cualitativa recolectada de los foros de evaluacion de las unidades. En los desempenos hubo un mayor rendimiento de los participantes en las actividades individuales y de realimentacion automatica, y una menor implicacion en actividades colaborativas. Como en otros MOOC, hay un decrecimiento del numero de participantes al transcurrir del curso. El diseno instruccional de este tipo de cursos enfrenta algunos desafios, como las transformaciones en los roles de los docentes respecto a la mediacion directa, y de los estudiantes, en cuanto a la autonomia, compromiso y apertura a la construccion colaborativa del conocimiento. A pesar de estos retos, el diseno instruccional contribuye a la efectividad de los MOOC y a su vigencia como alternativa de formacion en contextos cotidianos y academicos que aportan a la generacion de ciudadanos globales y digitales.

On the instructional model of a blended learning program for developing mathematical knowledge for teaching

Blended learning, which combines face-to-face workshops with self-directed online learning, is becoming a good alternative in designing and deploying professional development programs. The online component adapts to teachers’ time constraints, requires fewer trained professionals for its implementation, and enhances participants’ opportunities to engage in the exploration and visualization of mathematical concepts and ideas. Also, the face-to-face component of this instruction modality allows spontaneous communication and collaborative construction of knowledge in real settings. This paper describes the instructional model of Suma y Sigue, a b-learning professional development program for primary and middle school teachers, which has been designed and implemented in Chile since 2015, aimed at developing mathematical knowledge for teaching. A particular feature of the program is its high-degree of self-directed autonomous online learning. We discuss how contextualized situations are articulated to create a learning environment in which teachers get involved in a progressive construction of multiple components of this knowledge. We also describe the implementation of the program, discussing the effects of scaling in teachers’ experiences, and also how the information gathered upon implementation has led to changes in the training of instructors and in the program’s instructional design.

CORPOREALITY, INITIAL FORMATION IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND STS CURRICULUM

In the context of cultural transformation engendered by the new technological society, the challenge facing the school institution in terms of reconfiguring its historically established practices is great. From the advent of the Internet and digital technologies, there are many possibilities for building knowledge and preparing citizens for active life. The way to build knowledge is collaborative. Participation and interaction in the global world permeated by these technologies must be the scope of this new school; and teachers are called to use virtual tools for the benefit of body education, which requires a fresh look at the body. The collaborative construction of knowledge, citizen participation and preparation for active life, as well as their critical formation, are in this agenda. And Physical Education, as a compulsory curricular component of Basic Education, which has its foundations in the concepts of body and movement, also needs to be sensitive to this theme, of great relevance to the current scenario. Through bibliographic research, this article aims to discuss these issues, dear to the educational area, in particular, to school Physical Education. Therefore, there is a discussion about the body place in the institutions of formal education, its relations with the initial formation in Physical Education and with the infamous STS curriculum. Topics of socio-scientific relevance can and should be approached by the area, aiming to develop values ​​and attitudes for responsible decision making in the face of real situations, in the light of a thematic approach aimed at a problematizing, dialogical, reflective and argumentative education. reality, as in Paulo Freire, starting from reflections on basic contradictions existing in existential situations.