Individual Knowledge Construction Research Articles

Tracing the Ontological Beliefs of Norwegian Educators Concerning Technology use in Early Childhood Education and Care

Nested in the socio-cultural theory and the related concepts of dialogue in thinking (Mercer & Littleton, 2007) and dialogic teaching in classrooms (Mercer & Howe, 2012), this study explored knowledge and technology as dynamic meaning-making processes in Norwegian early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. Group-reflections from thirteen Norwegian early childhood educators and their ontological beliefs concerning digital technology in ECEC were analysed with a theory-driven thematic analysis. The analysis highlights two tensions between individual and collective reasons for using digital technology in ECEC: a tension between the educators’ ontological beliefs about the need for children’s collective experiences and children’s individual use of digital technology, and another tension related to the educators’ own individual learning and collective knowledge construction about technology. We derive time as the key reason for the individual-collective tensions. Educators need time to develop good experiences with digital technology for all children, and they need time to develop their own learning, individually and collectively. Given the urgent demand to support technology use in Norwegian ECEC for young children, we underscore time constraints as a key factor influencing individual-collective tensions, impacting educators’ capacity for effective implementation and professional development.

Fostering Performance in Hands-On Laboratory Work with the Use of Mobile Augmented Reality (AR) Glasses

The learning of laboratory skills is essential in science education, but students often get too little individual guidance in this area. Augmented reality (AR) technologies are a promising tool to tackle this challenge and promote students’ high-level learning and performance in science laboratories. Thus, the purpose of this study was (1) to design an AR-assisted learning environment to support individual knowledge construction, (2) to investigate students’ learning processes and learning outcomes and (3) to examine the usability of the system. Pharmacy students (n = 16) were assigned to experimental (n = 10) and control (n = 6) groups and performed the same laboratory work together with pre- and post-tests. The experimental group worked with AR glasses that provided additional support and timely guidance during the work with additional info-screens, questions related to choosing correct reagents and laboratory tools and think-aloud questions, whereas the control group worked in a traditional laboratory context. The results showed that AR was more effective in fostering performance in the science laboratory compared to traditional laboratory instruction and prevented most of the mistakes. The AR group considered the guidance and feedback provided by AR to be beneficial for their learning. However, no apparent differences were found in tasks measuring students’ understanding of the content knowledge. Thus, an AR environment embedded with supportive tools could partly replace the teacher in science teaching laboratories by providing individual and timely guidance for the students.

The return of moral questions: expanding social epistemology in music education in a time of super-diversity

ABSTRACTLeaning particularly on Zygmunt Bauman’s thoughts, this paper analyses past theorizations of music education, asking if these trends have created a value indifference and moral blindness in terms of who ‘we’ want to be in super-diverse societies. The paper pinpoints the need for a professional social epistemology in which social integration brings forth the use of moral imagination beyond the bounds of existing musical and educational practices whilst constructing the ‘we’. Post Second World War music education theorisation shunned the idea of schools as spaces of education fostering a ‘common culture’, an idea seen as characteristic of nationalistic music education. The cognitive turn towards individual knowledge construction, first manifested in the aesthetic approach and then followed by the ‘practice turn’ and rights-based multiculturalism, has focused on individual cognition and identities in relation to diverse musical practices. The paper argues that the increasing diversity, polarisation, and consequential policy demands for social integration now require that music education needs to return to moral questions about how we as a profession potentially construct ‘our life’ and ‘our values’ in educational contexts.

EFL Students' Online Learning: Epistemic Beliefs Determine Learning Strategies

This study aimed to examine EFL students' cognitive processing, notably based on their epistemic beliefs views and learning strategies towards self-directed online learning. A descriptive quantitative method was used to explore 100 students' learning strategies. The focus is on examining individual knowledge construction through active cognitive engagement on English language exposures and aquisition in online community. The results suggest that students with more sophisticated epistemic beliefs have different learning strategies compare to those who posses simple ones. Students' characteristics which appear to impact their use of learning strategies are discussed. Suggestions for instructional strategies are offered.

The Research of Blended Learning Model of the “Apple Teacher” Program

The “Apple Teacher” program adopts a mixed learning mode in course teaching, combining network resources with the real environment to form “Online Learning + Teaching Assistant Support; Offline Class + Theme Learning; Exchange Discussion + Summary Reflection” in one of the blended learning modes and “Basic Knowledge—Self-testing—Theme Learning—Self-creation—Summary Reflection” form of learning activities.“The national medium and long-term education reform and development program outline (2010-2020)” since its launch, pays more and more attention to education informatization in our country. In the “Internet+” era, information technology and teaching idea constantly updated. The combination of online blended learning mode has become a trend, and blended learning effect has already become the important direction of teaching reform in education field. In the “Apple Teacher” program, learners take an active part in learning, actively construct and realize the harmonious unity of “Individual Knowledge Construction—Learning Community”.

The Constructivist Approach: Radical and Social Constructivism in the Relationship by Using the Implementation Career Level on the Vocational Education

Vocational education is oriented to the secondary educational in which focusing on the development of the student in order to be ready to work professionally and ready to improve their self-potential, in particular, field work. The aim of this paper is to analyze the constructivist approach to vocational education, the relationship between radical and social constructivist and the implementation of the career level on the voced. The result of this discussion to explain the relationship between radical constructivism and social constructivism is viewed the strong abilities. Radical constructivism related the construction mental structure and meaning by individual. After studying, the social constructivism is more focused the social interaction than the individual knowledge construction, the stressing of construction is shown about the meaning in the social interaction activities. Implementation would be successful about the career in the vocational education and needed the educators to make an active facilitator, particularly to guide the students by question with their assumptions and trained the students by reconstructing the new meaning of knowledge, so that students can be a good career.

Realidade Aumentada e Gamificação na Educação: uma aplicação para auxiliar no processo de aprendizagem de alunos com deficiência intelectual

Atualmente, sabe-se que a tecnologia vem se tornando um instrumento cada vez mais importante em nossa cultura e, seu uso, um meio de inclusão e interação com o mundo, principalmente, às pessoas com deficiência. Diversos estudos vem sendo realizados explorando as especificidades da tecnologia de Realidade Aumentada e Gamificação. No entanto, a maioria estão voltados para o tratamento de pessoas com deficiência motora. Assim, esse artigo propõe o AR-G Atividades Educacionais, um aplicativo de Realidade Aumentada com Gamificação para auxiliar no processode aprendizagem de alunos com deficiência intelectual em geral. Os resultados quantitativos e qualitativos apontam que o aplicativo contribui para a melhoria de habilidades que, pelosmétodos tradicionais de ensino, utilizados até o momento pelos alunos, ainda não haviam sido melhoradas. É uma ferramenta de fácil aprendizagem e proporciona satisfação por parte dospotenciais usuários durante sua utilização. Quanto a material de aprendizagem, proporciona facilidade de construção de conhecimento individual ou coletiva e apresenta indícios de maior motivação por parte dos alunos durante a realização de suas atividades, além de um comportamento mais ativo dos mesmo.

Learning and Collective Knowledge Construction With Social Media: A Process-Oriented Perspective

Social media are increasingly being used for educational purposes. The first part of this article briefly reviews literature that reports on educational applications of social media tools. The second part discusses theories that may provide a basis for analyzing the processes that are relevant for individual learning and collective knowledge construction. We argue that a systems-theoretical constructivist approach is appropriate to examine the processes of educational social media use, namely, self-organization, the internalization of information, the externalization of knowledge, and the interplay of externalization and internalization providing the basis of a co-evolution of cognitive and social systems. In the third part we present research findings that illustrate and support this systems-theoretical framework. Concluding, we discuss the implications for educational design and for future research on learning and collective knowledge construction with social media.

Facilitating students’ individual and collective knowledge construction through microblogs

This paper reports on a microblog intervention that purports to prepare students to engage in rich, whole-class discussions. In this study, students (n=25) used microblogs to summarise text information, which was then shared on tablets and a big projection screen in the classroom. We analysed individual preparations, participation in teacher-led whole-class discussion, and performance on a research-developed intervention. The context for the study was a history class exploring the topic of democratic development and the role of ideologies in Europe prior to the First World War. We employed descriptive quantitative analysis to understand students’ outcomes, and contrastive case analysis to trace four representative students’ trajectories of participation across classroom activities. Students’ engagement varied, and the differences transcended the activities in which they took part. Even though some of the students did not use the microblogs, the technology-supported whole-class discussion encouraged learning for even reluctant bloggers. We saw these gains in reference to students’ ongoing interpretations shared through microblogs during the whole-class discussion.

An fMRI study exploring cognitive processing during computer-based discovery learning

Discovery-based learning designs incorporating active exploration are common within computer-based instructional simulations, supported by constructivist theories of learning focussing on active individual knowledge construction. On the other hand, researchers have highlighted empirical evidence showing that ‘pure' discovery learning is of limited value and that combinations of explicit instruction and guided discovery learning are more effective. Little is known, however, about differences in the cognitive processing that occurs when a learner undertakes active discovery learning using a computer-based simulation compared to when they are guided through observation of simulation output. A better understanding of the cognitive processing occurring when learners interact with on-line materials in the context of specific learning designs is important both for networked learning researchers and for on-line teachers. This paper reports on a study in which the brain activations from two learning conditions using computer-based simulations were compared using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). One condition allowed exploration through manipulation of simulation parameters, while the other allowed observation of simulation output from preset parameters. Drawing on constructivist theories of learning, it was hypothesised that the active exploration condition would lead to greater activation of brain areas associated with working memory organisation and long term memory formation. The study also set out to explore the broader feasibility of using fMRI to explore learners' cognitive processing while undertaking holistic learning activities using on-line learning materials. Results of the study were somewhat equivocal about differences in brain activation with no consistent differences in activation between the two conditions able to be measured. Consistent with our related research which suggests that discovery learning strategies vary substantially across individuals, results of this study suggest that the cognitive processing during the two conditions varied across participants. Integrated analysis of the exploration processes, learning outcomes and measured brain activations of individuals shows promise in better understanding the relationship between learning strategy, interaction and cognition when using instructional simulations. Approaches like this that draw on an analysis of data on learning process and outcome along with an analysis of physiological measures (in this case blood flow as an indicator of brain activation) are expected to be at the leading edge of learning analytics research in coming years. The study also highlighted challenges associated with the use of fMRI to explore learners' cognition while undertaking learning activities allowing significant learner control and involving extensive computer-based interaction.

Improving individual knowledge construction and re-construction in the context of radical innovation

This study presents implications imperative to the industry on increasing the success of working with innovation in practice. As a compliment to this, knowledge is claimed to the under-represented individual level of aggregation in the innovation management literature, where a bold setup for claiming knowledge via action research is presented.

Learners’ internal management of cognitive processing in online learning

This study examined students’ internal management of their cognitive processing in an interactive online class. A mixed methods approach was used to explore students’ strategy use in online discussions. The focus is on examining individual knowledge construction through active cognitive engagement, rather than the social interactions, in the online community. The findings suggest that a key difference between learners who engaged in deep processing of the content and those whose engagement was more shallow lay in their use of metacognitive and affective strategies rather than cognitive strategies. Both environmental and learner characteristics that might influence students’ use of learning strategies are discussed. Suggestions for course design are offered.

Community‐based individual knowledge construction in the classroom: a process‐oriented account

AbstractThis paper explores the process of knowledge convergence and knowledge sharing in the context of classroom collaboration in which students do a group learning activity mediated by a generic representation tool. In analysing the transcript of the interactions of a group, we adapt the group cognition method of Stahl and the uptake analysis methodology of Suthers to understand how the members of the group did meaning making in their interactions, and how individual members did uptakes of their interactions and applied their new shared knowledge or understanding in new situations. The transcript is taken from our school‐based research using the Group Scribbles software technology which provides representation spaces for individual, group or class work to support collaborative practices. Our work contributes toward a methodology for explaining a process‐oriented account of a small group interaction through face‐to‐face communication over external shared representations.

Symposium 5: The Paradox of Social Media and Higher Education Institutions

This paper explores the paradox that occurs between institutional expectations and expectations held by student regarding the use of social media in support of learning in higher education settings. Specifically, the example is given of a disagreement that took place in a recent conversation in a distributed medical education programme in Canada. The current body of research regarding the incongruity of expectations about integrating social media into a higher education institution framework suggests that a widening gap is emerging and that conflict is taking place. The example from Canada exemplifies the difference that exists in people’s understandings and expectations of how social media can be employed for benefit in education. The paper looks at the principles of social media and the potential impact on many of society’s institutions, including government, commerce, media and education. Interestingly, higher education seems to have fallen behind in adopting and adapting to the new social media reality. The key points of social constructivist thinking are then examined with special attention to the following five points: learning requires active participation by the learner; previous experience is important when reinforcing new learning; individual knowledge construction requires a social interaction element; negotiation within the learning environment is essential; and, learning best takes place within a socio-cultural context. These principles are then addressed in relation to the social media principles of active participation, collaboration and that of reflection. Finally, three points are expanded as to potential sources and reasons why conflict may occur when trying to integrate a popular social media perspective into the established higher education setting. These are: existing hierarchical structure of higher education institutions; accreditation and quality concerns; and, formal and informal learning. Social media is more than computer application and programs and the technology behind them it is about transformation. At its core, social media is a collection of ideas about community, openness, flexibility, collaboration, transformation and it is all user-centred. If education and educational institutions can understand and adopt these principles, perhaps there is a chance for significant change in how we teach and learn in formal and informal settings. The challenge is to discover how to facilitate this change.

Knowledge construction and legal discourse: The interdependence of perspective and visibility of characteristics

In this paper, I investigate the impact that a change of background assumptions in the study of domain-specific communication like legal communication may have on the focus of such studies. Recent developments in linguistics, especially the inclusion of cognitive aspects like the necessary individuality of knowledge and the ongoing process of knowledge construction, challenge some of the traditional concepts in this field such as the concept of abstract sublanguages. These developments make it relevant to introduce approaches with a different focus as a supplement to the traditional approaches in order to achieve a fuller picture of domain-specific communication. By way of a specific example (a study of the concept Mord in Swiss criminal law), the empirical part of the paper shows which additional aspects of communication in the field of law become visible if we supplement the traditional approaches with approaches focusing on cognition and individual knowledge construction.

Using a Collaborative Database to Enhance Students’ Knowledge Construction

This study focuses on academic online course in collaborative database learning environment and examines the conditions for effectiveness of collective and individual knowledge construction in this environment. The purpose of this study was to examine whether learners with a collaborative learning orientation differ from learners with an individual learning orientation, as was measured through their contribution to the process of knowledge construction in a collaborative online database environment. The results of the study showed differential achievements among learners with different learning orientations. The learners with collaborative learning orientation succeeded more in the collective criteria of knowledge construction compared to the less collaborative ones. On the other hand, the less collaborative participants within the forum gained higher scores in the personal criteria of knowledge construction compared to the collaborative ones. While the ‘collaborative learners’ contributed more collective knowledge, the ‘individual learners’ focused on constructing their own personal knowledge. These findings have important implications on planning, coordinating and evaluating collaborative learning environment.

Facilitating knowledge construction by customized supportive services

This research is aimed to assist individual learners to construct knowledge in online learning through providing them with customized supportive services. The services go beyond simply presenting course materials, but supply a diverse range of technological facilities, tools and services to assist individual learners to progress in the learning process. In this paper, the theoretical background for facilitating construction of knowledge by individual learners is built at the first, through the review of constructivist theories for learning and the objectivist ones. Then, a general conceptual model to describe any number of practices in learning and teaching online is built. It will be used to customize online learning environments to cater for various different learning demands. The services to support the individual's knowledge construction are identified based on the relevant theoretical background. After that, software agents are proposed to customize the supportive services for individual learners based on their particular learning characteristics. Next, the implementation of these services is investigated and a system prototype is reported. Finally the preliminary research result and the further work are presented.

Users’ attitudes toward Web-based collaborative learning systems for knowledge management

The Web-based technology is a potential tool for supported collaborative learning that may enrich learning performance, such as individual knowledge construction or group knowledge sharing. Thus, understanding Web-based collaborative learning for knowledge management is a critical issue. The present study is to investigate learners’ attitudes toward Web-based collaborative learning systems. Based on this research, the results of factor analysis show that five attitude factors (system functions, system satisfaction, collaborative activities, learners’ characteristics, and system acceptance) should be examined at the same time when building a Web-based collaborative learning system. The results also provide an acceptance model for understanding users’ behavioral intention of facilitating Web-based collaborative systems.

Predators of knowledge construction: Interpreting students' metacognition in an amusement park physics program

AbstractIt is recognized widely that learning is a dynamic and idiosyncratic process of construction and reconstruction of concepts in response to new experiences. It is influenced by the learner's prior knowledge, motivation, and sociocultural context. This study investigated how year 11 and 12 physics students' metacognition influences the development of their conceptual understandings of kinematics. An interpretive case study approach was used to investigate students working in collaborative groups in the context of an amusement park physics program. The metacognitive character of individual learners was demonstrated to have a strong influence on their conceptual development. Moreover, the metacognitive character of individuals within the small group contexts investigated was a key factor influencing the groups' collective knowledge development. A coyote–rabbit metaphor was developed to interpret the resilience and weaknesses of individual and group knowledge construction processes, and elucidates new theoretical understandings regarding metacognition and its influence on knowledge construction. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 91:298–320, 2007

Exploration of a method to analyze group interactions in problem-based learning

Many educational institutions use instructional approaches such as problem-based learning (PBL), in which collaborative learning plays an important role. There is little research, however, that describes which factors are responsible for the success of collaboration. The purpose of this study was twofold, i.e. to explore cognitive interactions taking place between students in tutorial groups and to examine whether the coding system of Van Boxtel (2000) is usable to analyze these interactions. The focus was on elaborations and co-constructions, which are indicators of individual and collaborative knowledge construction in a group. Videotapes of three PBL sessions were transcribed, in which tutorial groups of the Maastricht Medical School were discussing a problem. The results showed that cognitive interactions could be found in the tutorial groups and that it was possible to analyze them. Co-constructions seemed most easy to elicit from the transcripts.