Knowledge-building Environment Research Articles

The Relationships Between Elementary School Students’ Self-Determined Motivation, Learning Engagement, Comment, and Learning Achievement in Knowledge Building Environment

The Relationships Between Elementary School Students’ Self-Determined Motivation, Learning Engagement, Comment, and Learning Achievement in Knowledge Building Environment

STARTUP INCUBATION AND ACCELERATORS IN AFRICA; ARE START-UPS SCALING UP IN KENYA?

Incubators and accelerators help businesses overcome obstacles such as lack of space, cash, mentoring, and training. While business incubation is not a new idea worldwide, its function in developing and scaling up start-ups remains vacant in Kenya. This study examined whether start-up incubators and accelerators help Kenyan companies grow. This study focused on the importance of accelerators and incubators in Kenya. Kenya is recognized as the second most important innovation cluster in Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the tremendous influence of incubators and accelerators on the growth of start-ups in Kenya, their long-term sustainability suffers partly due to a weak knowledge-building environment, inadequate marketing research, poor customer service, a lack of adequate personnel training, and inefficient demand forecasting and analysis, all of which is the Covid-19 outbreak has hampered start-up growth, lowering their formation, survival, and progress. Finally, incubators help entrepreneurs succeed by providing them with space, guidance, mentorship, connections to investors, and internet access. To safeguard established start-ups from the Covid-19 outbreak and guarantee them focus on scaling up, the problem may be overcome by assisting new and existing start-ups. Policymakers can alleviate short-term worries by encouraging short-term liquidity and capital, as well as fostering new business prospects. Policies that encourage new businesses and promote entrepreneurial potential may help speed up the recovery and sustain aggregate employment. Advocate for the Kenyan government to alter existing national legislation and enhance coordination among the numerous players in the start-up ecosystem.

Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: Factors Affecting Students’ Participation and Interaction in a Knowledge Building Environment

This study seeks to explore the key factors and barriers that impact the learners' participation and interaction and in the Knowledge Forum environment. Moreover, this study was performed in one of the public universities in Malaysia. A quantitative and qualitative research approach through a questionnaire and interview were used. A total of 28 participants were surveyed using the questionnaire. A 40-items questionnaire was developed based on a review of previous literature. Descriptive statistics were adopted for data collection analysis. Thus, the results indicated the most important factors that affected learners’ participation in Knowledge Forum: (a) classmates’ behaviors, (b) discussions needs, (c) learners’ characteristics, (d) restriction on the ongoing discussion, (e) deficiency of ideas, (f) ideas’ level (g) knowledge building level, (h) issues of technical, (i) limited time and (j) misunderstanding. Consequently, the results can enable higher education institutions to take the required steps to encourage successful activities of knowledge-building in computer-assisted learning. Many recommendations have been suggested to improve learners’ engagement and interaction in the knowledge forums environments.

The impact of the last stage of 4S TMD in chemistry books using knowledge building environment

This research is a follow-up study which aims to describe how to develop a chemistry book in hydrocarbon materials based on KBE with the 4S TMD model. The 4S TMD model consists of four stages, namely selection, structuring, characterization and didactic reduction. This research will focus on the stage of characterization and didactic reduction. The Knowledge Building Environment (KBE) is a theory used to build values and knowledge in the environment to improve the quality of teaching materials. The values to be developed include attentiveness, caring, curiosity, critical, moderation, respect for the environment, respect for health and wisdom. The research uses design, development and evaluation research methods. In this article, we will discuss how the chemistry book is in the didactic characterization and reduction stages. The characterization stage finds difficult concepts that need to be reduced. Didactic reduction stage to reduce difficult concepts to be concrete and simple. The didactic reduction method is to return to the qualitative stage; neglect; use of explanations in the form of pictures, symbols, sketches and experiments; use of analogy; use of historical development levels; generalization; particularization; and ignoring different concept statements.

Designing and using digital platforms for 21st century learning

This paper is written in response to the original article “Designing for 21st century learning online: A heuristic method to enable educator learning support roles” (Nacu et al. 2018). The article presents a guide for teacher interactions with students in networked technologies. It also serves as a guide for network designers who are concerned about the quality of online learning, and want more equitable access to systems that inspire young people “to pursue their interests and take ownership of their learning” (Nacu et al. 2018, p. 1029). During the Covid-19 pandemic, network platforms assumed a central role in the educational process. The article is a timely reminder of the importance of designing and implementing platforms that will address twenty-first century learning goals. This response to the Nacu et al. article reviews their research from a “theory of change” perspective. The authors in the original article present a heuristic that expands the online roles that educators currently use to support young people in building their knowledge. To realize the full potential of the heuristic, a more holistic approach is required, one that repositions online learning as a knowledge-building environment. A theory of change could identify the critical variables needed to help teachers and designers transition to a more comprehensive understanding of online learning. Unfortunately, heuristics by themselves do not prepare network designers or teachers to do this work. Future research can embed the heuristic in a broader, deeper effort to prepare teachers and designers to enact student-centered online learning environments.

Self‐directed reflective assessment for collective empowerment among pre‐service teachers

AbstractThis study investigated the role and process of self‐directed reflective assessment (SDRA) enhanced by learning analytics to support pre‐service teachers' (PTs') collective empowerment in a knowledge‐building (KB) classroom. The participants were 43 second‐year PTs from a compulsory course taught by a teacher who had 2 years' teaching experience. A comparison class of 47 PTs, taught by the same teacher and studying the same topics in a regular KB environment, also participated. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in participation and domain understanding between the experimental class and the comparison class. Qualitative tracing of the SDRA group's online discourse indicated that the PTs were empowered and that their collective empowerment increased gradually over time. Analysis of the PTs' prompt sheets revealed that analytic‐supported SDRA helped the PTs engage in collective decision making to choose and judge promising ideas, and in collective synthesis and “rise‐above” of ideas, thus helping them engage in high‐level collective empowerment. The findings have important implications for the design of technology‐rich environments as metacognitive tools to support learners' empowerment, and they shed light on how teachers can use such tools to engage learners in metacognitive practices to increase their empowerment. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic? Empowering pre‐service teachers' (PTs') to master higher order competencies is particularly important; PTs' empowerment primarily consisted of these high‐level competencies. Collaborative inquiry that can help learners to develop higher order competencies and further empowerment primarily depends on learners' metacognition. SDRA has great potential in empowering PTs, however, little research has been conducted to investigate the role and process of SDRA for supporting PTs. What this paper adds SDRA can empower PTs and help them increase their empowerment over time. SDRA effectively drives PTs to actualize and develop their metacognition, which in turn fosters PTs to engage in collective decision making, idea negotiation, and idea synthesis and “rise‐above” thinking, and thereby gradually helps the PTs increase their empowerment. The design of learning environments, which capitalizes on KB pedagogy and SDRA, is accessible to the PTs and fosters their collective empowerment. Implications for practice and/or policy Establishing a democratic and collaborative learning environment, fostering a sense of community and confidence among learners, and helping learners to gradually develop necessary skills are important for supporting their empowerment. The learning design for empowering learners should support learners' agency, collective decision making, reflection and regulation, and collective KB. It is important to organize collective reflection opportunities to help students engaged in data‐supported SDRA.

Need of chemistry book developed by 4S TMD models on hydrocarbon to increase knowledge building environment eleven-grade students

In this article, we explain the needs of chemistry book developed by 4S TMD models on hydrocarbon to increase knowledge building environment eleven-grade students. The Knowledge Building Environment has built students’ knowledge so that when implemented in teaching materials it can support the development of ideas for students but there are still no teaching materials based on the knowledge building environment. We use qualitative descriptive research. Data collection instruments used were structured questions and interviews. This study was conducted at senior high schools and vocational high schools with chemistry teachers. The teacher’s structure question responses were analyzed descriptively for each item. Based on the results of interviews with chemistry teachers teaching materials in the form of the textbook are still a top priority as a learning resource. School facilities have not supported the use of electronic-based teaching materials due to the unavailability of sufficient projectors for, there are no internet facilities, the textbook is the perfect solution. The results of this study are the basis for us in developing chemistry book by 4S TMD models on hydrocarbon to increase knowledge building environment eleven-grade students that can be used in chemistry learning and teaching in upper high schools.

How to develop hydrocarbon e-textbook of chemistry based knowledge building environment with 4S TMD models?

This study aims to describe how to develop hydrocarbon e-textbook of chemistry based knowledge building environment with 4S TMD models. 4S TMD models consists of four stages i.e selection, structuring, characterization and didactic reduction. Hydrocarbon there are many applications in daily life. Knowledge building environment is a theory pioneered by Carl Bereiter and Marlene Scardamalia to construct knowledge. Knowledge building environment contains values that can build knowledge through the environment related to teaching material. The values contained in the knowledge building environment include attentiveness, careness, curiosity, critical, moderation, respect for environment, respect for health and wisdom. Developmental Research was used as method of the study consist of design, develop, and evaluation. In this article, we explain result of developed e-textbook of chemistry in selection and structuring stages. Selection stage consist of the curriculum based on the selection steps, the interrelationships between certain skill value and subject matter. Structuring stage consist of make a concept maps and macro structure. This research only to structuring stage characterization and didactic reduction stages will be carried out.

Development of Knowledge Building Environment (KBE) - based colloidal system learning materials to develop student’s environmental literacy: An environmental analysis

This study aims to develop a knowledge building environment (KBE)-based colloidal system learning material to develop students’ environmental literacy. To realize this, the problem questions raised in this study are: “1) What are the product characteristics of colloidal system teaching materials based on knowledge building environment to develop student environmental literacy which is developed with the 4STMD method? 2) What is the understanding aspect of colloidal system teaching materials based on knowledge building environment to develop student environmental literacy which is developed with the 4STMD method? and 3) How is the feasibility of colloidal system teaching materials based on knowledge building environment to develop student environmental literacy which is developed with the 4STMD method? The research method used is Development Research (DR) with a book development model using 4STMD. The results of the study show: 1) Characteristics of teaching materials developed are very in accordance with the following criteria: curriculum, scientific correctness, containing KBE values and environmental literacy, equipped with concept maps, structured and systematic; 2) Understanding of teaching materials by students is high (88.21%); and 3) The feasibility of teaching materials amounting to 96.81% (very feasible) fulfilling the criteria for the assessment of lesson text books based on BSNP standards means that they are worthy of use.

Fostering college students’ design thinking in a knowledge-building environment

Knowledge building is an innovative pedagogy aiming to transform students into expert-like knowledge workers. The purpose of this study was to foster teacher-education students’ design performance (i.e., observation, synthesis, ideation and prototypes) in a knowledge-building environment. The participants were 38 college students from a Taiwanese university. They were randomly assigned to eight groups. Each group used the Knowledge Forum—a computer-supported collaborative knowledge-building environment—to develop and discuss the design products of their choice. Data analysis focused on the groups’ online knowledge-building activities, online design thinking processes, and the relationship between them. In general, knowledge-building activities facilitated students’ design thinking. Specifically, we considered the extent to which student groups’ sustained online engagement and increased knowledge had a major impact on their design performance. Ways of applying knowledge-building principles to foster effective design processes are discussed.

Integrated STEM Learning in an Idea-centered Knowledge-building Environment

STEM learning is an integrated approach to improving learners’ problem-solving capacity and 21st-century skills by engaging them in systematic investigation that requires interdisciplinary knowledge. This study aimed to examine whether the design of an innovative knowledge-building environment facilitates STEM learning. Participants were university students engaging in in-depth group projects to design a piece of living-technology product. Data were obtained from student groups’ online discussion of their STEM projects. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses of student groups’ knowledge-building activities, including fostering a strong sense of community, working productively with ideas, and assuming higher-level agency, provided evidence of students’ deep engagement in the design of their STEM projects. Recommendations for the design of effective STEM learning environments are offered.

Fostering Students’ Scientific Inquiry through Computer-Supported Collaborative Knowledge Building

The aim of this study was to investigate whether and how engaging with a computer-supported collaborative knowledge-building environment helps students to develop a more sophisticated approach to scientific inquiry. A total of 52 undergraduate students took a course entitled “Introduction to Natural Sciences” that was based on knowledge-building pedagogy. They were engaged in using the Knowledge Forum (KF) to conduct scientific inquiries and construct scientific concepts through online collaboration. We analyzed (1) the contents of students’ online discussions and (2) students’ online activity logs. Data were subjected to both qualitative and quantitative analysis. The results indicated that (1) after engaging in scientific inquiry using KF, the students were able to develop more sophisticated scientific concepts; and (2) while the quality of the students’ scientific inquiries was overall correlated with the quantity of their online activities, it was found that not all types of knowledge-building activities contribute to effective scientific inquiry. Only when the focus of students’ online activities is placed on sustained idea improvement can the quality of their inquiries actually be enhanced. We discuss possible ways of improving how students conduct online inquiries.

Developing metadiscourse through reflective assessment in knowledge building environments

This study examined how reflective assessment supported by principles facilitated metadiscourse for knowledge advances mediated by Knowledge Forum® (KF). Participants were 60 tertiary students in two classes engaging in knowledge building and reflecting on their collaborative knowledge building using e-portfolios; one class was a principle-based knowledge-building environment (KBP, n = 30), and the other a regular knowledge-building environment (KBR, n = 30). The KF embedded assessment tools, the Analytical Toolkit and Applet, showed increased KF participation and connectedness during the year. Regression analysis showed that KF participation predicted conceptual understanding for both classes. Analyses of e-portfolios revealed that the students adopted nine reflective strategies in knowledge building, and that reflective metadiscourse strategies involving metacognitive and collective processes were related with deeper conceptual understanding. Analyses of online discourse threads further showed that metadiscourse involving collective processes was associated with higher levels of knowledge advances. Both classes showed improvement and the KBP class outperformed the KBR class on KF participation, metadiscourse processes and conceptual understanding. This study has theoretical implications advancing the idea of metadiscourse, discourse about discourse, for enriching research on knowledge building and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). There are also design implications for using principle-based e-portfolios to facilitate collective reflection and metadiscourse to address issues of fragmented online discussion, and for promoting sustained inquiry.

Putting more ‘modern’ in modern physics education: a Knowledge Building approach using student questions and ideas about the universe

Student-generated questions and ideas about our universe are the start of a rich and highly motivating learning environment. Using their curiosity-driven questions and ideas, students form Knowledge Building groups or ‘communities’ where they plan, set goals, design questions for research, and assess the progress of their work, tasks that were once under the control of the teacher. With the understanding that all knowledge and ideas are treated as improvable, students work collaboratively at their level of competency to share their knowledge, ideas and understandings gained from authoritative sources and laboratory activities. Over time, students work collectively to improve the knowledge and ideas of others that result in advances in understanding that benefit not only the individual but the community as a whole.Learning outcomes reported in this paper demonstrate that a Knowledge Building environment applied to introductory cosmology produced similar gains in knowledge and understanding surrounding foundational concepts compared to teacher-centred learning environments. Aside from new knowledge and understanding, students develop important skills and competencies such as question-asking, idea development, communication, collaboration that are becoming ever more important for 21st century living and working. Finally, the process of planning and initiating a Knowledge Building environment that produced the results reported in this paper is outlined.

Las reflexiones en la transformación de la educación en la era del conocimiento

New knowledge media provide new opportunities and means for addressing fundamental problems in education. But there are now so many designs for educational environments that choosing between them is difficult. Advancing the state of the art will require greater clarity regarding different possibilities and the ways in which designs reflect different underlying theoretical frameworks and research bases. This article highlights a particular form of online environment, a knowledge building environment (KBE), and contrasts it with online environments designed more specifically for course delivery, computer-mediated projects, and distance learning. Although a KBE can be used for these purposes, its distinctive strengths emerge in contexts—educational and other—where the emphasis is on knowledge creation and sustained idea improvement.

Understanding how students perceive the role of ideas for their knowledge work in a knowledge-building environment

This study explored how students viewed the role of ideas for knowledge work and how such view was related to their inquiry activities. Data mainly came from students’ online interaction logs, group discussion and inquiry, and a survey concerning the role of ideas for knowledge work. The findings suggest that knowledge building was conducive to developing among students a more informed view of ideas that sees ideas as improvable, real-world objects for collaborative and creative knowledge work, rather than merely as abstract thoughts for achieving an individual’s own knowledge acquisition. Moreover, it was found that how a group views the role of ideas was associated with how they improve the quality of the ideas during their group inquiry.

Exploring the development of college students' epistemic views during their knowledge building activities

Exploring students' epistemic views is important as it should help to better understand how they acquire and work with knowledge. This case study investigated how college students' epistemic views relate to their collaborative inquiry activities in an online knowledge-building environment. Findings based on a mixed-method analysis on students' online discourse and open-ended survey questions suggested that students' knowledge-building activities were positively related to the development of their epistemic views. In particular, when students were able to engage in more productive and effective group inquiry activities, they were more likely to develop a more sophisticated epistemic view that was conducive to sustained idea improvement for advancing knowledge. The study has implications for understanding how students’ views on the nature of knowledge creation and the manner in which collaborative inquiry is conducted in an online environment affect each other.

Exploring College Students’ Perceptions of Learning and Online Performance in a Knowledge Building Environment

This study examined students’ perceptions of learning and online performance in a learning environment. The participants were 93 college students in a teacher-education program in a university. The online learning environment was designed based on knowledge building pedagogy and was utilized to help engage students in collaborative learning and knowledge work. A questionnaire on the perceptions of learning was employed to assess how students’ viewed their online learning. The findings indicated that the students involved in a knowledge-building environment (as compared with non-knowledge-building environment) perceived their online learning as relatively more student-centered. Moreover, they were able to progressively provide one another with more elaborated feedback during discussion. Some implications regarding design of effective learning environments are discussed.

Fostering collective and individual learning through knowledge building

The purpose of this study was to design and examine a computer-supported knowledge-building environment and to investigate both collective knowledge-building dynamics and individual learning in the context of a tertiary education course in mainland China. The participants were 102 students in four intact Year-one tertiary business classes. Two classes experienced a knowledge-building environment (CKB) and the other two were taught using a regular project-based approach (RPBL). Data were obtained from interactions in the forum, writing quality, group-learning portfolios, and surveys. Quantitative analyses indicated that the knowledge-building groups outperformed the comparison groups on academic literacy assessed in terms of conceptual understanding and explanation, and obtained higher scores on beliefs about collaboration. Within-group analyses indicated that the students’ engagement in Knowledge Forum was a significant predictor of their academic literacy. Qualitative contrastive analyses of high- and low-performance groups identified different patterns of conceptual, metacognitive and social processes, and showed that student groups engaging in more collective and meta-discourse discourse moves performed better on individual scores in academic literacy. The implications of examining both collaborative dynamics and individual learning and designing computer-supported knowledge building for tertiary students are discussed.

Development and validation of the knowledge-building environment scale

This study aimed to develop a knowledge-building environment scale (KBES). Based on the knowledge building pedagogy, the authors identified three core dimensions that could reflect the creative extent of knowledge building environment in the classrooms. Three independent samples were recruited to validate the reliability and validity of the scale. First, sample A (n=332) was used to generate the factors through exploratory analysis. It resulted in a scale of three factors which contained “working with ideas,” “assuming agency” and “fostering community” dimensions. Second, a series of competing models were established and evaluated by confirmatory factor analysis through sample B (n=575). The comparison shows that the hierarchical model was the most efficient model with good reliability and validity. Finally, the cross-validation of the hierarchical model was tested by sample C (n=575) to confirm its stability and predictive power. The result of the KBES can provide institutions that are interested in promoting knowledge building with a tool for evaluating the learning environments.