Showing papers on "Knowledge building published in 2017"

Semantic density: a translation device for revealing complexity of knowledge practices in discourse, part 1—wording

Abstract: In education research ‘complexity’ is often viewed cognitively as a mental attribute and so the complexity of knowledge practices themselves remains underexplored. Legitimation Code Theory conceptualizes such complexity as ‘semantic density’, which describes how meanings are condensed and interrelated within knowledge practices. This concept is becoming widely enacted in education as a means of identifying and teaching highly-valued practices. As yet, how ‘semantic density’ could be enacted to analyse the discourse of actors remains uncertain. This paper is the first of two articles that introduce a means of enacting the concept in analysis of English discourse. Together they offer a ‘translation device’ that explores discourse for signs of the complexity of the knowledge being expressed. This first paper introduces tools for exploring how the wording used by actors realizes different strengths of ‘epistemic-semantic density’, where meanings are empirical descriptions or formal definitions. It provides typologies for identifying different kinds of wording and describes how these types manifest different degrees of complexity. Two contrasting examples, from a secondary school History classroom and a scientific research article, are analysed to illustrate the insights into complexity offered by these tools. In the second paper we build on these ideas with tools for analysing how words are combined to generate different degrees of increasing complexity, to enable a fuller understanding of knowledge-building

Promising Ideas for Collective Advancement of Communal Knowledge Using Temporal Analytics and Cluster Analysis

Abstract: Understanding ideas in a discourse is challenging, especially in textual discourse analysis. We propose using temporal analytics with unsupervised machine learning techniques to investigate promising ideas for the collective advancement of communal knowledge in an online knowledge building discourse. A discourse unit network was constructed and temporal analysis was carried out to identify promising ideas, which are improvable perceptions of significant relevance that aid in the understanding of discourse context and content. With the aid of a degree centrality–betweenness centrality (DC-BC) graph, more promising ideas were discovered. An additional analysis using multiple DC-BC graph snapshots at different discourse junctures illustrates the transition of these promising ideas over time. Machine learning in the form of k-means clustering further categorized promising ideas. Cluster centroids were calculated and represented the foci of discussions, while the movement of discourse units about cluster centroids reflected how ideas affected learning behaviours among the participants. Discourse units containing promising ideas were qualitatively verified. Overall, the results showed that the implementation of temporal analytics and clustering provided insights and feedback to users about idea-related processes in the discourse. The findings have implications for teachers, students, and researchers

Raising the quality of teaching through Kyouzai Kenkyuu – the study of teaching materials

Abstract: Purpose This study attempts to provide cross-cultural learning by focusing on a very important aspect of research, the study of teaching materials, known as Kyouzai Kenkyuu in Japan. The purpose of this paper is to investigate teachers’ views and awareness about the study of teaching materials, in particular, the views and awareness of Iranian teachers, who are beginning to understand their teaching practice and professional development through lesson study. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative research methods were employed for data collection. These methods included comparative analysis of an Iranian mathematics lesson from the perspective of Japanese educators and semi-structured interviews with all participants of the lesson analysis meetings. Findings The findings are intended to position Kyouzai Kenkyuu as an important aspect of Japanese lesson study and to make explicit the beliefs and values that underpin and shape pedagogical reasoning that support researchers and practitioners to improve the quality of teaching through lesson study. This was achieved through post-lesson discussion meetings, and the beliefs and values were those the participants were largely unaware of but could be clarified through a cross-cultural comparison. For instance, Japanese teachers focus more on learners and the study of teaching materials for raising the quality of teaching, whereas Iranian teachers focus more on the content of teaching and teacher behavior. Research limitations/implications This study delivers a transnational learning opportunity for teachers and researchers to learn how to provide evidence-based analysis of a lesson to raise the quality of teaching. However, as this is a case study and focuses specifically on Kyouzai Kenkyuu, it opens up the possibility for comparative analysis of more sample lessons and other aspects of Japanese lesson study. Practical implications It may be interesting for teachers and researchers to see how such a study could help them revise their quality of teaching through lesson study and construct shared knowledge about how to teach and to clarify “the pedagogical theories” that underpin such knowledge building. Social implications The value of this study is in its ability to reveal to educators their own unconscious teaching script and knowledge and “the pedagogical theories” that underpin such knowledge. It provides an opportunity for evidence-based critiques of our own teaching script, theory, view and values that we accept culturally, share tacitly and may not even be aware of in the construction process. Originality/value This study combines careful measurement with an “insider’s perspective” from Iran and an “outsider’s perspective” from Japan of differing educational concepts within the same subject area. The objective is to provide a deeper understanding of the real world of lesson study and how it can help educators to construct shared knowledge about how to teach in practice and to support teachers to revise the cultural context of teaching.

Fostering scientific understanding and epistemic beliefs through judgments of promisingness

Abstract: The evaluation of promisingness is central to knowledge building and knowledge creation but remains largely unexplored. As part of a design-based research program to support promisingness judgments, the present study implemented an intervention in a sixth grade science class, with the goal of exploring the potential of promisingness judgments to foster scientific understanding and epistemic beliefs. Aided by a Promising Ideas Tool and pedagogical supports designed for this intervention, students explored the concept of promisingness, judged the promisingness of their community ideas, and engaged in iterative cycles of idea refinement. Results indicated that students were capable of improving their understanding of promisingness and making promisingness judgments deemed sensible by domain experts. The conceptual understanding and epistemic beliefs displayed by students improved over the course of the intervention, and such improvement happened in tandem with students’ understanding of promisingness. The implications of this exploratory study and future research are discussed.

Principle-based design: Development of adaptive mathematics teaching practices and beliefs in a knowledge building environment

Abstract: This study investigated teacher-education students' development of adaptive mathematics teaching practices and beliefs in an online knowledge building environment under principle-based design guidance. Participants were students who took a university course titled Middle-School Mathematics Teaching over a year. Data analyses focused on (a) students' collaborative lesson design activities as documented in an online database, (b) students' video-taped teaching practices, and (c) students’ mathematical beliefs using a survey. Correspondingly, the results indicate that the principle-based design guidance (a) was conducive in promoting reflective and collaborative knowledge work in the online community, (b) was likely to motivate the participants to progressively practice more adaptive teaching, and (c) facilitated their development towards more constructivist-oriented mathematical beliefs.

Cluster evolution and the change of knowledge bases: the development of a design cluster

Abstract: Most studies portray cluster knowledge bases as a given resource, tied to specific industries and locations. However, this paper challenges that view and uncovers their dynamic nature by identifying endogenous and exogenous triggering events that influence and change the cluster knowledge base mix over time. This is done by building on the theoretical concepts of pre-existing conditions, triggering events and knowledge bases and by drawing on a case study of the design cluster located in the Triangle Area of Denmark. The paper concludes that the design cluster has changed its mix of knowledge bases several times during its evolution. Starting out as a firm-driven cluster with a dominant synthetic knowledge base, it then evolved into an artistic and creative cluster with a prevailing symbolic knowledge base. In the last few years, the cluster has increasingly adopted an analytical knowledge base at the expense of other knowledge bases. These developments have caused numerous changes in both knowled...

“Wherever You Go, You Will Be a Polis”: Spatial Practices and Political Education in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Discussions

Abstract: The aim of this article is to increase understanding of the development of spatial practices in virtual learning environments The spatial change and development in 38 small-group e-discussions taken from a data set of a yearlong 8th-grade humanities course are described and analyzed We show that the focus on spatial changes in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments enriches the scope of activities in virtual environments that are usually studied from the perspective of productivity and disciplinary knowledge building only We argue that tracing spatial changes enables researchers to scrutinize the freedom to act and exercise power over others, something crucial for the development of political agency We show that these developments are decisive for students to become competent citizens Implications the study has for CSCL design and for political education are discussed

How Can a Clinical Research Approach Contribute to Knowledge-Building for the Teaching Profession?.

Abstract: This article explains what clinical research is and why it is necessary. The term ‘clinical’ refers to an academic way of solving practical problems. Clinical research starts from a view of science...

Educational Makerspaces: Disruptive, Educative or Neither?.

Abstract: Makerspaces are now common in schools. Their advocates argue that they improve learning; that they foster future-focused learning; and that they are, potentially, a disruptive force for good in education. This article evaluates these claims. It looks at the origins of the makerspace concept and at its uptake by educationists. It argues that, in their current form, school makerspaces are unlikely to be ‘educative’, in the Deweyan sense. Nor are they especially ‘futurefocused’ or ‘disruptive’. The makerspace idea is, however, potentially useful in educational contexts. The article puts forward two rather different ways school makerspaces could be educative and/or disruptive.

Unfolding Urban Geographies of Water-Related Vulnerability and Inequalities: Recognising Risks in Knowledge Building in Lima, Peru

Abstract: This chapter analyses how different discourses influence knowledge-building processes in terms of their main concerns, water sector boundaries, and types of information considered legitimate, in the context of Lima. It shows how these processes are embedded in urban configurations, and how the legitimacy of mapping processes needs to be negotiated across boundaries. We analyse how iterative mapping processes within three concertacion (Concertacion’ has no proper translation into English. We have discussed the concept elsewhere (Miranda and Hordijk 1998). It refers to the process of reaching agreements for joint action through dialogue and deliberation.) processes in Lima reveal uneven geographies of water-related vulnerabilities and inequalities, and presenting the outcomes of the cross-boundary processes of social construction for generating, analysing, and exchanging knowledge on water vulnerabilities. Three research and policy-building projects in Lima reflect how mappings of ‘water-related vulnerabilities and risks’ are socially constructed. Firstly, maps draw on different discourses and framings, data inputs and classifications at multiple spatial scales. Secondly, they visualise spatial inequalities and link multiple dimensions to one geographic locality, building a more integrated understanding of the dynamics and spatial differentiation of Lima’s ‘waterscape’, combining human and natural processes. As a result, it becomes easier to discuss the legitimacy of different types of knowledge among various actors. Thirdly, maps facilitate ‘exchange on priorities, conflicts and synergies’, providing inputs into negotiation processes between actors in water governance configurations. Although mapping produces new types of knowledge, it is necessary to ensure that the results are incorporated into policy-making and implemented for wider acceptance.

Developing secondary students’ epistemic agency in a knowledge-building community

Abstract: A key educational objective for the twenty-first century is developing students’ epistemic agency. Epistemic agency is the active process of choosing when, what, where one learns and how one knows,...

Surfing the waves of learning: enacting a Semantics analysis of teaching in a first-year Law course

Abstract: Students’ ability to build knowledge, and transfer it within and between contexts is crucial to cumulative learning and to academic success. This has long been a concern of higher education research and practice. A central part of this concern for educators is creating the conditions that enable their students' deep learning, as this is an area of significant struggle for many students. Legitimation Code Theory, in particular the dimension of Semantics, is proving useful in examining the kinds of conditions that may be necessary for students to build disciplinary knowledge cumulatively over time. Using illustrative data from one case study, this paper suggests that the conceptual tools offered by Semantics can provide academic lecturers and academic development staff with a set of conceptual and analytical tools which can enable them to ‘see’ and understand the ways in which knowledge can be cumulatively acquired and used, as well as the possible gaps between what they are teaching and what their ...

Exploring the impact of teacher experience on questioning techniques in a Knowledge Building classroom

Abstract: The Knowledge Building Community is a prominent pedagogy within the field of computer-supported collaborative learning. However, studies concerning the impact of Knowledge Building on the questioning behaviour of experienced and beginning teachers are limited. This study investigates the questioning behaviour of two Singapore teachers teaching Social Studies in two primary four classrooms employing the Knowledge Building pedagogy. The teachers have similar backgrounds, but different level of teaching experience. To better understand the teachers’ views, lesson observations were recorded, and in-depth interviews with each teacher are conducted. The findings indicate that the more experienced teacher is better able to adopt the Knowledge Building pedagogy and asks more high-order questions. The findings also indicate that enacting Knowledge Building lessons changed the teachers’ views with regards to their students’ ability to pursue inquiry on their own.

Fostering college students’ creative capacity through computer-supported knowledge building

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore how knowledge building could support the generation of creative ideas among college students and accordingly foster their creativity. The study was conducted in Knowledge Forum (KF), a knowledge building environment, where students were encouraged to engage in idea-centered activities. Participants were 38 college students and data mainly came from students’ online activities in KF, and a pre–post test concerning creativity. The results indicate that (1) students’ divergent thinking skills were improved after taking this course; (2) students were able to generate more promising ideas and progressively build on one another’s ideas toward the end of the course; and (3) students’ performance in KF is also positively correlated with their higher-level creative skills. Overall, this study demonstrates that knowledge building activities were useful to enhance student creativity.

Using Conferences Poster Presentations as a Tool for Student Learning and Development.

Abstract: This paper offers an insight into the use of poster presentations as a means of helping students prepare and develop their arguments for their final project work to be submitted for assessment. The five students, all from a Masters in Social Work course in Gothenburg, Sweden participated in an international conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. The use of poster presentations, understood in this paper from a constructionist theory of education perspective, also created the opportunities for building student’s self-confidence and helping them develop their own academic voice. Furthermore it is argued that this process helped scaffold their knowledge building before the final submission of their course work.

Students’ conceptions of and approaches to knowledge building and its relationship to learning outcomes

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships among students’ conceptions of knowledge building, approaches to knowledge building, knowledge-building behaviors and learning outcomes. A total of 48 primary school students (from grades 3 and 4) who had experienced knowledge-building activities participated in the present study. After analyzing the students’ interview responses using the phenomenographic method, qualitatively different and hierarchically related conceptions and approaches were revealed. The results indicated that the students with fragmented conceptions tended to use surface approaches to knowledge building while those with cohesive conceptions tended to adopt deep approaches. The findings also indicate that the students with cohesive conceptions or deep approaches were more likely to have better learning outcomes than those with fragmented conceptions or surface approaches.

How Does Knowledge Come By

Abstract: Although the amount of knowledge that the humans possess has been gradually increasing, we still do not know the procedure and conditions that lead to the creation of new knowledge An understanding of the modus operandi for the creation of knowledge may help in accelerating the existing pace of building knowledge Our state of ignorance regarding various aspects of the process of knowledge building is highlighted by the existing literature in the domain The reason behind it has been our inability to acquire the underlying data of this complex process However, current time shows great promise of improvements in the knowledge building domain due to the availability of several online knowledge building portals In this report, we emphasise that these portals act as prototypes for universal knowledge building process The analysis of big data availed from these portals may equip the knowledge building researchers with the much needed meta-knowledge

Scripted and unscripted aspects of creative work with knowledge

Abstract: Advances in scripting theory and advances in support for student-driven knowledge construction call for a reconsideration of long-standing issues of guidance, control, and agency. This symposium undertakes a fresh analysis based on the relations between two widely adopted approaches that may be poles apart but arguably viewed as variations within a common applied epistemological framework. The two approaches are scripted collaboration and Knowledge Building. Rather than focusing on similarities and differences, the symposium will address deeper problems such as reconciling external supports of all kinds with the self-organizing character of knowledge construction and integrating such supports into classrooms viewed as knowledge-creating communities. The centerpiece of the symposium is a panel discussion that includes experts who provide different theoretical viewpoints. In its synthesis the symposium will capture and make sense of what is strongest in the two approaches and provide a broad conceptual basis for next-generation initiatives.

Productive Knowledge Building Discourse Through Student-Generated Questions

Abstract: Working on students’ authentic problems is emphasized in Knowledge Building theory and pedagogy, as it is perceived that a failure to deal with such problems may result in a failure of knowledge building. This study is focused on questions students asked in a knowledge building environment, in order to examine how issues students cared enough about to pose as questions help knowledge building succeed. Comparing question threads (threads started with questions) and non-question threads (threads that did not start with questions), we noticed that problems posted by students engaged the community in a sustainable and progressive discourse, which is central to collaborative knowledge building. Moreover, the quality analysis of the data revealed that the threads starting with questions were more likely to end up with productive threads compared to the non-question threads.

Tracing the knowledge-building dynamics in new stem cell technologies through techno-scientific networks

Abstract: This study assesses the knowledge-building dynamics of emerging technologies, their participating country-level actors, and their interrelations. We examine research on induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, a recently discovered stem cell species. Compared to other studies, our approach conflates the totality of publications and patents of a field, and their references, into single “techno-scientific networks” across intellectual bases (IB) and research fronts (RF). Diverse mapping approaches—co-citation, direct citation, and bibliographic coupling networks—are used, driven by the problems tackled by iPS cell researchers. Besides the study of the field of iPS cells as a whole, we assessed the roles of relevant countries in terms of “knowledge exploration,” “knowledge nurturing,” “knowledge exploitation,” and cognitive content. The results show that a fifth of nodes in IB and edges in RF interconnect science (S) and technology (T). S and T domains tell different, yet complementing stories: S overstresses upstream activities, and T captures the increasing influential role of application domains and general technologies. Both S and T reflect the path-dependent nature of iPS cells in embryonic stem cell technologies. Building on the feedback between IB and RF, we examine the dominating role of the United States. Japan, the pioneer, falls behind in quantity, yet its global influence remains intact. New entrants, such as China, are advancing rapidly, yet, cognitively, the bulk of efforts are still upstream. Our study demonstrates the need for bibliometric assessment studies to account for S&T co-evolution. The multiple data source-based, integrated bibliometric approaches of this study are initial efforts toward this direction.

Reporting on self-care in research studies: Guidance to improve knowledge building.

Abstract: With the increasing interest in using the concept of self-care in research studies, the knowledge base for the different aspects of self-care has grown steadily. After the introduction of Orem’s grand theory of self-care in 1971,1 other theories, models and frameworks have addressed the process used by patients in performing self-care with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes. Although challenges around terminology and definitions exist,2 self-care is acknowledged as essential in the management of chronic illness. Self-care can be defined as a process of maintaining health through health-promoting practices and managing illness.3 Self-care can be seen as an overarching concept built from the three key concepts self-care maintenance, self-care monitoring and self-care management. An increasing number of studies have used theories of self-care to guide analysis in literature reviews, develop instruments to measure self-care, and develop and test interventions aimed at improving outcomes of patients with chronic disease,4–8 as shown in the exponential increase in the number of publications on self-care (Figure 1). Ideally this increasing amount of data would lead to an accumulated body of knowledge with regard to self-care. However, it is necessary to correctly interpret findings and then to combine data to reveal knowledge, transparency with regard to conceptual definitions, methods used and conclusions. Without such transparency, readers are left unclear about what is truly known and how to implement what is known into self-care interventions. The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) 2010 statement and its extensions on reporting designs, interventions or data, including several checklists, are helpful in standardising reporting.9 These guidelines include those addressing the reporting of patient-reported outcomes in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) (CONSORT-Pro) and the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist and guide. To improve the integration of knowledge related to self-care, we propose some additional basic guidelines when reporting on studies that include selfcare as the conceptual or theoretical framework, as an outcome measure, or as the target of the intervention. These guidelines can be used in addition to the existing guidelines on reporting of research. The aim of the guidelines presented below is to streamline reporting about self-care and to help future researchers to use findings from others in interpreting their own results. The clearer and more consistent a report is with regard to self-care, the easier and more complete it will be to compare results or to learn what the results really mean. We suggest that the following elements be reported in all research addressing self-care: Reporting on self-care in research studies: Guidance to improve knowledge building

From Assumptions to Practice: Creating and Supporting Robust Online Collaborative Learning.

Abstract: Collaboration is more than an activity. In the contemporary online learning environment, collaboration needs to be conceived as an overarching way of learning that fosters continued knowledge building. For this to occur, design of a learning task goes beyond students working together. There are integral nuances that give rise to: how the task is designed, how the task is scaffolded and facilitated, and how students are prepared to work within a collaborative framework. Through a review of the literature, the purpose of this paper is three-fold: 1) to identify and discuss four common assumptions that restrict or impede collaboration in the online environment; 2) to share practices in how to design, facilitate and assess, and to prepare students for collaborative learning in online environments; and 3) to examine implications for practice in relation to institutional supports, educational development for instructors, and student preparation. The goal of the paper is to inform the design and facilitation practice for online collaborative learning to be strategically woven into the tapestry of knowledge building learning environments.

An entrepreneurial narrative media-model framework to knowledge building and open co-design for smart cities

Abstract: Addressing wicked design problems which require eclectic methodologies, it is important to investigate how to create better links between theory and practice and therefore develop greater appreciation for disciplinary concepts and methodologies; develop deeper understanding of design, design thinking, object-orientation and agile methodology and how these can complement each other in systems design and development. This study situates learning within the IEEE Smart Cities context, and Garud et. al's entrepreneurial narrative framework scoped within Gaynor's 21st century skillsets for technology, engineering management and society. The focus is on the systems and human factors aspects of computing, scaffolded by the SDLC, design thinking's empathy/agile methodology's user stories to improve understanding of information systems, and development of opportunities.

Integrating External Knowledge: Building a Conceptual Framework of Innovation Sourcing

Abstract: Innovation sourcing is the acquisition and integration, rather than internal development, of critical knowledge from external providers. This key strategy has emerged as a necessity for survival in many markets. Consequently, sourcing processes are applied to complement internal design capabilities with external knowledge and ultimately improve innovation performance. Firms use external knowledge to enhance products and services, gain market share, and improve profits. The literature regarding the phenomenon of innovation sourcing is largely fragmented, limiting the theoretical advancement in the field. This article presents a systematic literature review that synthesizes the body of knowledge regarding innovation sourcing and derives a conceptualization of how innovation sourcing and its main dimensions are linked to innovation performance. A conceptual model, key dimensions, and an agenda for future research are significant results of this research.

What Do I Say Next? Using The Third Turn to Build Productive Instructional Discussions.

Abstract: Research has strongly supported the role of classroom talk as a valuable teaching and learning tool. Carefully crafted teacher–student discussions that encourage broad student participation and knowledge building correlate with increased knowledge generation and higher academic achievement. To better understand classroom talk as an instructional lever, researchers have identified a number of teacher talk moves associated with increased student participation, critical reasoning, and improved comprehension of texts and content. In particular, when teachers make use of the third turn in their talk with students, they create opportunities for more productive student interactions with content and one another. This article examines how teachers use the third turn to orchestrate productive discussions, using examples based on content analysis of teacher–student discussions in classroom settings.

Experiential Learning and Knowledge Building in Higher Education: an Application of the Progressive Design Method

Abstract: Progressive Design Method (DPM) attempts to connect the Experiential Learning perspective with Knowledge Building model. The aim of the present study was to analyze the implementation of PDM in terms of patterns of online participation and interaction, and the relationship between online participation and interaction with participation in F2F meetings. The implementation was introduced in a Guided Practical Experience at the University of Valle d'Aosta, involving 17 students in their 2nd year of a Psychological Sciences and Techniques degree course. Following PDM, the students worked in teams to create a project about the use of digital technology in school or other formative contexts. An online environment, Knowledge Forum (KF), supported the activity with specific areas (views) where students could present themselves, analyse the KB model and share their project. The project was developed in different steps and after each step each team received a feedback from all the members of the community via KF. The results for participation show a positive correlation between notes written and read in each view, as well as a correlation between notes read between different views. We also found a correlation between Weighted Indregree and Outdegree in each view. Finally, F2F participation correlated with the total number of notes written and read and with the total number of Weighted Indegree and Weighted Outdegree. Implications of these results for DPM implementations are discussed.

Creating efficient collaboration for knowledge creation in area-based rural development

Abstract: This paper describes how collaboration for knowledge creation in an area-based sufficiency rural development in Thailand works in coping with complex rural problems and needs. Based on extensive field observation in the implementation of the Royal Initiatives Discovery Institute's projects in two provinces over the past two years, the writer contends that the existing ideas of collaboration in community development based on a concept of top-down technology transfer is not helpful enough to appreciate the collaboration for the bottom-up knowledge creation in an area-based sufficiency development. New sets of local knowledge built up through development collaborative actions are described. Structural and organizational constraints on collaborative actions to facilitate new local knowledge building are discussed. The paper proposes a redesign of the collaborative process to increase information flow and enhance the capacity of development collaborators in their facilitation of bottom-up knowledge creation in an area-based sufficiency rural development. A social learning process should be used to improve collaboration through a contextual based “link and learn” collaborative process of knowledge creation. A training scheme to develop three management competencies of collaborative teams is suggested.