Common Knowledge: Design, Scripting, and Orchestration of Knowledge Building Discourse in Elementary Science

• In Event: Science and Technology

Abstract

How can tablets, shared displays, and an interactive whiteboard (IWB) be used to support productive astronomy inquiry across a classroom’s social planes? This paper reports on the early phase designs and classroom trials of Common Knowledge – a pedagogical and technological innovation that supports knowledge building blended discourse, and scaffolds the community through phases of inquiry and interest groupings. Using tablets, students contribute to a community knowledge base that is publicly visible from the IWB. This interactive display visualizes the community’s idea flow and enables members to sort their ideas along socially negotiated categories. We present qualitative analysis of the pedagogical, curricular, and technological design features; and discuss successes and failures of enactment adaptations to the design.

Authors

• Cresencia Fong, University of Toronto - OISE

• Rebecca M. Quintana, University of Toronto

• Richard Messina, University of Toronto - OISE

• Tom Moher, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Julia Murray, Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study

• Ben Peebles, University of Toronto - OISE

• James D. Slotta, University of Toronto