Scaling Up Deep Understanding and Knowledge Building Through Collaborative Teaching

• In Event: Roundtable Session 29
  In Roundtable Session: Self-Efficacy, Motivation, Knowledge, and Understanding

Abstract

Explanation-seeking rather than fact-seeking pedagogies have been shown to warrant deeper student understanding and knowledge building. The development of metacognitive skills has also been linked to deeper learning. Knowledge Forum is a knowledge building digital platform designed to support collaboration, progressive discourse, and metacognition. In this paper, Knowledge Forum was used to enrich the learning environment of small rural schools. This study investigates its use in elementary classrooms (48 classrooms) to develop students’ questioning and explanation during one school year. The online collaborative discourse between different classrooms was analyzed and positive results obtained. Our study documents the possibilities of engaging students in knowledge building among and beyond classmates.

Authors

• Christine Hamel, Université Laval

• Therese Laferriere, Laval University

• Sandrine Turcotte, University of Quebec - Outaouais

• Stephane Allaire, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi