Dialogic Literacy Enabled by Cross-Community Interactions in Scientific Knowledge-Building

• In Event: 35.070 - Science Teaching and Learning SIG Paper Session: Literacy and Discourse

Abstract

This research is conducted as a part of larger research initiative aimed to create social and technological supports for sustained knowledge building across classrooms and school years. The analysis of student interviews, videos, and student written syntheses of research was conducted in order to examine the nature of students’ literacy in this environment. The creation of the themes was informed by the conception of knowledge building (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006) and communities of practice (Wenger, 1998). Findings reveal sophisticated levels of dialogic literacy (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 2005): problem solving dialogue to advance shared research goals, reflective synthesis to develop “big ideas” in the context of others’ work, and making knowledge accessible beyond one classroom community.

Authors

• Barbara Maria Vokatis, Oneonta - SUNY

• Jianwei Zhang, University at Albany - SUNY