Collectively Negotiable Epistemic Forms: A Digital Representational Schema for Emerging Community Knowledge

• In Event: Perspectives on Learning in Technology-Rich Settings

Abstract

This paper develops the concept of negotiable epistemic forms as a schema that helps students and teachers organize and interpret large amounts of information that is typically generated as part of classroom inquiry. Specifically, we focus on community tasks that are framed as understanding phenomena through model-based construction. We describe the representation tools in the schema, and discuss motivating design conjectures and mediating processes observed through classroom experiences, as enacted in three units using embedded technologies that transform the physical classroom space into a holistic interactive environment. We believe negotiable epistemic forms provide strong scaffolds for organizing work and guiding activity, which may be particularly effective for younger learners lacking experience in collective investigations and the practices of knowledge communities.

Authors

• Tom Moher, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Michelle Lui, University of Toronto