Idea Improvement Patterns in Knowledge-Building: Undergraduate and Graduate Levels

• In Event: 45.028 - Technologies to Construct Knowledge

Abstract

In Knowledge Building, students are turned over high-level epistemic agency to work on ideas they care about and identify to be related to their learning goals. However, what patterns students display while improving ideas, how interaction between teammates influences this improvement, and why students continue working on ideas or shift focus, are uncharted territory. This study analyzed the notes contributed by four undergraduate and six graduate students and their respective interviews. We found that students initially explored multiple ideas because of uncertainty and diverse ideas came across, but gradually they narrowed down focus because of pressure to present or to produce artefacts, and group interaction helps students think from more perspectives and serves as a driving force and quality checker.

Authors

• Gaoxia Zhu, University of Toronto

• Matthew Moreno, University of Toronto

• Andres Fernando Valencia, Universidad del Valle

• Marlene Scardamalia, University of Toronto