Knowledge+Building

Knowledge Building Image: Presenter Media [|[1]]

[] == [[|edit]] Theory == Essentially, Knowledge Building Theory describes what groups or communities of learners need to achieve in order to produce or create knowledge. The theory differentiates Knowledge Building or creation from learning. Knowledge Building adds to the community/public accumulation, and repertoire, of knowledge and/or revises such collected notions. Learning, conversely, is viewed as an internal process that is exemplified in changes of beliefs, attitudes, or skills. Knowledge Building, therefore, creates knowledge that is accessible to, used by, shared, and modified by, other people.[|[2]] Knowledge Building (KB) Theory holds a [|Constructivist theory] premise and promotes an educational focus on familiarizing and inducting students into a culture that embraces knowledge creation. It advocates that students develop capacities and proficiencies in KB and come to see their work as part of civilization's process of advancing areas of knowledge.[|[3]] Knowledge Building Theory therefore posits two central principles that set it apart from general constructivist learning: intentionality and community knowledge. Intentionality means that those involved in Knowledge Building are aware of the goal and ultimate purpose of creating and advancing knowledge. Community knowledge recognizes that although learning involves personal change, the creation and addition of new knowledge is for the benefit of the community. [|[4]]: //A Special Issue of the Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology on Knowledge Building// [|Carl Bereiter] and [|Marlene Scardamalia] outline six particular conceptual shifts that support such a paradigm: Twelve Knowledge Building guiding principles are offered: //"Thus there is the possibility of a knowledge building dynamic that drives the continual creation and advancement of new knowledge. What makes knowledge building a realistic approach to education is the discovery that children as early as grade one can engage in it. Thus there is a clear developmental link running from childhood education on into advanced education and adult knowledge work, in which the same process is carried out at increasingly high levels."// (Quoted from: [|[12]]) [|Return to Top] == [[|edit]] Key Contributors == [|Carl Bereiter] [|[13]] [|Marlene Scardamalia] [|[14]]
 * ==Contents==
 * [|1] [|Theory]
 * [|2] [|Key Contributors]
 * [|3] [|Practical Application of Theory]
 * [|4] [|Websites/Links/Multimedia]
 * [|5] [|Sources/References] ||
 * **Knowledge advancement as a community rather than individual achievement:** Valid creative KB can emerge from school communities where additions to the collected knowledge of the classroom learning community is actualized. Such additions are distinct from the replications of information and understandings gleaned from experts in particular fields. Instead such knowledge emerges from a shared reality of the classroom community and enhances the level of communal knowledge for society.[|[5]]
 * **Knowledge advancement as idea improvement rather than as progress toward true or warranted belief:**Improvement of ideas, as a guiding principle in KB, encourages students to deliberately play with and advance others' ideas whilst understanding and expecting that others will possibly do the same in an iterative and reciprocal manner.[|[6]]
 * **Knowledge of in contrast to knowledge about:**Knowledge //about// something is that which can be retrieved and stated in order to show what you know of a topic or procedure. Knowledge //of// something is that which you can do or can participate in when you recognize there is a need for such knowing. [|[7]]
 * **Discourse as collaborative problem solving rather than as argumentation:**Knowledge Building requires focused discourse with the goal of expanding and improving the state of knowledge through the improvement of ideas. It involves more than argumentation and debate as it promotes progress and common understandings. [|[8]]
 * **Constructive use of authoritative information:**Although it is not desirable to have students unquestioningly accept authoritative pronouncements, it is equally undesirable and problematic to ignore or discount much authoritative information that is available in our world. Knowledge Building, however, implies that the critical use of information of all kinds is of value provided it contributes to the creation and addition of the new. Evaluation of information is integral to the building of knowledge. [|[9]]
 * **Understanding as an emergent:**During knowledge creation more complex ideas can be conceptualized and realized from the interactions of simpler and more elemental ideas and concepts. Hence ideas present as real things that can be manipulated and associated with one another in order to construct more complex and novel ideas. [|[10]]
 * 1) Real Ideas, Authentic Problems: problems that arise during attempts to understand the world
 * 2) Improvable Ideas: a working mantra of "all ideas can be improved upon."
 * 3) Idea Diversity: Ideas can be improved through comparison, combination, alignment, recombination
 * 4) Rise Above: achieve higher levels of understanding beyond trivialities and oversimplification
 * 5) Epistemic Agency: accept personal and collective responsibility for goals, motivation, evaluation, and long-range planning
 * 6) Community Knowledge: aim to create knowledge of value to others even when and where personal learning is also an objective
 * 7) Democratizing Knowledge: all participants are empowered to contribute to the exercise of Knowledge Building by the group
 * 8) Symmetric Knowledge Advancement: expertise is shared laterally rather than hierarchically
 * 9) Persuasive Knowledge Building: all activities and tasks are occasions for knowledge work
 * 10) Constructive Uses of Authoritative Sources: need for awareness of current authoritative sources for specific disciplines and recognition of related accumulated knowledge
 * 11) Knowledge Building Discourse: discursive practices of community encourage refinement, transformation, and finessing of ideas
 * 12) Concurrent, Embedded, and Transformative Assessment: community actualizes self assessment and identifies problems as work progresses [|[11]]: //A Brief History of Knowledge Building//

== [[|edit]] Practical Application of Theory == [|Return to Top] == [[|edit]] Websites/Links/Multimedia == An introductory audio-visual presentation-tour of Knowledge Forum from: [] View Dr. Scardamalia's presentation, //New Assessments and environments for Knowledge Building: Design Challenges//, at the Knowledge Building Summer Institute, Toronto, Canada, 2010 At: [] //Scardamalia presents KB ideas in a Video recording from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto// at: [] //A Special Issue of the Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology on Knowledge Building, Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, V36(1) Fall / automne, 2010// at: [] An introductory audio-visual presentation-tour of Knowledge Forum from: [] //IKIT, Institute for Knowledge Innovation and Technology, global network for advancement of knowledge building technology at: []:// //Information on Knowledge Building Theory shared on Wikipedia// at: [] //Biography of Marlene Scardamalia// at [] //Biography of Carl Bereiter// at: [|http://www.ikit.org/people/~bereiter.html] An outline of Knowledge Building principles at: [] Scardamalia, M., Lamon, M., & Reeve, R. (2001). //Mapping learning and the growth of knowledge in a knowledge building community.// Presented to the American Educational Research Association Meeting, Seattle, Washington. Available at: [|[15]] [|Return to Top] == [[|edit]] Sources/References == //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//at: [] Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (in press). Knowledge Building: Theory, pedagogy, and technology. In K. Sawyer (Ed.), Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences: //Pdf for download [|[16]]// //A Special Issue of the Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology on Knowledge Building, Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, V36(1) Fall / automne, 2010// at [] An outline of Knowledge Building principles at: [] [|Return to Top]