From Collaborative Learning to

Knowledge Building with Technologies

Presented byA/P Tan Seng Chee

National Institute of Education

Hwa Chong Education Seminar 2011, 24 Jan 2011

My Journey & Reflection

Why Collaborative

learning?

A community of practice

Peripheral

Central

Situated LearningLearning in authentic workplace context, through experience, practice and interactions

Professional learning in a Workplace is highly collaborative

一个都不能少

Inter-dependence Shared cognitive load Distributed intelligence

Collaboration is not a choice,It’s a necessity

From milk bottle to sipping cup

Vygotsky’s theory Learning through

interactions with people with more advanced skills

Why collaborative learning?

Learning in classroom Professional Learning and doing in workplace

Today Tomorrow

What is collaborative

learning?

Cooperative Learning

GroupGoal

Inter-dependence

PromotiveInteraction

IndividualAccountability Social

Skill

Jigsaw Method

Consequential Task

A1 A2 A3

A1 B1

C1 D1

A2 B2

C2 D2

A3 B3

C3 D3

Missing piece

What do our students think about collaborative learning?

Maybe we divide them… to do the work. Some of them… we let them do drawing. Some of them search at the computer. And some of them help to write. (A Primary school student)

They keep quarrelling… when their opinions are different… then when both of them get angry, they will just slap each other without any reason, I also don't know why. (A Secondary school student)

When division of labour breaks down

A classroom discourse

Jeremy: Hey, I found this website. Look, there are many pictures.

Joel: Wow, quick, right click and save the pictures.Janet: Yes, yes, and paste them in the PowerPoint.Jeremy: All the pictures?Joel: Click this one. I like crocodiles… the birds look

nice also.Jeremy: OK, ok, what should I type in the PowerPoint?Janet: Here, copy this part. “The River Nile, is the

longest river in the world. Every year the Nile flooded, at almost exactly the same time of year, 15th July.”

Jeremy: OK, what else can we include? The teacher said we need to present for 2 minutes.

Scaffolding vs Agency

Are we doing well for collaborative learning?

Not sufficient Too much

What can we do?

• Task completion• Divide & Conquer• Scaffold

Now• Focus on ideas• Group meaning

making• Agency

Future

Knowledge Building

Knowledge building may be defined as the production and continual improvement of ideas of value to a community, through means that increase the likelihood that what the community accomplishes will be greater than the sum of individual contributions and part of broader cultural efforts.

Scardamalia & Bereiter (2002)

Knowledge Building in a Primary School Pupils working on the topic of energy Four lab activities within the topic were chosen to focus

knowledge building activities

What happened?

Improving each

other’s ideas

Taking ownership

Focused on

explanation

Idea at the centre

Group meaning making

Agency

PBL - Roller Coaster Accident

Knowledge Constructor

An initial noteA roller coaster ride uses the work–energy theorem that work done by external forces is able to change the total amount of mechanical energy from an initial value to some final value. The amount of work done by external forces upon the object is equal to the amount of change in the total mechanical energy of the object. The theorem is stated in the mathematical equation below.

KEinitial + PEinitial + Wexternal = KEfinal + PEfinal

The left side of the equation includes the total mechanical energy

(KEinitial + PEinitial) for the initial state of the object plus the work done by external forces (Wexternal), while the right side of the equation includes the total mechanical energy (KEfinal + PEfinal) for the final state of the (object).

http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/mmedia/energy/

ce.htmlobject

Meaningful use of knowledge

As the KEinitial + PEinitial is always known. In the case of the roller coaster,PE = mghKE = 1/2 mv2PE can be calculated from the measurements and KE would be 0. By means of working backwards, we can find the force which occurs in the whole process.0 + mgh + [–force × displacement × cosine

(theta)] = 0 + 0mgh = force × displacement × cosine (theta)

Meaning Making

Physical worldEveryday knowledge

Abstract worldTheoretical knowledge

Internet resources/ other authoritative sources Problem context and

other supporting artifacts

Meaning Making

Internet sources

Understand the

scientific knowledge

Question the

sources

Apply to the

problem

Key tenets of Knowledge Building

Idea at the centre

Idea

Improvement

Epistemic

agency

From KB to Cogenerative Dialogue

Roles of Technology

Roles of the online forum

Mediate communication

Roles of the online forum

To capture ideas

Roles of the online forum

To make ideas public

Roles of the online forum

To work on ideas

Roles of the online forum

To improve ideas

Technology versus Pedagogy

Pedagogy

Technology

Dialectical relationship

Pedagogy

Technology

Revolution versus Evolution

Key ideas

Collaboration is a necessity Learning, in classroom or in

professional settings, is social in nature

Key ideas

• Task completion• Divide & Conquer• Scaffold

Now

Key ideas

Idea at the centre

Idea Improveme

ntEpistemic agency

Thank You!